I’ve been on a search for attractive (or at least semi-attractive) and affordable housing in Bed-Stuy since I arrived here. Many developments are attractive OR affordable but never both. I’ve tried to focus my search on housing for sale rather than rentals, and this has made the search quite difficult.
Then came The Pool. This new development is situated on Kosciuszko Street at Marcy Avenue about one block east of the Bedford-Nostrand G train station.  The Pool is really a misnomer, because the people who move into this building won’t have a pool unless they buy one at Target, blow it up and fill it with water when they get home. No pool, but they are across the street from the Bed-Stuy pool, so I guess the developer thought it was alright to use that as a selling point. I’m not sure if I think that is ethical. That would be like naming a place “The View” and it really doesn’t have one, or calling a building “luxury” just because the toilets are located indoors. Now that I think about it, I guess, in the spirit of Brooklyn real estate The Pool is probably as appropriate a name as any. Â
Let’s review the data: no meters or stairs in front of the building, no pink bricks, and thankfully, no Fedders or Friedrich anywhere. Sure, there probably aren’t any Poggenpohl kitchens behind those walls, and I don’t imagine that they have Brazilian hardwood floors, and I wouldn’t dare ask whether the units are smart wired or not, but c’mon.  You’re getting 2-3 bedrooms and some units even have 1.5 or 2 baths, all for under 400K!  That’s cheap enough for you to get all Poggenpohl and fancy-schmancy after you move in.  Â
Corcoran lists several units for sale on their website. Come, join our community!
There is an open house this Sunday, April 22nd from noon to 1:45 p.m. so if you’re interested check it out, and do report back to us. I’d love to get a first hand account of what it looks like inside. So what do you think? Attractive and affordable?
affordable yes ,attractive ( from the outside anyway ) not
There selling 3 bedroom apts @ 395 k . Three yrs ago i bought my first bed stuy brownstone ( 3 family 4 story with detail’s up the a$$ ) on hart st for 490 k .AMAZING what a diffrence 3 yrs make
Does The Pool at least look SEMI-attractive? You don’t have to answer that electricgreek. I’ve got a feeling you’re going to say no.
Re: the pricing, real estate in NY is nothing but insane.
Checked out those apts out in January. If I recall they are a little more upscale in details on par with most new developments but still kind of blah in that it’s nothing that you haven’t seen before. They’re not bad inside… stainless steel appliances I recall, and lux-looking bathrooms w/ modern looking fixtures. Also each condo has its thermostat to control heat. Layouts were fairly simple and modest in size. The duplexes (for first flo/basement) has its own entrance (those doors you see on sides of bldgs) and are kind of interesting (or problematic, depending how you feel) with those huge windows. At that time they showed me the roof (talk of a deck maybe). The Home Depot is within walking distance.
That said, the most interesting views are the front apts with view of the colorful pool. The other apts either have view of backyard with huge vent-looking things, the parking lot (east) or junky-commercial lot (west). Also, for a single gal like me, I wondered how desolate the area would be walking from Bedford-Nostrand train station at night (there’s a public school across street from pool, so it ‘s a big stretch of non-residential block). Personally it was affordable but just seemed too expensive for me for that area, and I like buildings with a little character.
You were able to get a peek at these puppies in January? I thought that this was the first open house. Did you get a move-in date?
These have been on the market since the fall. I saw them in November or maybe even October. They looked a little shoddy and real cheap to me. They’re affordable, but you get what you pay for.