Kensington

Everyone can have their own room in this charming $2M Brooklyn house with parking and a yard

Photo credit: Allyson Lubow Photography

January 6, 2023

Everyone can have their own room in this charming $2M Brooklyn house with parking and a yard

For just under $2 million–$1,995,000, to be exact–this detached house at 525 East 3rd Street in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn has plenty of room for family and friends, plus a deck, a front porch and a spacious yard and parking for three cars. The four-bedroom Victorian home is sun-filled and bright, with original details like heart-of-pine floors, stained glass windows, and ceiling medallions and moldings.
Come on in

Distinctive Homes

Photo credit: Al Seidman, VHT for The Corcoran Group

March 28, 2022

For $985K, this Windsor Terrace co-op offers three bedrooms, Deco details, and Prospect Park proximity

By Michelle Cohen

In an Art Deco building surrounded by gardens, steps from Prospect Park, this sprawling co-op at 71 Ocean Parkway is officially a two-bedroom, but a gracious layout allows for a third. Asking $985,000, this classic parkside pre-war pad also offers lots of closet space, custom built-ins, and modern renovations for a turnkey move-in experience.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

$599,000 Kensington co-op gets plenty of light for your plant collection

Photo credit: Christophe Tedjasukmana for The Corcoran Group

May 22, 2020

$599,000 Kensington co-op gets plenty of light for your plant collection

By Dana Schulz

Kensington tends to be an overlooked neighborhood, but it's close to Green-Wood Cemetery and the southeastern end of Prospect Park, and this building at 350 Ocean Parkway is also right near all the shops and restaurants on Cortelyou Road and Church Avenue. Plus, the price is most certainly right for this $599,000 co-op. The listing says it's one-and-a-half bedrooms, but the second room is still plenty bright and big. And speaking of bright, the unit gets natural light from three exposures, perfect for this lovely plant collection.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

June 5, 2019

This loft-like Kensington townhouse with ground floor commercial space seeks $1.5M

By Michelle Cohen

Located in laid-back Kensington just a few blocks south of Prospect Park, this two-story building at 711 Church Avenue is neither a typical loft nor townhouse. The 2,590-square-foot building, asking $1.495M, may be compact, but it's full of opportunities. The building's ground floor is a commercial space perfect for an artist (it was formerly being used as a studio and gallery), doctor, dentist or retail shop and a great source of rental income. Upstairs the residential space is a chic, loft-like home.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

October 8, 2018

For $1.7M this designer-renovated Kensington townhouse is a gorgeous condo alternative

By Michelle Cohen

Located on a tree-lined block in Brooklyn's Kensington neighborhood at 214 East 9th Street, a short walk from Prospect Park and near the Beverley Road Q subway, this single-family townhouse is the picture of considered design. Framed by turn-of-the-century bones, the home's four floors–including the fully-finished basement–have been given a modern renovation that's as livable as it is pretty. The four-bedroom house is for sale by its owners–professional designer/developers who have lived in the home since purchasing it in 2015 for $780,000.
Take a look at what good design can do

Distinctive Homes

May 15, 2018

Bright interiors and a condo-equivalent price make this $1.5M Kensington townhouse a must-see

By Michelle Cohen

With a pale Scandinavian vibe and sunlight around every corner, this modestly-sized single-family home at 268 East 9th Street in Kensington has been thoughtfully renovated for modern life. Three exposures, a skylight, a quaint–and rare–front porch and a large fenced backyard add to the country-in-the-city feeling.
Take the townhouse tour

Distinctive Homes

May 12, 2016

A Mini-Solarium Brings Serious Sunlight to This $835K Kensington Apartment

By Emily Nonko

It's not everyday you find a condo apartment with its own solarium—especially in the quiet, suburban-like neighborhood of Kensington, Brooklyn. This is the top floor apartment at 734 East 5th Street, an eight-unit, four-story development built in 2005. A wall of complete glass lines the east end of the apartment, creating a small solarium above the dining area. It leads out onto a patio, which isn't even the only outdoor option in this sun-flooded space.
See all the outdoor spaces

Distinctive Homes

January 18, 2016

Get More Bang for Your Buck With This $1.6M Kensington Townhouse

By Emily Nonko

You might call Kensington an "under-the-radar" neighborhood of Brooklyn–it doesn't get a lot of press coverage, it isn't known for any of Brooklyn's famous brownstone architecture, and it only covers 107 square blocks a little further south in the borough. But it's still a lovely, family-friendly area with great townhouses and proximity to both Prospect Park and Green-Wood Cemetery. This three-story townhouse at 277 East 9th Street has been totally and completely renovated by a "boutique developer" who, according to the listing, "spared no expense." The ask of $1.575 million obviously isn't cheap, but you're definitely getting more bang for your buck in a borough where townhouses that need major upgrading still go for up to $2 million. Here, at least, there are no renovations needed.
See the interior

Distinctive Homes

September 23, 2014

City Kids: Why Parents Pick City Living Over the Suburbs

By Michelle Cohen

The 'American Dream' may have dominated the last few decades, causing a mass exodus to the suburbs, but today's families are reversing the trend and turning their attention back to the city. The reasons are many: An appreciation for cultural offerings, the camaraderie and creative cross-pollination of networks of colleagues, friends and family, the convenience of being able to walk or bike to school, work or child care without a long commute—just to name a few. New York City has always been a haven for the forward-thinking, albeit a challenging one. And its newly-”discovered” outer boroughs as well as an unprecedentedly low crime rate have made the city a prime choice for family living. But what is it about those city kids—the ones with parents who planned from the start to raise their kids in a non-stop urban environment? We interrupted the busy schedules of five families currently raising school-age (or soon-to-be) children in New York City's many diverse and multifaceted neighborhoods to get some insight about why they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Hear what five parents of city kids have to say