From a Former Babka Bakery Comes This Duplex Condo With the Original Timber Beams Intact

Like many loft buildings in Williamsburg, this one’s got a very interesting history behind it. 234 North 9th Street, which dates back to 1915, was once owned by Sophia Zablowski, a baker. She used the site as an industrial warehouse bakery to make her popular Polish babka cake. The building was converted to 11 apartments in 2007–it’s now known as the Sophia Lofts–and this one is on the market for $1.43 million. (To give you an idea of how pricy the neighborhood has become, this last sold in 2008 for $681,209.) The apartment still has many of the old warehouse details intact.

If you love that loft aesthetic, it’s hard to beat these original timber beams and columns, hardwood floors, exposed duct work and the steel doors and staircase railing. The owners have added some extra perks, like the built-in wall shelving in the living room. And it’s all under double-height ceilings.

The main floor of the apartment houses the open kitchen, living/dining room, and a half bathroom, and one floor down is the master bedroom. There’s a full wall of half-height closets on the bedroom floor, as well as a full bathroom. There’s even more storage on this floor underneath the staircase.

The building shares some roof deck space that looks like it lacks those Manhattan skyline views the neighborhood is famous for. (Although the location is good, three blocks from the Bedford L train and a short walk to McCarren Park.) If you’re wondering how much it costs to rent here, a similar lofty duplex –with plenty of exposed timber, too–recently hit the market for $5,500 a month.

[Listing: 234 North 9th Street, #1B by Erin Eber for Charles Rutenberg]

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Photos courtesy of Charles Rutenberg