I’ve been looking / thinking / wondering about the Verdi since we first embarked on our house hunt. It was always on my list to check out but never made it to our “must-see” itinerary during our open house frenzy. But the photos are so gorgeous and that keyhole penthouse window is jaw dropping. Now that we’ve finally settled in, I noticed that my old friend Verdi was still on the market, and at a fire sale price of $599k.
This weekend we decided to check it out while we were exploring our neighborhood. Turns out that there’s not just one unit left (the penthouse 5C) but also a 1 BD room duplex with a home office and garden going for a pretty reasonable $499k. After puttering around the duplex for a bit we were beamed up to heaven. The elevator opened directly into the unit, and it didn’t just have that unique window to recommend it, it also had 2 sizable terraces — one off the living room, another off the master bedroom, and an upstairs patio with nice Manhattan views. The upstairs patio is communal but it definitely “feels” like it belongs to the unit. The layout while not the best was good, I liked that the alcove kitchen, and the roomy bedrooms, it’s only a tad over 1,000sqft but the light and tall ceiling make it feel more spacious. The finishes were good quality, and had unique features — all this for a cool $599k which we were told could be “negotiated”.
But all is not great at the Verdi, no doorman / concierge, no amenities, and a good 15mins walk to the G. Also, despite neighborhoodscout.com touting this area as one appreciating the most in the last 5-10 years, it’s still rough. The immediate surroundings were peppered with boarded up townhouses, a school that looked abandoned (but may not be), and the immediate neighbor abutting the Verdi was the sorest abandoned house.
I appreciate that the price of this place according to Streeteasy has been on a steady decline since 2007. And I really want to like this development because it just has so much charm! But I can’t imagine paying a dime over $500k.
The Queen Bee. She rules over the Flatbush Riviera. All of Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene is her domain. 
