This landmark Columbia Heights property could set a record for the highest price ever paid in the borough for a single family townhouse. We find out why.

by matt Scanlon

Even as downtown is directing its gaze upward with a profusion of 30-storyand-up high-rise developments (see “Skylarking” under the “Luxe Property” section in this issue), there can be no question that as far as enviable views are concerned, Brooklyn Heights—and in par ticular homes adjoining its Promenade—are the summa of the borough’s real estate experience, and almost inevitably represents its price point zenith.

When it was first placed on the market in the middle of last year, this extraordinary 1859 landmark-designated townhouse, lovingly renovated and updated by Dumbo’s Interior Alterations and Manhattan’s Baxt/Ingui Architects, it, according to The New York Times, was poised to set a price record for a single family townhouse in the Heights. Part of the reason was its enviable arrangement of viewpoints from both within the residence itself and from its two garden areas—vistas that stretch from the Heights, to the Promenade, to the Manhattan skyline, and on to the Statue of Liberty.

25 feet wide, the 7,900-square-foot home is between Clark and Pierrepont Streets, and, hardly surprisingly for a 155-year-old former multi-family brownstone, has a history rich in both neighborhood and city lore. The proprietor before the current owner was Broadway set designer Heidi Ettinger, who won a Tony Award for her work on the musical Big River. That would have been bragging bona fides enough for any new occupant, but Ettinger also rented space at the fifth floor studio level to no less than Norman Mailer, whose western facing windows offered writerly inspiration in abundance.

The restored Columbia Heights mansion—five floors with full basement—offers a prized address near Brooklyn Bridge Park with its waterfront greenway, playgrounds, bike trails, picnic areas, beach, sports, and music venues. Part of Baxt/Ingui Architects’ challenge was retaining or recreating charming 19th century details—such as moldings, shutters, wood trim and bannisters, pocket doors and door arches, mirrors, and mantels—while updating to 21st century standards.

The parlor floor, with its 14-foot ceilings, has a sizeable entry, wide living room, and formal dining room (with bar equipped with fridge, ice-maker, and two warming drawers for seamless serving), plus doors to a deck that extends the space. The residence offers an eat-in chef ’s kitchen (equipped with a large pantry), library, family room, two offices, six (possibly seven) bedrooms, three full baths, two half baths, abundant closets, three working fireplaces (family room, living room, library), and a top-floor gym (Mailer’s former space) with harbor views. The full basement houses mechanicals and a vault for a wine cellar. The walnut-and-cherry staircase, original oak parquet flooring and walnut wainscoting, and floor-to-ceiling bay windows only add further luster to a home reported by curbed.com as one of the fifteen most expensive in the borough.

Corcoran agent Ellen Newman, who has been in the real estate business for more than twenty years, described the home as nothing less than “the most beautiful I have ever seen,” beginning her observations with the considerably-sized entrance and entablature. “It’s unquestionably a grand entrance to a grand residence,” she said, “but the standout features simply don’t stop coming…from the sheer amount of window area, to manicured and tended garden spaces, to the extraordinary period details, then on to the lovingly-executed updates from Ben Baxt—who did such a singular job of honoring the past while greatly improving safety, livability, and beauty. The place is just a poem.”

Among many other distinctive features are laundry facilities in the residential area as well as basement, two dishwashers, custom cabinetry in kitchen and pantry, a functioning dumbwaiter, central AC, a security system, FIOS telephone and WiFi, wired ports for Time-Warner Cable TV service and LAN Ethernet ports in each room, a Sony- and Apple-based built-in audio system in the living areas and master bedroom, and a layout that can easily accommodate the installation of an elevator if desired. Buyers can also opt for an approved but not yet built roof deck.

192 Columbia Heights
$15,000,000
Townhouse / 5 Floors / 7 Bedrooms / 5 Bathrooms / 16 Total Rooms
For a viewing appointment, contact Ellen Newman at The Corcoran Group
718.923.8072 / corcoran.com