☞ READ: Plumbing Delays at the WSJ Brownstone

The Wall Street Journal editor Julia Angwin's Harlem brownstone renovation journal is really a testament to all the decision making that new homeowners have to go through while rehabing a 100 year old building. The demolition is finished on the charming townhouse at West 123rd Street (just around the corner from Manhattan Avenue) but adding a second dishwasher halfway through the infrastructure renovations just caused a six week delay. The city inspector placed a stopped work order at that point to review the new plans and it took over one month to do so. There's also a set of plans for the brownstone in this current article which basically has the building set up as a garden rental and an owner's triplex (with lots of closet space). So lesson learned is that homeowners should make those planning decision in advance or pay for it later. On a side note, it's also good to see that the pier mirror in the hallway was saved since one that size is usually worth a couple of thousand. Read more in the Wall Street Journal: LINK. Photo courtesy Jennifer Taylor. See our past posts on the WSJ Brownstone: LINK

☞ REVIVE: Back at the WSJ Brownstone Diary

Plumbing changes and permits have delayed some of the action at the Wall Street Journal editor's Brownstone Diary series about the renovation of a Harlem brownstone on West 123rd Street (by Morningside Park) and it now looks like things are finishing up nicely (top photo).  This weekend's article talked about the difficulty of hauling a 500 pound tub up several flights of stairs and then realizing that it was too shallow to be a real soaking tub.  The model chosen was similar to the one in the lower photo (which is a stock image from Kohler) but ended up being 14'' deep only so a grown person couldn't really soak in it.  With the manual labor of getting the heavy tub up the steps, the contractor basically refused to carry it down again so the new homeowners are stuck with the shallow, non-soaking basin in the master bathroom.

It seems like there's sort of a contemporary-combined-with-classic aesthetic happening for the interior and we hope to see the final pictures in the next coming month.  In the meantime, the measuring tape is the most important thing when ordering appliances and furniture so get that all checked before making any big commitments! Read more and see additional photos on the WSJ site: LINK.  There's also a Facebook fansite for this feature and we also noted that they called out Harlem Bespoke for first linking the story back in February: LINK.  Top photo courtesy of Jennifer Taylor

☞ READ: Last Month's Most Talked about Posts

Here is the list of most commented on posts from last month.

1. Red Rooster News & President Obama (16)
2. First Look at Levain Bakery on FDB (15)
3. Foreclosure at Dunbar Apartments (13)
4. What's Up with 341 Lenox? (11)
5. 241 West 132nd Street in Contract (8)
6. 8 West 127th Street Townhouse (8)
7. 107 West 120th Street Brownstone (8)
8. The WSJ Brownstone Reno Finishes (7)
9. Corn Exchange Building Up for Bids (7)
10. Harlem Presidential Visit This Tuesday (6)

☞ READ: The WSJ Brownstone Reno Finishes

It has been a little over a year now and the Wall Street Journal's feature on one editor's South Harlem brownstone renovation is now complete.  The gut renovation for the townhouse bought for $800K was expected to take 10 months but ended up at 13 months, cost estimated started at $350,000 and ended up at $420,000.  Time wise, things stretched out because of permit issues and passing the proper city inspections but the cost factor increase had to do with upgrades like an added deck in the back of the yard. At the end, there's a clean palette on the interior but some of the original details such as the stairwell has been restored.  See the full recap of the past year and more photos on the Wall Street Journal: LINK.  Photos courtesy Rayon Richards

☞ READ: Wiring the WSJ Harlem Brownstone

We have been following Wall Street Journal writer Julia Angwin's home renovations since we noticed the dumpsters outside the building at West 123rd Street (on the brownstone block west of Morningside Park) back in February. The topic of the day that many don't even think about until the time comes around is the wiring of the interior space. Do houses still need phone jacks in each room? Are land lines still relevant? Then there's Wi-Fi,WiMax, Ethernet jacks, cable jacks and all sort of outlets most brownstones builders never thought of when they were constructed 100 years ago. What is standard these days for modern technology becomes a big question.

Even with all the updating going on in this townhouse on the border of Morningside Heights and the southern half of Central Harlem, Ms. Angwin and husband also seem to be hanging on to the past. The couple can't bear throwing out their 25 year old TV and then there's a severely out of date, oversized sectional couch that does not even fit in the parlor space (it was gift). Read more in the WSJ article and check out the controversial couch: LINK. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Taylor.

☞ READ: Last Week's Most Talked About Posts

A better view of the Jazz Trumpeter at 111 Central Park North: LINK.

1. The Harlem Tavern Arriving on 116th (46)

2. The Corner Gas Station at 2153 FDB (14)

3. Plumbing Delays at the WSJ Brownstone (13)

4. Crossing Bike Paths with Speeding Bikers (12)

5. Windows on 123 Condominiums (9)

☞ READ: The Harlem WSJ House Final Delays

The Wall Street Journal's series on one reporter's renovations of a South Harlem brownstone might of wrapped up a couple of months back but delays with paperwork have prevented any move-ins at this point.  According to the article, when Con Ed refuses to install your gas meter without giving a specific reason, it is because a gas inspection has not been scheduled yet. The brownstone then failed that inspection since the 94% efficient boiler bought for the building needed some additional venting that is not typically standard.  The homeowner had to ditch the high-efficiency model and get the standard one but at this point the contractor was about to take flight. Since the failed inspections prevented any work from being done, the contractor did not get payment by the bank which finances the renovations and the owners therefore had to shell out a bit of cash from a retirement fund to finish the job. All of the townhouse interior looks to be complete now (except for refinishing the stairway) and the next step is to finally get the furnishings in.  Read more in the Wall Street Journal: LINK.  Photos by Jennifer Taylor

☞ REVIVE: The West 123rd Street Brownstone

We pass by 344 West 123rd Street all the time and noticed that the brownstone was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal. The SRO property between Manhattan and Morningside Avenue sits by a stalled development project but really is in one of the great secret locations of South Harlem. Many might even see these blocks adjacent to Morningside Park as an extension of Morningside Heights and the many shaded side streets are completely lined with brownstones. As the article points out, the Wall Street Jounal editor Julia Angwin and her husband recently purchased the property for the reasonable price of $800K and plan to have it totally gut renovated. The new home owners point out they barely know how to switch out a light bulb but have gotten a good estimate from a contractor to renovate the place. The final quote was at $100 per square foot so seeing that most modest brownstones are around 3,500 square feet, the job should run around $350K. See the additional photos on the WSJ site: LINK. We recently did a story on cast iron handrail renovations on the same block so this couple might want to check it out: LINK

☞ REVIVE: 145 West 131st Street Brownstone

The former church-owned brownstone at 145 West 131st that sold for $600K (original asking was $699K) last year looks to be finishing up on some of the major facade renovations.  At 16 foot wide, it's not the biggest townhouse on the market and the chopped up interior that did not have electricity running in it for some time needed a complete overhaul.  Nevertheless, the WSJ house gut renovation of a similar size home with some better upgrades costed a total of $420K so the owners should finish up below the average asking of a newly renovated house in the area.

The lower photos show that the doors still needs to be replaced but the front of this building just east of ACP/7th is definitely catching up with some of the restored neighbors on the block. Does anyone know what it costs for stripping the paint from the front of the building?  This would have been the extra expense specific to this particular reno.

READ: MANHATTAN TOWNHOUSES IN VOGUE

Harlem Bespoke: Apparently townhouse sales are up in Manhattan according to a recent Wall Street Journal article that mentions brownstone living has started to become fashionable once more.  New York City's main island has attracted condo or co-op buyers for the most part but living in a single-famiy house with a yard out back has become more desirable in 2020 as folks self isolate and work from home.  This is especially true in Brooklyn these days but we always wondered why folks looking tend to leave Manhattan when similar low-rise historic neighborhoods with open air views can be found north of 110th Street. All of the above photos are of the historic districts in Harlem.  More on the story at the WSJ site: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2020