It's finally arrived. The big marketing push and open houses for
Ocean on the Park the CONDO from Prudential Douglas Elliman, located conspicuously adjacent to the actual "Ocean on the Park" historic district that locals worked so hard to achieve, thus preventing more selling of old limestones to developers. While we can certainly understand neighbors longtime distaste for the project and the way it usurped the name, I gotta say it ain't as bad as I had feared. A friend in the "biz" recently noted that it's proportions are generally in keeping with the block, and it doesn't embarrass itself in the ways common to most new construction. There are, for instance, no Fedders air conditioners or curb cuts. Let's hope our new neighbors are sweet, generous, open a new coffee shop, and/or can quickly become part of the great patchwork quilt known as...known as...Prospect Park East?
11 comments:
Although I wish the thing had never been built, I must admit that, with the scaffolding down, it looks much better than I ever imagined. For the sake of our neighborhood I hope the building is occupied quickly and that the construction doesn't turn out to be so shoddy that it starts to self-destruct in a few years.
That's my fear (shoddy construction) - as it is with most new buildings, but having watched this one go up I'm especially concerned.
Also, isn't floating island a dessert? I think they're usually just called islands in kitchens - unless, of course, these are actually levitating, which would be interesting to see!
I live in the co-op this thing has attached itself to like a lamprey. I agree it's not as bad looking as expected, but having seen it every day that looks like some cruddy construction. The north side, that which looks onto our building, is clad in corrugated tin! What is this thing, a barn?
Could've been worse!
-Paul
I don't have much to add about the building but I would LOVE to have a name for our neighborhood. I live on Ocean between Woodruff and Parkside and am tired of saying "the southeast corner of the park" or "not quite PLG, not quite Flatbush." So I'm in favor of PPE.
sK,
Prospect Park East was one of the names used by real estate interests in the late 1890s--early 20th Centuryto describe what is now Lefferts Manor (the other being "the Lefferts Estate"). Since we adopted the name "Lefferts Manor"in 1919 "Prospect Park East" is up for grabs. I say go for it--it's a classy sounding name!
It's not terrible. Let's hope it sells out faster than 59 Hawthorne.
I ditto Paul's and Bab's comments completely. What it looks like now, is one thing. (Yes, it could have been worse). What it looked like, day by day, as the thing was going up is another. (That's the worse).
Given everything this developer has done from the day he purchased the building from allegedly claiming the buy was for his own family and he just wanted to reno the original structure for personal use, to demoing that original historic structure in order to erect a modern finger, to prompting several stop work orders during the course of construction, to hijacking the name of the HD in order to hawk his apartments -- well, to put it mildly, I'm not favorably impressed. At the same time, what's done is done. So I can only hope that the people who come to live in the building are great folk who bring good vibes to the block and nabe and who don't get taken by what has looked like shoddy construction all along.
Alas, in any neighborhood with any owner or developer you'll see shoddy construction nowadays on new condos. I saw worse than this even in prime Park Slope when we were looking years ago which is what drove us to get a house for the same money as a larger condo. As for looks this looks good. I like the design choices. Neutral and modern without being cold. The floor to ceiling windows are amazing in that park-side setting. The kitchen isn't bad. The open layout and island is what many folks want.
sK and Bob,
The condo building on Ocean Ave between Parkside and Woodruf is named Prospect Park East, so I guess it is possible to use this name for the southeast corner of the park.
By the way I would really love if people living on Ocean Ave would proudly say: "I live on Ocean Ave", as I find this avenue really beautiful with an amazing architecture for several blocks going south from its northernmost point.
Karkade, I'm one who's proud to say I live on Ocean Avenue. Have been saying that with pride for a near quarter century now --even going back to the '80's when my family first moved here and Ocean was regarded as the wild,wild west of PLG. :-) But these days, I'm saying I live on "the other side of the tracks" with a pride that is growing. For the most part, winds of positive change are blowing all up and down Ocean Ave.
Let's put the modern invasion of #185 to the side for the minute. Perhaps the bigger, yet untold story, is that of how we're seeing many of the owners of these beautiful old apartment buildings on Ocean staring to make long-awaited improvements to their long-neglected properties. Plus, construction of the park's Lakeside Center project is in full motion. What do you think is gonna happen with the demand for apartments in these buildings once it's completed? Look out! Slowly, but surely, and even in these down times, Ocean is headed for an upswing.
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