Long Island City-based brokerage Modern Spaces has picked up its first ever Brooklyn assignment, CEO Eric Benaim told The Real Deal. The firm was appointed the new exclusive sales and marketing team for a 13-unit condominium development at 91-93 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg by developer G&L Realty, taking over for Tom Le, Dennis McCarthy and Stanley Krauze of the Corcoran Group.
Modern Spaces has dubbed the condo, formerly known as 268 Wythe, the Louver House.
“It needed a new identity and a brand,” Benaim said of the building, whose new name reflects the vertical louvers, or shutters, which characterize the unusual MDIM Architects-designed exterior of the property. “The vertical louvers accent the building’s façade.”
The building has a somewhat troubled history. It was first put on the market in 2009, but never closed any sales, perhaps due to some construction issues. An inspection earlier this year found “pinholes through the walls… observed to be leaking water,” an inspection report obtained by the blog Curbed said. “With no means of escape, water will infiltrate the building envelope at all possible openings into the building interior.” The report goes on to recommend repairs to the roof, balconies, indoor common spaces, plumbing and elevator.
“There were some issues,” Benaim told The Real Deal, “but they have since been corrected.”
Corcoran declined to comment on the developer’s change of marketing team and G&L Realty was not immediately available for comment.
The Louver House may just be the beginning for the brokerage’s assignments in Brooklyn, with Benaim saying he has several more opportunities in the pipeline, also in Williamsburg.
“Williamsburg is great,” he said. “It’s a very similar neighborhood to Long Island city so it’s an easy transition for us.”
The 13-boutique-style Louver House is comprised of one- and two-bedroom units ranging from $553,000 to $768,000. The building is currently over 20 percent sold, according to Modern Spaces.
— Katherine Clarke