Landmark Brooklyn Mansion to Be Auctioned October 22
(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 16, 2006 ) Brooklyn, NY -- Generating considerable buzz within city limits and beyond, a rare Brooklyn real estate opportunity will hit the auction block on Sunday, October 22.
A jewel in the crown of the Stuyvesant Heights landmark district, the picturesque limestone mansion at 404 Stuyvesant Avenue is the quintessential example of New York City’s late nineteenth-century Renaissance-style architecture. To wit, this residence alone was selected to represent Bedford-Stuyvesant’s ubiquitous brownstones in Charles Lockwood’s acclaimed study of New York row house architecture, “Bricks and Brownstone” (1972, Rizzoli).
Originally owned by the architect who built it in 1879, the three-story home experienced its first transfer of ownership in 1938, to political activist Albertha Matthews. A member of the first graduating class of African American nurses at Harlem Hospital, Matthews was also influential in the development of the Stuyvesant Heights area and served as head of the block association for many years.
According to Matthews’ grandson, Kyle Hodges, she opened her stately home to fellow Brooklynite political leaders of the time, including Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman ever elected to Congress (1968) and a contender for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination. Also frequent visitors to the mansion were J. Daniel Diggs, a 1956 Brooklyn 10th District delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and Bertram Baker, a New York State Assemblyman from 1949-1970.
Although Matthews’ political activism reached the national arena, she continued to work tirelessly to preserve her own beloved Brooklyn neighborhood. A plaque in nearby Fulton Street Park fittingly dedicates the communal space to her, paying tribute to her role in ensuring its renovation and restoration. Matthews’s lobbying efforts were also instrumental in the 1971 granting of landmark status to the Stuyvesant Heights Historic District.
Following Matthews’ death in 1991, ownership of the residence transferred to Hodges. A resident of Long Island, Hodges maintained the building as a rental property for several years, keeping virtually all of the original architecture intact. After exploring a number of options, Hodges decided to sell his property at auction through auctioneer/brokers Absolute Auctions & Realty (AAR) of Pleasant Valley, N.Y.
Hodges’ selling method has raised eyebrows, generating questions about why a property owner would choose auction over private treaty real estate. However, upon reviewing the standard agreement used by most auctioneers, the appeal to sellers becomes clear: the auction method allows for a no-contingencies, no-commission sale that brings all of the interested buyers together at one time to compete. Other benefits include complete seller control over the showing schedule and auction date, and a shorter timeframe between the sale and the closing than typically experienced with private treaty real estate transactions.
Also to Hodges’ advantage is the mansion’s strong appeal to potential brownstone buyers. Beautifully appointed and well-preserved, the mansion would be quite a prize for anyone in the market for an authentic New York row house. The carvings and moldings alone will entice architectural purists to throw their hats in the ring. Add in the exciting element of auction, states Robert Doyle, AAR’s principal auctioneer, and “the prospect of buying this home for fair market value in an open forum will be a hard opportunity to ignore.”
Original features sure to up the ante include exceptional limestone detailing on the street-side façade, parquet floors, stained glass windows, elegant fireplace surrounds, and a grand entryway with graceful high ceilings. Other key selling points include close proximity to public transportation and the peaceful tree-lined atmosphere of a semi-suburban neighborhood. To sweeten the deal for buyers, the auction format invites their active participation in setting the price for the sale. This arrangement is more than a little appealing, since it eliminates the guesswork and waiting game usually involved in submitting a blind offer to the seller.
AAR will hold the auction onsite at 404 Stuyvesant Avenue at 2:22 p.m. Though the event will be free of charge to the public, only pre-registered attendees will be eligible to bid.
Published by ASMarketingCenter.com a division of http://www.auctionservices.com and the http://www.nationalauctionlist.com.
Contact:
Christine Fitzgerald
Public Relations Director
Absolute Auctions & Realty, Inc.
(845) 635-3169 x104
info@absoluteauctionrealty.com
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