Two four-story apartment buildings could replace vinyl-clad wood frames at 1135-1137 St Marks Avenue, between Schenectady and Utica Avenues in eastern Crown Heights.
These two buildings likely date back to at least the 1880s, if not earlier, because this part of the neighborhood was first settled in 1838 by black longshoreman James Weeks. Weeksville became one of the first free black communities on the East Coast, and its boundaries—which stretched from Troy to Ralph Avenues between Fulton and Empire Boulevard—still contain some of Crown Heights’ oldest homes.
But as property values in Crown Heights skyrocket, more investors have moved in to buy up aging houses like these two. Thus, applications have been filed for two eight-unit buildings with 5,620 square feet of residential space a piece.
The average apartment will be sized at 700 square feet, and the developer confirms that they’ll be rentals. Each building will have two apartments per floor and a cellar. No parking is included, and the apartments were likely split into separate buildings to the duck the zoning code’s parking requirements. (One 16-unit building would require 8 parking spots, but two eight-unit buildings don’t require any parking.)
The developer is Aaron Lebovitz of Park Developers, and engineer Yaakov Stern will handle the design, according to permits. An LLC picked up both properties in December for a combined $1,275,000, or roughly $100 per buildable square foot. Demolition permits have not yet been filed for the two homes, which sit on separate lots that add up to 5,000 square feet.
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