670 Prospect.
From the outside, the Tudor home remains true to its true 1923 appearance. Over the past year, Pike International has transformed the once abandoned structure into four modern, luxury homes.
Some 150 people joined Thursday evening to admire the work at the official unveiling of the property by Pike International, the local real-estate giant that purchased the property and did the rehab.
The home, at 670 Prospect St., underwent major renovations. Throughout, said project designer Fernando Pastor (pictured), Pike felt the importance of “sav(ing) a lot of the historical features of the house. This place was a wreck. We combined the spaces to make duplexes. It was a great challenge because the house needed structural changes, but we wanted to keep its history alive.”
“It was a process, to say the least,” said Pike realtor Sondra Tamborini. “It was definitely interesting to see what it was to what it is now. The place had fire damage and was being gutted, and we came in here and brought it back to life.”
The monthly rents: “$3,995 for a four-bedroom, four-bath apartment; $3,495 for three bedrooms, three baths.
A picture hung on wall of the home during the remodeling.
As for the modern amenities added to the home, Pastor had many to list: “The kitchens are all custom made. There’s no one wall that was original to the house. We took all the walls out and then redistributed them according to the new layout. All the doors and trim were taken out and carefully put back. The floors are all mainly original. Outside is exactly the same, except we added a deck and stairs behind. In this house, there are now 12 bathrooms and four kitchens, when originally there was only one kitchen and three bathrooms.
Mayor Destefano offered his take on the rehab.
“The reality is that these houses are too big to be one-family houses. There’s a market for luxury rentals and condominiums, and we’re bringing that to New Haven. There are people very interested in staying in this neighborhood and people that want to reduce their expenses and tax impact on their house. Young professionals are coming here, and staying here.”
Vroom and Tamborini.
Cynthia Vroom was the first person to move into the home six weeks ago. Vroom, an administrator at Quinnipiac University, was able to see the “whole process, even when there were no walls. When I first saw this place, it was still very on when they were doing construction. I got to see everything and decide on which one I wanted.”
Vroom discovered the home when she was driving around New Haven. She’d previously lived in a four-bedroom home in Hamden. “I just fell in love with this [apartment]. In particular, I love the kitchen. Pike was very generous in giving me my two cents worth.”
Sandy and Paul Stetson with the window treatments embedded in the glass.
Sandy and Paul Stetson attended the unveiling to observe the work. Sandy, a former realtor, said she was pleased with how the home turned out, while remaining true to its historic design. “It’s a beautiful house and I think they’ve done a wonderful job of keeping some of the integrity of the older features, even though they’ve also replaced it with newer items. They’re certainly not lacking in bathroom space, with the tub and the shower in each of the master bedrooms in addition to the other rooms. I think it’s very nice. The third floor is remarkable. The light, the open rooms, it’s all great,” Stetson said.
Shmully Hecht of Pike International offers gratitude to everyone who helped with the project.