Brooklyn Heights Mansion Reborn After Decade-Long Restoration, Lists for $20.99M

A 174-year-old Greek Revival mansion in Brooklyn Heights, which was partially torn down by the city in 2008 after being declared structurally unsound, is now listed for sale along with its adjacent carriage house for a combined $20.99 million. The property at 1 Monroe Place, located in New York City's first historic district, is asking $14.99 million, while the carriage house at 94 Clark Street is listed at $6 million. The listings are being handled by Mallory and Brandon Bogard of Serhant.

Before its sale, the mansion is serving as the venue for this year's Brooklyn Heights Designer Showhouse, an event that runs through November 1 and benefits the Brooklyn Heights Association. Nineteen design studios have redecorated the mansion's rooms for the show.

The seller is developer Margaret Streicker, whose firm purchased the dilapidated properties for $1.25 million in 2010. Streicker described the restoration process as a complex undertaking that navigated landmark regulations, evolving building codes, the pandemic, and the buildings' historical issues. "We unlocked it with a multi-phase, multi-year strategy and rebuilt One Monroe from the ground up, brick by brick," she stated.

NV Design Architecture, the firm responsible for the restoration, noted on its website that the project, spanning from 2016 to 2026, involved recreating masonry, woodwork, and ornamental details based on limited historical photographs and archival documents. The five-story, approximately 7,200-square-foot mansion features a red brick facade, bay windows, a stoop, and a mansard roof. It includes seven bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, four powder rooms, an elevator, multiple fireplaces, and a chef's kitchen. The primary suite occupies a full floor and includes a private gym. The property also boasts a wine cellar, wet bar, playroom, home office, and two garden-level studios, each with its own kitchen, bathroom, and entrance. Outdoor space includes a terrace and a roof deck with panoramic views.

The renovated 1852 carriage house adds 2,100 square feet, featuring three bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a skylit kitchen, a gas fireplace, and a home office. It also includes a wine cellar, laundry room, media room, and a terrace and roof deck. Marketed as the Monroe Place Estates, the combined properties are presented as suitable for a family compound or a live-work arrangement.

The Monroe Place house had a history of neglect. In 2008, the city's Buildings Department declared it structurally unsound, relocated its final three rent-stabilized tenants, and removed its upper floors. A lawsuit filed by the owner at the time to prevent a complete demolition was dismissed in 2010, shortly before Streicker's firm acquired the property. Legal disputes involving the displaced tenants reportedly extended the rebuilding timeline.

Streicker, the daughter of the late real estate magnate John H. Streicker, also redeveloped the former Chumley’s speakeasy in the West Village. She previously ran for Congress in Connecticut in 2020.

"As we have been preparing it for market, people have been commenting on what an amazing milestone it is to bring the home back to life. It’s important for the neighborhood," Mallory Bogard commented.