Bed Stuy mansion with built-in closets, mantles asking $3 million

With opulent period features and central appeal, the interior offers space for a new owner to put their own design stamp on it.

Photo via Douglas Elliman

A wealth of woodwork fills the parlor level of this Bed Stuy townhouse, with built-ins, moldings, a pier mirror and mantels as highlights. There have been some updates, such as central air conditioning, but there is still room for a new owner to put their own design stamp on the interior while surrounded by historic features. In the historic Stuyvesant Heights neighborhood, 264 Decatur Street will feature two duplex units.

In 1892, Magnus Dahlander, a prolific architect behind many of the ornate row houses in Bed Stuy, designed the house, along with its 24 neighbors, for builder Eli Bishop. Plans for ten of the houses, including this house, have been submitted by Bishop in 1893. Dahlander’s designs include a mix of Renaissance and Romanesque details along the row. Some houses, such as No. 264, have round bay windows, while others have slanted oriel windows.

In 1896 Bishop advertised houses in the Decatur Street row as ‘high-quality artistic’ houses with ‘all the new features’ and the possibility of an extension for dining. He also encouraged potential buyers to purchase them before the city’s consolidation.

Built as a single-family home with that dining room extension, No. 264 was a multi-family home in the 1950s. An occupancy certificate from 1954 shows one apartment and five furnished rooms. By certificate in 1964 it had been converted into two apartments and two furnished rooms. HPD still lists the property with that arrangement.

The current duplex units each have two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. The lower duplex has the lavish floor details you expect in a Dahlander-designed home.

They start at the entrance with wainscoting, a mirror and a large molding screen with a built-in bench.

The forward saloon houses the pier transom, moldings and another molding screen that leads to the rest of the triple parlor layout. The back room has a wall of original fitted wardrobes and a columnar mantelpiece with mirror.

The rear extension, once the dining room, has been converted into a bedroom, with the stained glass skylight, wooden floor and mantelpiece remaining in place. The room has access to a full bathroom with a bathtub.

At garden level, the dining room on the street side has an elegant mantelpiece with original tile edge and insert. Wainscoting wraps around the room and there is a glimpse of another built-in.

An original butler’s pantry was probably removed at some point; French doors now open from the dining room into the enlarged kitchen. The dining area has a wooden floor, exposed trusses, white cabinets and white appliances.

A door from the kitchen leads to the second bedroom with an en suite bathroom. This bedroom also has the only access to the backyard; a new owner may want to change the layout.

While the top duplex doesn’t have all the exaggerated details, there are still multiple mantels, stained glass, and wood floors. The latter extend to a galley kitchen which probably once contained an original passageway.

Although all the kitchens and bathrooms appear to be in good condition, a new owner may want to make some style adjustments.

The property last sold in 2015 for $1.6 million. The ad states that the rooms in the addition are heated with hot water and that the house has central air.

Charles Maione of Douglas Elliman has the listing and the mansion is priced at $3 million. What do you think?

[Listing: 264 Decatur Street | Broker: Douglas Elliman] GMAP

entrance with mirror, woodwork