The Plan: At the Windsor in Brooklyn’s Windsor Terrace, Assume Nothing – Commercial Observer
Windsor Terrace is a modest little neighborhood in southwest Brooklyn, perfectly situated a stone’s throw from Prospect Park, and an ideal location for a condominium development designed to entice families and individuals looking for unassuming luxury.
Enter the Windsor at 23 Ocean Parkway, a red-brick building that is set back from the curb along a tranquil, tree-lined street, something Angely Rangel, sales director at Aguayo & Associates, the firm leading sales at the building, said is a huge draw for buyers.
“A lot of the interest that we’re getting for the project, and the buyers that we’re getting, are actually local to the neighborhood,” Rangel said. “They want to stay in the area because they say that it’s a very peaceful area. But it’s almost like their little secret because where they actually live is very quiet, but it is just a couple of blocks to one stop away from all these amazing restaurants, cocktail bars and shopping.”
The building, developed by Local Development Group, offers buyers 98 condominiums from studios to three-bedrooms ranging in price from $525,000 to $1.67 million, as well as 33 rental units designated as affordable housing under the state’s old 421-a tax abatement program.
When developing the Windsor, which launched sales in June, Local Development Group wanted to ensure the new building didn’t stand out within the classic neighborhood, but rather fit in with the area’s aesthetic.
“We wanted to keep the character of the neighborhood the way it is today,” Abraham Leifer, CEO of Local Development Group, said. “If you go down to that particular neighborhood, you’re not going to see a lot of new developments there, or fancy, glitzy buildings. We tried to conform with the neighborhood’s look.”
Leifer said the last thing the firm wanted to do was put up a huge, obnoxious-looking building that didn’t fit in with the classic character of the area.
“It shouldn’t feel like we are invaders to this neighborhood,” he said. “We’re here to help out the neighborhood, rather than to gentrify the neighborhood by bringing in this fancy, gaudy building.”
But just because the outside of the building is simple and elegant doesn’t mean the inside can’t offer residents a slice of luxury.
The Windsor offers 18,000 square feet of interconnected, WiFi-enabled indoor and outdoor amenity spaces that include a pet spa, a movie room, a work-from-home suite, a gym and a children’s playroom, as well as a game lounge featuring billiards, ping-pong and shuffleboard (call it an adults’ playroom).
The residences feature 9-foot ceilings and oversize casement windows for an abundance of natural light, as well as wide-plank white oak flooring and buffed-stone countertops. About half the condos include private outdoor space, and all the bathrooms in the condos have heated floors.
“Our interiors are timeless,” Leifer said. “We’re using natural stone, we’re using a lot of natural wood, and warm colors to give it that timeless and warm feeling, versus an intrusion.”
The team behind the Windsor expects to receive the temporary certificate of occupancy sometime in the next four to five weeks — as of publication — and move-ins are expected to begin in October.
Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com
