Native Brooklynites Chuck and Cindy Nemser are a smart couple who eschewed moving to the suburbs in 1966. Instead, they shelled out $20,000 for a limestone townhouse on Park Slope's Montgomery Place. Almost five decades later that same homea 3,000-square-foot 5BR/2.5BA with 19th-century millwork, parquet floors, pockets of stained glass, and a back gardenis on the market for $4 million. The Nemsers, who don't consider themselves pioneers of gentrification despite the circumstances, decided to list 41 Montgomery this month and reminisce on the evolution of their neighborhood to the Daily News. When they bought, pickpockets were all too common on the block and it wasn't all too different from its roots as a home for "boardinghouses and street toughs," despite its architectural beauty. In fact, Brooklyn architectural historian Francis Morrone told the News, there's "no more beautiful rowhouse street in New York."
Picturesque Montgomery Place is no stranger to famous residentsand some ambitious asking prices. To put things in perspective, just a few doors down, No. 45 is asking a whopping $14 million after a "museum-quality" renovation. (The house's details are pretty lovely, though.) Also on the market nearby is 26 Montgomery, a five-story limestone mansion with a huge parlor, newly renovated baths, two roof decks, and an in-ground swimming pool in the garden ($5.8M). A comparable property, 52 Montgomery sold for $3.3 million in January of 2012. Given today's Brooklyn market craziness, is No. 41 worth $4M?
· Limestone Goldmine: Park Slope townhouse bought for $20,000 in 1966 now on the market for $4 million [NYDN]
· Listing: 41 Montgomery Place [Citi Habitats via StreetEasy]
· Park Slope House Asks $14M After 'Museum-Quality' Redo [Curbed]
· Brooklyn Townhouse Roundup archive [Curbed]
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