One of the best views in Brooklyn costs $1.15 million — $300,000 more than one of the best views OF Brooklyn.
At the Edge condo tower along the Williamsburg waterfront, a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, 12th-floor unit looking west towards Manhattan costs that much more than a comparable apartment looking east over Williamsburg and Bushwick.
“Of course there’s a reason for the price difference,” said developer Jeffrey Levine, whose workers formally “topped off” a 30-story tower at the foot of North Sixth Street on Wednesday morning. “Do you pay more for a burger at McDonalds or a steak at Peter Luger?”
Depends on your taste, of course. Levine said that homebuyers from Brooklyn are choosing condos with their Peter Luger view (but not the Luger prices).
“Most of the Manhattan buyers want the Manhattan views, but it seems like many of our Brooklyn buyers — who already know how good the view is from the back of the building — take the deal,” said Developers Group Vice President Sarah Burke.
The backside view does offer Kings County landmarks like the unfinished “Finger Building” on North Eighth Street and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration’s onion-shaped dome on North 12th Street, but buyers are snagging the more expensive Manhattan-side apartments at a rate of two-to-one.
One proud Brooklynite doesn’t care.
“There should be a Borough President’s residence in this building, not facing Manhattan, but facing Brooklyn,” said Borough President Markowitz at the topping off ceremony.
So far, more than 20 percent of the 575-unit development is in contract, even though the building is not set to be completed until the fall.
