This Old House Sets up Shop in Brooklyn

Last month Brownstoner did some detective work and uncovered which house the This Old House crew would be renovating in Brooklyn. The announcement that the show would come to New York City for the first time ever came earlier this year, when Kevin O'Connor and Norm Abram were still scoping out potential fixer-uppers (there were hundreds of applicants from all five boroughs, with 1/4 being from Brooklyn).

Today the Daily News takes a look at the chosen family and home. The 1904 4,000-square-foot townhouse is located on Sterling Place in Prospect Heights, and belongs to Kevin Costello and his wife, Karen Shen, along with their three sons. Upon being picked, the lady of the house tells the paper: "We couldn't believe it. We were thrilled. It was like winning the lottery."

Once Norm & Co. have worked their magic, the family hopes to use the garden level and third floor of the house as rental properties (keeping the two middle floors for their own). The NY Post gets word from one of the crew that projects similar to this one would cost up to $600,000 (and records show that the house was purchased for around $1.2 million).

In the end, 10 episodes will air, documenting the work on the house--stay tuned for that in January (the first one hits the small screen on the 22nd). Soon you'll be able to check out the progress online, but for now head over to the Project Overview for more details.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on November 12, 2008 11:32 AM

Comments [rss]

smacky

Right next door to Top Chef Brooklyn and Real World Brooklyn and The biggest loser Brooklyn, oh wait. the Biggest loser is going to Brooklyn. Thanks cool media.

JacqueMehoff

congrats! keep it up!

signed, norm

WorksInDUMBO

Wow, I just lost 10 pounds--on my way to BEIN' GAY!

just saying

lol

JacqueMehoff

which is why I watch it for the a-hole homeowners.

and rich flirty with minorities, I'm guessing he's even tired of white bitches every season.

and I swear Norm is gay, he's lost a lot of weight. either he found a wife or a boyfriend. not that there's anything wrong with that.

I'm sure I'll be proven wrong since this is the interwebs.

dr zippy

This Old House is a TV show, not a charity. They renovate, what, 2 or 3 homes a season? For 30 years that's a grand sum of 60-90 homes across the country. Over the years they've fixed up the homes of mostly the middle class but also the rich and poor. The problems of poverty are a lot bigger than even the great Norm Abram can address.

editedby

T.O.H. makes another rich family's dream come true, for less than retail.

NYPost quoting T.O.H. Producer "Prospect Heights - as opposed to Park Slope, where everything's already pretty renovated - still has a lot of houses that need help."

= Still some working families/renters left that we could displace.

JacqueMehoff

actually they did a show on an ACORN group, oK it wasn't acorn but another non-profit who helps first time homeowners in urban communities. (think I got enough qualifications in there)

I'm sure it wasn't the first house that had charity assistance. for ex. the New orleans musicians village.

but of course these are the exceptions and not the rule.

Jen Chung

I heart Norm Abram!

@wcoastpark--I didn't have cable growing up either, so I was also a This Old House fiend!

@spreetaper--I hear what you're saying, but at least it's not a renovation for the owners to take over the whole building--there will be two rental units.

Wza

Loved watching this show growing up.

I watch it whenever I get the chance nowadays.

spreetaper

would be nice to see someone a little more deserving get this... but then again how many deserving people could actually afford to buy a whole brownstone

matty

Brooklyn has great architecture. Glad to see this.

whitecastlerock

Won't they be assessed higher taxes as a result of the property's new worth?

wcoastpark

I used love this show when I was growing up, back in the Bob Vila days. Of course, my affinity for it could be related to not having any other options (no cable tv!). Still, it will be cool to see NYC represented instead of boston all the time...