Today's moment of real estate gawking: 140 Grand Street in Albany, an updated row house -- and former Italian social club (map).
It's 2,880 square feet with 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a rental unit in the basement. And because it was a former social club, there's bar downstairs. List price: $179,900. That first link has a lot of photos.
[via @ajw93]
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Comments
This beautiful house is a stone's throw from the Radix Center! The old speakeasy in the basement is super cool.
... said Stacy Pettigrew on May 7, 2013 at 7:48 PM | link
Uggh, too bad Grand Street is one of the deadliest streets in Albany.
... said Ron on May 8, 2013 at 11:12 AM | link
@ron. Your take on Grand Street's safety is shared amongst many. Thanks for that though, it keeps property values down so that these little gems exist.
... said jakibyard on May 8, 2013 at 12:56 PM | link
@jakibyard I owned and lived in a two family on Philip Street. I know the neighborhood well. The day I closed on my house around 2000 a pregnant woman was shot in the shoulder a block from my home.
... said Ron on May 8, 2013 at 2:30 PM | link
@jakibyard: I was about to say, the price isn't bad at all. I was wondering what the catch was. "deadliest streets", what a subtle hyperbole.
... said -S on May 8, 2013 at 2:33 PM | link
@ron That was back in 2000. Is it still like that there? I don't know the area. That place looks beautiful.
... said Dan R on May 8, 2013 at 3:01 PM | link
There are 24 registered sex offenders within a .25 mile radius of 140 Grand street.
http://goo.gl/RwA9q
Link has been shortened
... said Ron on May 8, 2013 at 3:19 PM | link
The neighborhood is usually fine, it has it's interesting moments like any city neighborhood in Albany. It gets a worse rep than it deserves, but it does have some off years (the summer of 2011 was bumpy). Definitely better than in 2000 though! It was a lot rougher then. I have lived in the neighborhood/Grand St. for almost 15 years and happily raised my kids there. The block that house is on is quiet compared to the northern end of Grand St. though. Lots of families, more home ownership or long term renters, parks, etc. The prices in our neighborhood are absolutely affected by the reputation.
... said -K on May 8, 2013 at 3:27 PM | link
@Ron
Yeah, with the mission and two half-way houses in the area, the number of offenders is higher than some other neighborhoods in Albany. The only difference is that these guys aren't living on their own and have to report back to their center at dark, but it is still a problem that neighbors have been asking the city to deal with. Hopefully that will start to change soon!
But, a quick search of very desirable zip codes like Pine Hills shows anywhere from 7 to 15 offenders, depending on the address you type in. Albany in general has a very high number of offenders compared to other cities nationally of its size.
... said -K on May 8, 2013 at 3:37 PM | link
I dreamed that the part of the city, in the shadow of the Governor's Mansion, would be similar to Boston's Beacon Hill. The properties are absolutely amazing.
... said Ron on May 8, 2013 at 4:03 PM | link
@Ron
Someday :) For now, it isn't perfect but it's a pretty nice place to live most of the time! The houses are unbelievable! It sure gets better each year thanks to caring residents and local community groups.
... said -K on May 8, 2013 at 4:17 PM | link
I used to rent a place near Grand St. in what I would say is the same neighborhood. I would say that the vast majority of the time, I felt safe there. However, I would not feel comfortable raising a family there, and I was definitely paranoid about making sure doors and windows were locked. I think there is HUGE potential for this to be a great, livable, safe neighborhood, but it will take time to change people's perceptions. Unfortunately, drugs and crimes are common in all parts of Albany, but other neighborhoods do a better job of "hiding" it, or not letting it be the focus of their reputation. The pros of this neighborhood are that it's convenient to downtown (great if you work there, like I did), and rent/housing is cheap. Cons are noise, (potential or perceived) crime, parking.
Have you ever walked through downtown Albany on a Saturday afternoon when there aren't any events going on? Completely desolate. And I loved that.
... said Shannon on May 8, 2013 at 8:19 PM | link
I went to the assessor's website and looked up similar properties on grand (all with equal or more BRs, 2 family, comparable sq. footage, and with the same valuation district) there were six properties that fit the bill for this street. The average assessed value? $119,000. This one: $176,000.
... said daleyplanit on May 9, 2013 at 1:48 PM | link
@k
Re: the sex offender registry. 1. There are a couple of caveats to this - one, people are listed by alias so "Bill Smith" and "William Smith" are both listed, but only compromise one person. 2. The Capital District Psychiatric Center is a lock-up and treatment center for sex offenders, thus even though they are not in the community, they're listed in the neighborhood. It's like looking at Census data and saying the village of Dannemora has 4,000 residents and For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 682 males. Why? because there is a prison there! 3. Finally, because suburban communities successfully reject treatment centers, even though offenders may be from those communities, they expected depository for sex offenders and criminals in the justice system is the city. Any why? How is that justice for city residents? And worse, because there is no regional tax sharing, these tax-free facilities suck up services and only city residents pay the fee. That's an inequality that must be addressed.
... said daleyplanit on May 9, 2013 at 1:58 PM | link
"Unfortunately, drugs and crimes are common in all parts of Albany, but other neighborhoods do a better job of "hiding" it, or not letting it be the focus of their reputation. "
@Shannon
That's nothing more than rationalization. Of course there are drugs and violence everywhere, but what's important in making a decision of where to live are the incidences of drugs and violence, and the degrees of such (i.e. pot vs. crack, bar fights vs. shootings/stabbings). If you believe that Mansion Hill is on par with Pine Hills using those metrics, you're delusional.
With that said,this is a nice home in a marginal neighborhood, and if you're looking to be an urban pioneer, and know what you're in for, then this could be a good buy...though I'm a little unsure of the price.
... said DT on May 12, 2013 at 11:42 AM | link