Developer Wants To Add Condos To Sunset Park’s Historic Police Station House

Have you ever dreamed of living in a castle?

A developer plans to renovate Sunset Park’s landmarked 68th Police Precinct Station House, known for its distinctive Romanesque Revival-style, in order to ready the property for condominiums, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

Yosef Streicher bought the property at 4th Avenue and 43rd Street, which also includes the adjacent stable house, in July for $6 million, property records show. The purchase was made through a company called Brooklyn Police Castle Inc.

The building has been vacant since the mid-1970s, according to the Eagle, and Streicher is the fourth owner of the property since it was landmarked by the city in 1983.

In 1999, the property was purchased by a non-profit, the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association, for a little more than $200,000, according to the Daily News. However, the group never made good on its promise to restore the building, and the conditions continued to deteriorate.

Streicher plans to invest $5 million towards restoring the property, should he win approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Eagle reports. He hopes to add a glassy, 21,000 square foot extension to the side of the station house, which would house 10 condominiums.

The top floors of the station house might also be put to residential use, a representative for the owner told the Eagle. The existing buildings might also be equipped for a child care center, a community facility, and a luxury cafe. Plans for a small museum to be included in the landmarked structure are also being considered.

The developer hopes to have the proposal ready for presentation to Community Board 7, and then the Landmarks Preservation Commission, in three months, the Eagle reports.