PRESERVATION SPOTLIGHT

A Hidden Gem Comes Back to Life

Neighbors feared this old house would be another lost cause, but civic involvement and committed new owners partnered up to save it from the wrecking ball

Shannon and David seem like they were born to renovate old houses. David is the son of a Portuguese immigrant who plowed every cent he saved from his mechanic’s job into buying houses on Long Island. David spent his weekends mowing lawns, helping his dad do repairs, and developing his renovation skills. Shannon had been living as a child in Florida when at age 10 her mother moved the family back to Bayside to take care of her own mother. They lived in her grandmother’s 39th Ave home, the third generation of their family to live in that house. Shannon and David met at age 23 and knew they were meant for each other – and for becoming fixer-uppers.

They bought their first property together at age 25, before they were even married (much to the chagrin of his family). Certain that housing prices in Brooklyn were going to boom after the 2008 downturn, they took advantage of the FHA 3.5% down payment program to buy a three-family house to renovate. “Every night after we got home from our full-time jobs we painted, refinished floors, and installed new kitchens,” Shannon recalls. “In the end we were able to live in the bottom unit for free while we paid our mortgage with the top two unit rentals.”

The payoff from that effort allowed them – at age 28 – to buy an attached house on 203rd Street in Bayside. “It was in terrible shape,” says Shannon. “Wood paneling, shag carpet, drop ceilings... awful.” Dave’s job as a foreign currency trader had greater potential for income, so Shannon quit her job and did all the demolition herself. “I sold as much as possible on Craigslist (you'd be amazed at what people buy) and did all the drywalling myself. Dave did bathroom tiling and other work on weekends.”

Time to Move On

As happy as they were with their renovation work, living in an attached house was not their dream – especially since they were expecting their first child. Eager for a single-family home, they talked with the agent who had sold them their house and learned about a unique house on 212th Street in the Bellcourt section of Bayside.

The house had been empty for a while after the previous homeowners, who had raised their family there, had passed away. Neighbors were concerned that the property might be vulnerable to demolition, given how much TLC would be needed to make it a comfortable family home again. It was a beautiful old center-hall colonial that was tucked behind a majestic copper beech tree – it would be a dream for the right owners, but how to find them?

The Bellcourt Civic Association stepped in to help. Concerned over the potential loss of such a significant home, a board member connected the owner – the previous homeowners’ son, who wanted to see the family home preserved – to a real estate agent who would help find the right buyers. The agent, Kevin O’Connell of Tapestry Real Estate, had sold Dave and Shannon their current home and knew they were in the market again. Would they be interested in this hidden gem?

As it turned out, Dave had already seen the house on Zillow and had given it a pass, but Kevin convinced him to tour it. Seeing it in person changed his mind.

“Dave loved it!” says Shannon. “It was all colonial beams, wide-planked wood floors, charming attic, tons of unutilized space.” Shannon herself was less enthusiastic than Dave was at first. There was a lot of work to do, and with a baby coming she knew they would not have the luxury of time that they’d had in their first two projects.

But the house won them over. Hidden behind that towering copper beech, the old colonial was dark and worn down. But this young couple saw charm where others might have been put off. “We loved the ‘spookiness,’” laughs Shannon. “It was dark and kind of gloomy. You could picture orphans living in the attic and a woman in long skirts and an apron toiling away scrubbing the floors.” But the classic old features were unmatched. “The interior shutters were beautiful, and there were wide-planked thick painted wood floors in one bedroom and in the front porch. There was an extra four feet of space behind the fridge that for some reason they weren't using in the half bath on first floor. The double-sided fireplace, the extra ceiling space in the front room...”

Dave especially loved how the house seemed hidden away. In fact, he'd ridden past it on his bike many times and never really noticed it since the tree hides it. One of the reasons he had scrolled past it on Zillow was that it didn’t seem to have a driveway, but he learned that the house actually shares a driveway with the next-door neighbor – a space-saving quirk of a number of Bellcourt blocks.

The 100-year-old house had many features that you simply don’t see in newer homes. “All of the hardwood floors were in great condition,” Shannon says. “The baseboard moldings were all very tall and real wood. And those interior wooden shutters!”

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The enclosed front porch was a huge selling point, as was the fact that the house had a side entrance rather than a front – many Bellcourt Dutch colonials are oriented that way, adding to the secret hideaway feeling. “We really liked the side entrance,” says Shannon, “since it splits the house into two wings, which lets Dave use the front room as his office. I loved that it was compartmentalized. Every house is ‘open concept’ nowadays, but I like having separate dining/kitchen/living areas.”

They completely fell for the brick work in the backyard (“it felt like The Secret Garden,” Shannon exclaims).

And oh, that tree! It just may be the largest tree in Bellcourt, dominating the property and the block. Neighbors who were waiting with bated breath were relieved that Dave and Shannon appreciated it as much as they did. “That tree is beautiful, and I liked that it had such a long history,” Shannon says. “I'd had no idea how old it was. We never considered removing it, or even wanting to trim it.”

Where to Begin?

The renovation started with the bathroom and kitchen, since the young family needed a working shower and stove in order to move in. They were working on selling their 203rd Street house while renovating the new one as fast as possible – this time with a baby.

“It was hard!” Shannon says. “I like doing things myself – so much money and materials are wasted when you cede control. But I would want to paint a room, but Lorraine would want me to nap with her or Dave would want me to focus on tax receipts or something. I actually have pictures of me painting the baseboards while Lorraine nursed in my lap. We hired a team to drywall and paint the living room, but I ended up hating the mint green color I had picked. I waited for Dave and Lorraine to fall asleep, then I stayed up until 3 am repainting it a dark evergreen. (The painters were pretty surprised when they showed up again the next morning!)

“It was frustrating for Dave, too, because he was trying to work but fielding calls over the cost to replace windows, or needed to watch the baby while I was at Home Depot. Or he'd put in a 60-hour week at work, then spend all weekend working on the house.”

The house is still a work in progress, but the young family (they have since had a second baby!) are enjoying the payoff. Dark rooms are brightened and fresh, the kitchen and bath have been modernized while still retaining their old colonial charm, and the exterior has gotten a fresh new color, changing the existing brown to a historic green.

“We wanted to stay with green so it would still blend into the tree but maybe be a little more cheerful,” says Shannon. “For the interior we've gone with darker muted colors downstairs, then pastels upstairs.”

What's Next?

Next up will be finishing touches on bedrooms and the living room. “We cut a hole in the linen closet to run new pipes and then never fixed it,” says Shannon, “so our linen closet can't store anything other than shampoo bottles and closed plastic containers because it’s so dusty and half the shelves were removed! Window moldings are hidden by curtains, but they need to be repainted. We'd like to refinish the basement floors and put up paneling, but right now it’s a hodgepodge of spare moldings and tools.”

While they continue to work on the house, Shannon and Dave and now two little girls are enjoying the neighborhood, which retains a sense of community that’s been lost in so many other places. Shannon says Bayside is just as neighborly as it was during her childhood. “There were always tons of kids around. We'd play manhunt and basketball all summer, then go sledding in Crocheron Park every winter. These days I run into a friend every time I go to Milk Farm or Bay Terrace.

“I think the neighborhood has kept this intact by people making the effort to form relationships,” she continues. “On 203rd street one family hosted potlucks every couple of months. Here one of our neighbors has hosted several parties, and half the block has gone out of their way to introduce themselves or drop off food.

Shannon also appreciates all the community events that bring neighbors together. “Fourth of July fireworks in Fort Totten, food festivals on Bell in the summer, and the tree lighting for Christmas. I do fear that 50's era feel is fading, we are close to the city so real estate prices have shot up and there's not very many young families that can afford to live here. Many people are moving out to Long island or out of state altogether.” But with committed young homeowners like Dave and Shannon moving in, Bellcourt is sure to stay charming for decades to come.

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