Today in "WTF, New York real estate?!?" news: The Wall Street Journal reports that a five-story, 20-unit rental building on the corner of Orange and Hicks Streets in Brooklyn Heights is now for sale—as a $22 million single-family home. Yep, you read that right.
The building, which was previously owned by the Jehovah's Witnesses, was snapped up by Benchmark Real Estate Group in January; the firm, in turn, brought on The Renovated Home to turn the building into Brooklyn Heights's very own megamansion, complete with "four bedrooms, a gym, a wine cellar and a roof terrace." (Sure, why the hell not.)
Of course, there are a few complicating factors in this plan: According to StreetEasy, apartments in the building were rented out as recently as August—if we had to hazard a guess, tenants probably aren't going to be too keen on moving out before their leases are up to accommodate some wealthy person's vanity project. The building is also situated firmly within the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, and therefore any changes would have to go before the LPC.
This possible conversion is only slightly less ridiculous than the Low Mansion on nearby Pierrepont Place, which is still on the market for an astonishing $40 million—that historic home is configured as eight units, and is still waiting for the right rich buyer to snap it up. (Good luck with that.)
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