This very pleasant duplex for rent in a Crown Heights brownstone may well exemplify the recent astonishing run-up in rents we have been hearing so much about lately — nationally as well as in Brooklyn. Regardless of the ticket, though, there’s no denying it’s a beauty with plenty of space and convenient modern updates.
The address is 680 Park Place, one of a row constructed circa 1904 by builder E H Bishop & Son. A Brooklyn Daily Eagle article from that year relates that high materials costs and labor troubles didn’t impede the development, and No. 680, built as a two-family, sold to an investor that year.
At some point in its history, the original configuration was flipped so the duplex occupies the top two floors of the three-story house rather than the bottom two, a more convenient and spacious arrangement. The entry and double parlor have a good amount of never-painted woodwork, a hall tree, fancy plasterwork, two screens (one with stained glass) and a pier mirror.
A modern kitchen with Ikea lacquer cabinets, dishwasher and green glass tile backsplash has been inserted into the rear, where a door leads out to a deck with stairs down to the garden. There is room for a dining table in front of the bay window overlooking the backyard.
Upstairs, an original five-room apartment now serves as the bedroom floor. Traces of bead board wainscoting remain in the original side kitchen, now a small bedroom.
The two largest bedrooms both have bay windows and Colonial Revival-style wood mantels with original mottled tile. The front bedroom is open to another room that could work as a sitting room, closet or office, and another small bedroom sits over the front door.
Each level has a full bathroom, one with a tub and one with a step-in shower. Both have been modernized with white subway tile, gray floor tile and Ikea fixtures. There is a washer/dryer, and original wood floors run throughout the unit.
Listed by Betty Jane Walsh of Compass, it’s having an open house this Saturday from 1 to 2 p.m.
Not too long ago, a townhouse duplex in central Brooklyn might have rented for roughly $2,000 per floor, plus more for luxurious extras. (Way back in 2014, this one was asking $4,000.) Keeping in mind the duplex comes with a deck and garden, although no central air, do you think the ask of $7,500 a month sounds about right?
[Listing: 680 Park Place #2 | Broker: Compass] GMAP
The house in 2021. Photo by Nicholas Strini for PropertyShark
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