Bricks & Brownstone

St. Luke's Place (1852-1853), Greenwich Village. A monumental Italianate style streestcape and one of New York's best-loved “brownstone” blocks.

Charles Lockwood provides three different Townhouse Assessments to owners, sellers, and buyers of historic Manhattan and Brooklyn residences to help them accurately analyze, restore, and enhance the value of their homes:

Townhouse Summary
Comprehensive Architectural and Historical Analysis
Restoration Strategy and Action Plan

The Challenges of Today's Townhouse Market

More and more New York townhouse buyers want reliable architectural and historical information about the properties on the market. Unfortunately, they often encounter Manhattan and Brooklyn townhouse listings that have inaccurate information about a property’s architecture and history.

Reading real estate advertisements, for example, you’d think that Gilded Age architect Stanford White designed dozens of Upper East Side townhouses. He didn’t.

Many real estate listings for townhouses in every neighborhood give inaccurate construction dates or mis-represent the architectural style. (Red-brick Italianate townhouses of the 1850s and 1860s are frequently described as Federal, which is actually a 1820s and early 1830s style.) Other listings do not inform the would-be buyers that a townhouse was altered in the decades after its construction and, therefore, reflects two or three different styles in its facade and interior.

This erroneous information can create a variety of unnecessary problems. For townhouse sellers, inaccurate—or missing—information can hinder the sale of a property at the most advantageous price. An architecturally intact townhouse usually fetches a significant premium.

For townhouse buyers, inaccurate—or missing—information often means that they have made a multi-million-dollar investment to buy one kind of home, only to end up owning something quite different. Worse, the new owner may lack the correct information to plan and carry out an appropriate, properly budgeted, and value-enhancing restoration of their townhouse’s façade and interior.

Obtaining accurate information about a townhouse’s architectural condition and history is often a frustrating process. Real estate brokers, architects, building engineers, and residential consultants are not trained to have a detailed understanding of historical architectural elements, original floorplans, and original construction methods. Nor do they know about the physical changes and renovations that typically have been made to New York townhouses since their initial construction.

Charles Lockwood's Townhouse Assessment Services

For historic townhouse owners, sellers, and buyers, Charles Lockwood’s Townhouse Assessments—like building and engineering reports—are essential to planning a successful renovation or restoration of a property. These architectural and historical assessments not only explain the townhouse’s past, they also identify the historical elements that must be preserved—or ones that needed to be replaced—to maximize the property’s charm, livability, and value, while creating a comfortable present-day home.

Thus, these assessments are also an important tool in the sale or purchase of a townhouse.

Charles Lockwood’s three Townhouse Assessment services—each of which is more comprehensive than the last—are tailored to fit the specific property and to meet the client’s particular objectives and the level of information they require:

Townhouse Summary
Comprehensive Architectural and Historical Analysis
Restoration Strategy and Action Plan

Charles Lockwood has provided Townhouse Assessments on a wide variety of historic properties, from an 1819 Federal style townhouse in Greenwich Village to an 1895 Renaissance Revival townhouse on the Upper West Side and a 1910 Beaux Arts mansion on the Upper East Side. He has worked extensively in Brooklyn’s landmark brownstone neighborhoods. Client references are available upon request.

Front parlor in 1883 Neo-Grec brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Interior doors in1883 Neo-Grec brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Parlor doorway enframement at the Merchant's House Museum—a triumph of New York's timeless Greek Revival style.

A Current Project -
Merchant's House Museum

Townhouse Summary

A concise and informative Townhouse Summary includes:

A brief architectural and historical profile of the property.
Identification of the key architectural and historical features that support the townhouse’s long-term desirability and value.
Identification of the general areas where restoration projects could increase the townhouse’s value.
A discussion of the property’s architectural style and how that style fit into the evolution of New York townhouse design in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
A brief history of the property’s neighborhood.
How the original residents lived in townhouses of the property’s era.

To prepare a Townhouse Summary for a particular property, Charles Lockwood will:

Visit the townhouse to assess its architectural and historic features.
Conduct basic research on the townhouse’s history.
Write and produce a concise Townhouse Summary.

Charles Lockwood will deliver a completed Townhouse Summary to the client within one week of inspecting the property.

Comprehensive Architectural and Historical Analysis

Text: A Comprehensive Architectural and Historical Analysis will provide a thorough evaluation and factual history of the property. This Analysis will assist a townhouse seller in maximizing the value of their property prior to sale, help the broker and owner in marketing the townhouse to potential buyers, assist buyers in securing proper financing and insurance, and advise owners who are planning a restoration.

This Comprehensive Architectural and Historical Analysis can be attached to a bank loan or insurance application, lending greater credibility to the application and supporting the high appraised property value necessary for a substantial mortgage and adequate insurance coverage at a fair cost.

A Comprehensive Architectural and Historical Analysis will have:

A property evaluation that will discuss how well the townhouse represents its original architectural style and floorplan, what intact exterior and interior features add the greatest value to the property, what original exterior and interior features are missing, and how later (often inappropriate and inferior) features added to the property since its original construction affect its overall architectural quality.
A list of what exterior and interior features that are missing.
A brief history of the townhouse and its neighborhood, including the evolution of the neighborhood since it was first developed and how the house reflects the history of its block and neighborhood.
A discussion of the property’s architectural style and how that style fit into the evolution of New York townhouse design in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
How the original residents lived in townhouses of the property’s era of construction.

To prepare a Comprehensive Architectural and Historical Analysis for a particular property, Charles Lockwood will:

Thoroughly inspect the townhouse, both the front and rear façades and room-by-room, to assess its architectural and historic features, evaluate its current architectural condition, identify what architectural and floorplan changes were made to the townhouse since its original construction, and determine what architectural and floorplan changes will create the most livable and attractive home and maximize its value.
Conduct research on the townhouse’s and its neighborhood’s history, focusing particularly on the architect or builder who designed the dwelling, the original interior layout, and any changes or renovations made to the townhouse after it was completed.
Write and produce a Comprehensive Architectural and Historical Analysis.

Charles Lockwood will deliver a completed Comprehensive Architectural and Historical Analysis to the client within two weeks of inspecting the property.

Restoration Strategy and Action Plan

Text: To help a townhouse owner, investor, or seller plan a thorough and value-enhancing restoration of their property with their architect, Charles Lockwood will prepare a Restoration Strategy and Action Plan that will include all of the information of a Comprehensive Architectural and Historical Analysis. In addition, this Restoration Strategy and Action Plan will:

Assess the work that needs to be done on the townhouse to maximize its value, particularly what missing elements need to be replaced.
Discuss how thorough and accurate the restoration should be and what portions or floors of the house should be restored.
Discuss to what period the house will be restored, and whether any later features should be removed entirely or if they should be retained and restored so that the house reflects several different historical eras and architectural styles.
Based on Charles Lockwood’s conversations with the owners, architect, and contractor, discuss how authentic the workmanship and materials can be, depending on the owners’ objectives, budget, and schedule.
Based on Charles Lockwood’s property evaluation and conversations with the owners, architect, and contractor, decide how the house can maintain its value-enhancing historic integrity while also including the latest modern comforts and technologies.

To prepare a Restoration Strategy and Action Plan for a particular property, Charles Lockwood will:

Meet with the owners to determine their architectural and lifestyle objectives, their other concerns, and their budget. At the owners’ request, Charles Lockwood will meet with the architect and contractor to discuss the townhouse and the contemplated renovation and/or restoration.
Inspect the townhouse, both the front and rear façades and room-by-room, to assess its architectural and historic features, evaluate its current architectural condition, identify what architectural and floorplan changes were made to the townhouse since its original construction, and determine what architectural features should be preserved and what missing architectural features should be replaced to meet the owners’ objectives.
Discuss with the architect and contractor in what order the restoration of the exterior and different rooms/floors should be carried out.
If budget or scheduling present a problem, determine if a partial or phased restoration can be carried out and, if so, what work should be included in that program.
Conduct research on the townhouse’s original architectural plan and construction, and the neighborhood’s history.
Write and produce a Restoration Strategy and Action Plan.

Charles Lockwood will deliver a completed Restoration Strategy and Action Plan to the client within three weeks of inspecting the property.

Based on this Restoration Strategy and Action Plan, and if the owner wishes, Charles Lockwood can work with the owners and the owners’ architect and contractors to review portions of the actual work on the townhouse, assuring that historic architectural features are preserved and the floorplan protected, that the restoration best captures the right balance of old and new in the townhouse, and that the value of the property is maximized.