By Orlando Lee Rodriguez
If you have not visited in a while, 4th Avenue, the thoroughfare that serves as the border between Park Slope and Gowanus, may be a bit unrecognizable.
Gone is the industrial, tree-barren and somewhat desolate character that once defined this upper stretch, from Flatbush Avenue to the Prospect Expressway.
Gone are most of the sparse walk-up tenements and swath of car repair shops.
In their place are sleek, new condo buildings, restaurants, boutique retail and actual evening foot traffic.
With residential development now coming to the banks of the Gowanas Canal and a number of hotels already in the area, 4th Avenue no longer represents the end of Park Slope, but the beginning of one Brooklyn’s newest and up-and-coming neighborhoods.
Sitting at this residential crossroads is 202 8th Street, a CetraRuddy designed rental building developed by the team of JDS Development and Property Markets Group, the same team responsible for the magnificent Walker Tower in Chelsea.
Just because it’s in Brooklyn and a rental, doesn’t mean the property skimps on amenities typical to Manhattan.
202 8th Street has a full-time doorman, fitness center, common areas and storage spaces.
Where it differs from Manhattan is the quiet that is found, for one, even in the daytime, and a quality normally not associated with rentals.
“What differentiates us from a lot of what’s out there are the finishes,” said Steve Laurelli, managing director of on-site
sales for aptsandlofts.com, the brokerages marketing the units.
“These finishes are above and beyond anything that is normally found in a rental building. You don’t get these custom cabinets. You don’t get these high-end finishes, in addition to all of the amenity spaces that we have in the building.”
The building boasts three outdoor spaces, two on the ground floor, with one functioning as a private entrance to the property.
The ground floor common spaces adjacent to the fitness center have a garden area, benches, lounge chairs, a kitchenette and a fireplace.
The rooftop deck offers 360 degree unobstructed views of Prospect Park, Downtown Brooklyn, the Manhattan skyline and New York Harbor.
Units are open, loft-style and have double-paned windows to keep out the minimal neighborhood noise.
Lightly colored stained oak floors make the apartments seem even brighter. Island kitchens have Scavolini cabinets, Italian marble countertops, Liebherr / Blomberg refrigerators, Electrolux ranges, Bosch dishwashers, Sharp microwave drawers and Moen fixtures. Bathrooms have Duravit sinks, Kohler toilets and auxiliary heaters.
Heat and air conditioner temperatures can be isolated and controlled separately from every room.
Each unit has a Bosch washer and dryer with three additional industrial size machines available for all tenants in the basement.
For those who have groceries delivered, there are refrigerated units available in the lobby to keep those perishables fresh until you get home.
Available units, which run anywhere from $5,000 to $9,000 a month, with concessions, are from 1,166 to 1,650 s/f, many with large outdoor spaces.
For example, a 1,600 s/f one bedroom, two bathroom duplex with balconies on each floor is available for $5,640 per month with two months free rent.
Leases run either one or two years and are rent stabilized.
Those thinking that Brooklyn may be just a little too far from the city should consider that the bars of Ludlow Street are only six stops away and the shopping of SoHo, eight stops.
“One of the big points for this building that helped us was that we have three trains right on the corner. We are right here with the R,G and F trains,” said Laurelli. “So people coming here can be in midtown Manhattan in a half hour.”
