Photo credit: Rise Media, courtesy of The Corcoran Group

If this home looks like it’s an Italian villa, that’s because its owners added everything from marble window columns to hand-painted ceiling murals by artists flown in from Italy. According to the Wall Street Journal, Carmelo Giuffre, a Sicilian immigrant and the CEO of a group of 21 local auto dealerships, and his wife bought the Bay Ridge home in 1983 and completely decked it out in opulent finishes and ornate furnishings. In addition to the 10,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom home, there’s a 50-foot pool with a water slide, a full outdoor kitchen and bar, and landscaped grounds that include a fountain and gazebo. The amazing property has just come back on the market asking $11,200,000 (h/t CityRealty).

Take the tour

Photo credit: Allyson Lubow courtesy of The Corcoran Group.

The facade of the new-construction condo building at 9907 Third Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, with its red brick and arched factory windows, could just as easily be in Dumbo. The loft aesthetic (minus the double-height ceilings and actual factory pedigree) carries through to the interior of this $939,000 third-floor home just a block from Shore Road and Parkway and New York Harbor. The 12-unit building was designed by Elizabeth McDonald, who, according to the listing, is known for her modern aesthetic and high-end interiors in Tribeca. The two-bedroom unit has an elevator landing that opens right into the open-plan living space, a designer kitchen, Siberian oak floors, and nine-foot ceilings.

Bay Ridge condo/loft tour, this way

Image credit: VHT courtesy of The Corcoran Group

Tucked into a verdant strip of southwest Brooklyn overlooking Shore Road Park, a block from New York Harbor with stunning vistas of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from the street, this compact studio at 9902 Third Avenue is asking a relatively reasonably $250,000. In addition to bridge views, the Bay Ridge/Hamilton Parkway street is lined with pre-war co-ops and quaint two-story free-standing homes.

See more, this way

Photo by Alyson Lubow, courtesy of The Corcoran Group.

If you’re a doctor, dentist or therapist, this Federal-style Bay Ridge home at 7600 Ridge Boulevard, asking $3.95 million, could make your daily commute a whole lot shorter, as the house is anchored by a medical professional’s office at ground level. Even if there’s no doctor in your house, there’s income to be made on the space–along with the self-contained guest suite over the home’s two-car garage. And you’ve still got a 6,000-square-foot Brooklyn mansion on a corner lot loaded with lovely decorative details and plenty of possibilities for living.

House tour, this way

Photo: NYC Department of Records courtesy of Urban Archive.

A scavenger hunt can be a great way to get to know a new neighborhood–or discover things about its history that you might never have learned. Join Urban Archive, the Historic Districts Council, and the New York City Department of Records for a scavenger hunt using the Urban Archive app in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn on Sunday, October 6th.

Start hunting, this way

Courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission

Bay Ridge has gained its first historic district. The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted on Tuesday to landmark an area in the Brooklyn neighborhood along Bay Ridge Parkway between 4th and 5th Avenues. Dubbed Doctors’ Row due to its historic and current demographics, the district consists of one block of 54 architecturally consistent row houses. LPC Chair Sarah Carroll said after surveying Bay Ridge, the commission found that this particular block “really does stand out in the neighborhood in terms of high-quality architecture and consistency.”

A first for Bay Ridge

Image courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission

Bay Ridge residents and elected officials voiced their support for the neighborhood’s first historic district during a Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing Tuesday. The commission voted in March to calendar the proposed Brooklyn district, known as the Bay Ridge Parkway Doctors’ Row Historic District. Comprised of 54 architecturally consistent row houses along Bay Ridge Parkway between 4th and 5th Avenues, the district includes a row of limestone-fronted houses–referred to as Doctors’ Row based on both its historic and current residential demographics. This block reflects the neighborhood’s growth from a suburban resort community to an urban neighborhood ahead of the opening of the 4th Avenue Subway line in the early 20th century.

Making the case for historic Bay Ridge, this way

Image courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted today to calendar the Bay Ridge Parkway Doctors’ Row Historic District in the first formal step toward designation. The proposed district is comprised of 54 architecturally consistent row houses along Bay Ridge Parkway between 4th and 5th Avenues in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge neighborhood. The row of limestone-fronted houses–referred to as Doctors’ Row based on both its historic and current residential demographics–is a distinguished example of the neighborhood’s growth from a suburban resort community to an urban neighborhood ahead of the 4th Avenue Subway line in the early 20th century.

More about the neighborhood, this way

A four-bedroom Bay Ridge home hit the market this week for $1.35 million. The chic row house at 229 87th Street perfectly blends old and new, mixing pre-war styles with modern upgrades. The coffered ceilings, skylights, restored hardware floors, batten paneling, and original built-in cabinets are enough to make any New Yorker seriously consider moving to the South Brooklyn neighborhood. The less-dense area often allows homes to have real backyards, and this property, which also comes with a spacious deck, is no exception.

See it here