What to know about buying in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, where there's a variety of housing styles but listings are scarce
A renovated six-bedroom, four-bath 1910 brick townhouse on a corner lot offers a conservatory, backyard, and original details. The legal two family is asking $3.999 million.
The diminutive central Brooklyn community of Windsor Terrace, where scenes from the movies "Dog Day Afternoon" and "The Amazing Spider-Man" were filmed, is a Park Slope alternative with a howdy-neighbor, small-town feel.
Only nine blocks long, the largely residential community—is the place to move for a placid pace. Its residents are fiercely protective of the area's Norman Rockwell character and have successfully rallied to derail big-box development.
In this week’s Buy Curious, Charles Olson, a broker with Keller Williams Realty Empire, and Carolyn Cedar, an associate broker and leader of The Carolyn Cedar Team at Compass, give us the inside story on Windsor Terrace.
The question:
At one point people were moving from Park Slope to Windsor Terrace to save money. Is it still less expensive?
The reality:
“It is less expensive, and you get more for your dollar—you get a nicer house and a larger backyard,” Olson says.
Where is it?
The Prospect Expressway runs through the neighborhood, which is bounded by Kensington on the south, Green-Wood Cemetery on the west, the South Slope on the north, and Prospect Park on the east.
Why would NYers want to move to Windsor Terrace?
It’s a very congenial and quiet neighborhood, Olson says, adding that “the best line I’ve ever heard is that it’s like Park Slope only less pretentious. There are neighborhood bars, parks, only two chain stores—Walgreens and Dunkin’ Donuts—and people leave books and tools and other items outside on their stoops and they are scooped up by people passing by.”
He adds that you never have to leave the neighborhood because it has everything you need, but if you do, it’s easy to get to the major expressways and parkways.
According to Cedar, Windsor Terrace’s community spirit, friendly atmosphere, bucolic tree-lined streets, proximity to Prospect Park and Green-Wood Cemetery, and its small specialty stores are the main attractions.
Where in Windsor Terrace should you live?
Although there are no named subsections in Windsor Terrace, Olson says that residents do refer to two areas: the park side, where property values are higher, and the cemetery side.
What are housing and pricing like?
The community is defined by one- and two-family attached and detached houses. In addition to limestones, brownstones, and brick houses, there are some frame houses.
“It doesn’t look like Park Slope,” Cedar says. “The housing stock is more varied.”
Inventory is scarce: There are only 28 single-family houses, condos, and co-ops on the market in Windsor Terrace, according to StreetEasy.
Although the recent bidding wars are dissipating, Olson says that prices are holding steady, so “it’s a good time for buyers and for sellers.”
The average price of a one-family house is $2.059 million, and two families average $2.47 million, according to Olson.
Condo prices average $800,000 for a one bedroom, $1.1 million for a two bedroom, and $1.4 million for a three bedroom. Two-bedroom co-ops average $962,000, and three bedrooms average $1.28 million, according to Olson, who says there’s no recent data on one-bedroom prices.
Rentals, which can be in two-family houses or in condo or apartment buildings, average $1,995 to $3,800 per month for a one-bedroom unit, $2,800 to $4,950 for a two bedroom, and $5,500 to $8,000 for a three bedroom.
Is there a lot of new development?
There are not many new housing developments, Olson says, “because there’s no place left to build.”
What’s the transportation situation?
In addition to the F and G trains, the local buses B61, B67, B68, and B69 run through the neighborhood as do several express buses.
What is there to do?
Prospect Park, which covers more than 500 acres, is a major draw. It has a zoo, bandshell, carousel, athletic fields and LeFrak Center at Lakeside—where there are two ice skating rinks (one becomes a roller skating rink in summer, the other a "splash pad" for young children.)
Green-Wood Cemetery, which offers tombstone trolley tours, is “lovely and quiet and a good place for walking,” Cedar says.
The neighborhood makes a big deal about Halloween, and the houses on Windsor Place from Prospect Park West to 11th Avenue and their intersecting streets are decorated to the hilt. “People go from stoop to stoop to get treats,” Olson says.
What’s the restaurant/nightlife situation?
Farrell’s Bar & Grill, established in 1933, is perhaps the community’s most famous gathering spot. Despite its name, it doesn’t serve food, but everyone goes there after the annual five-mile Thanksgiving Turkey Trot in Prospect Park, Olson says.
Other popular places include Bedawi Café, offering a taste of the Middle East; the new Syrian Korean takeout SYKO; Krupa Grocery for American fare; the casual Mexican joint Elora’s; Le Paddock, which serves not only French food but also brick-oven pizza; the diner Windsor Café; Terrace Bagels, whose products are hand rolled; East Wind Snack Shop, known for its dumplings; the retro Betty Bakery, where gourmet Twinkies reign; Double Windsor, a craft-beer bar that also serves food; and The Adirondack, which serves craft beers, wine, and some food.
In addition, there's Terrace Coffee Shop; Poetica Coffee; Steeplechase Coffee; and the Israeli-inspired pita and smoothies bar Batata.
How about grocery stores?
Windsor Farms Market is the main supermarket. Other options include Prospect Market, several bodegas, and United Meat Market, an Italian butcher and deli.
Many residents also shop at Foodtown, which is just over the border in Kensington.
Check out these listings in Windsor Terrace.
176 Seeley St., #8F
This corner co-op, in a prewar building, is listed for $1.1 million. It’s a sponsor apartment so no board approval is required. The completely renovated unit has two bedrooms, a spa-style marble bathroom with a shower and soaking tub, an open kitchen, hardwood floors, and a large living room. The 55-unit, six-story building, which dates to 1938, has a common area, laundry room, and live-in super.
277 Windsor Place
Listed for $3.999 million, this completely renovated two-story 1910 brick townhouse sits on a corner lot. It has six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a conservatory, central air conditioning, solar panels, and a multitude of original details, including fireplaces, a built-in buffet, mahogany pocket doors, and fretwork ornamentation. The 20-foot-wide house is a legal two family being used as a one-family.
413 Vanderbilt St.
Being sold “as is,” this two-story 1910 brick townhouse has six bedrooms, two bathrooms, wood floors, skylights, and high ceilings. Currently configured as two two-bedroom apartments, it can be converted to an owner’s triplex that includes the basement and a single apartment. It is listed for $2.249 million.
1195 Prospect Ave.
This three-story, three-family brick house, built in 1970, has been completely renovated and is listed for $2.95 million. The 3,400-square-foot building has six bedrooms and four bathrooms. Main features include a garage, driveway, balcony, front yard, and backyard with a patio. It can be converted to a two-family residence.
186 East 5th St.
Built in 1905, this two-story, two-family semi-detached clapboard house is listed for $1.5 million and is being sold "as is." It has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a renovated deck, and new fence in the backyard.
Nancy A. Ruhling is a freelance writer based in New York City.
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