Carter's Review

This handsome, new, 8-unit condo at 174 Jackson Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, features two duplex apartments with "rec" rooms that do not meet city standards as "habitable" space but also do not count as space in zoning, according to an article in the July 26, 2011 edition of The New York Times by Diane Cardwell.

"Not to be confused with common spaces open to all residents in apartment buildings, these are finished, underground rooms in ground-floor dwellings that the city does not consider habitable space. Sometimes they are carved out of the cellars of old brownstones, sometimes they are excavated from deep in the ground of new condominiums, but they often come with a garden or a patio and add valuable square footage at a discount," the article said.

"At 174 Jackson Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Grand Street Development created two first-floor duplexes with high-ceilinged 'rec' rooms below, offering access to private gardens. The larger of the two, a 1,245-square-foot one-bedroom, is on the market for $749,000. On the fourth floor, an 832-square-foot two-bedroom duplex with a terrace is on the market for $726,000, a comparable price but about $270 more per square foot," the article continued.

"You get the most bang for your buck with these kinds of apartments," said David Maundrell, president of Aptsandlofts.com, which is marketing the property on Jackson Street...Clifford Finn, director of new development marketing at Citi Habitats, said that the rec room could make a ground-floor apartment, which is often more difficult to sell, more desirable. 'It's one thing when you're in a brownstone and someone wants the first floor because it has the garden in the back - that s O.K.,' he said. 'But when you're in a high-rise-type building, being on the first floor for some people is a stigma, and it's harder to get premiums for first-floor apartments. So anything you can do to increase their marketability, even if it means giving them the rec room with it, it suddenly becomes a real value play for someone.'"

The article noted that "because these spaces are not legally intended for sleeping, they can have bathrooms no larger than 5 feet by 5 feet, and cannot have a shower or a tub."

The Buildings Department calls these spaces, which are 50 percent or more below grade, accessory, the article said, "on the theory that they are add-ons to the larger residential space upstairs, said Shahn Andersen, a developer who is active in converting Brooklyn brownstones to condos."

Converting warehouse buildings for use as family residences is challenging, declares the website for 174 Jackson Street, "so, we started from scratch." The four-story, red-brick building has very large, multi-paned, inset windows and on the top floor they are arched and one is taller than the other.

The apartments have walnut framed kitchen cabinets with white lacquer inset doors, Fisher & Paykel stainless steel refrigerators and stoves, Bosch dishwashers, Luce di Luna natural quartzite countertops, reclaimed Douglas-fir decorative beams and under cabinet lighting.

Bathrooms have deep soaking tubs, architectural lighting with recessed low voltage halogens, linen closets, crema bianco marble vanity tops, Toto Ecomax toilets and matte charcoal hexagon floor tiles.

The building has a roof deck, bicycle racks and self-storage units.

Christopher V. Papa was the architect for the project and the Meshberg Group designed the interiors.