So many Spartan, offbeat condo names have started to proliferate in northern Brooklyn that residents could find themselves in conversations that resemble the old “Who’s on First?” skit by Abbott and Costello. One new building, at 154 Skillman Avenue, is called Home. Another, at 196-200 South 2nd Street, is known simply as the Pad.
Dave Maundrell, president of the brokerage and marketing firm aptsandlofts.com, devised the somewhat generic names. “We thought these names would relate to the market and set ourselves apart,” said Maundrell, an East Williamsburg native. “This wouldn’t necessarily fly in Brooklyn Heights or other conservative neighborhoods. On Park Avenue, they’d think ‘the Pad’ meant their helipad or something.”
In its sixth week of sales, the Pad, known for a slightly funky aesthetic, was 40 percent sold. Prices range from $395,000 to $645,000, Maundrell said. Apartments at Home — which are larger, hence the more traditional name — run from $600,000 to $749,000.
Potential buyers in Williamsburg are attuned to irony and the one-word, back-to-the-basics names compete with industrial-themed condos in the neighborhood, including the Warehouse and Factory Lofts.
In addition to Home and the Pad, Williamsburg also has projects like the 575-unit mixed-use complex called the Edge, which refers to its location near the East River. Meanwhile, New Condo, near McCarren Park in Greenpoint, is named as a play on its Newton Street
location.
The address-as-nameplate is especially effective for developments in prime locations, said Doug Bowen, a vice president at Core Group Marketing who specializes in Williamsburg. His latest is 125 North 10th Street, a few blocks from the Bedford Avenue station.
“In my experience, these edgier building names tend to fade quickly,” said Bowen. “They get the younger crowd to show up, especially to offbeat locations, but it’s rarely something of classic importance.”
One unique name, Hello Living, refers to a six-condo complex on Pacific Street near the border of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, far from the hipster precincts in Williamsburg.
The marketing design features conference-style name tags (“Hello, my name is . . .”) filled out with the names of the individual buildings: Madison, Hudson, Dakota, Montana, Sydney and Austin. Wags have noted that the project’s location is about as far from the action as the names imply. Still, the project has found buyers. In the Madison, 12 of 15 apartments have sold; in the Hudson, two of 10 remained for sale as of mid-May.
Maundrell said there are limits to naming a project. He said he would not name anything in Williamsburg “the Crib.” The Pad and Home are happy mediums, added Shana Bowes, director of marketing at aptsandlofts.com. “They’re selling, so it is working.”