Historic Brooklyn building to be sold at auction with $3M starting bid

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (PIX11) – Crown Heights’ historic Studebaker building, now a residential property slapped with over 250 city violations, is set for auction in April with a $2.95 million starting bid, according to Maltz Auctions.

The property, which sits on the corner of Bedford Avenue and Sterling Place, will go to the highest bidder between April 9-11, according to multiple auction websites, including Maltz Auctions.

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The building dons a historic circular “Studebaker” sign on white terra cotta façade and is 29,171 square feet. It has 27 residential units and one commercial unit.

It was landmarked and remodeled in 2000 and now includes rent-stabilized units that bring in $28,773 per month, with two existing residential vacancies, according to the building’s Maltz Auction listing. But 1469 Bedford Ave. has also seen issues with city authorities in recent years.

The building’s landlord, Alfred Thompson, landed on Public Advocate Jumaane Williams’ 2023 worst landlord watchlist, at which point the building had an average 243 violations open with the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, according to Williams.

Heading into the auction, the property had 251 open violations with the department for issues ranging from mold to defective doors, city records show. The property also has a number of open Department of Buildings violations, one related to improper boiler room construction.

But the Studebaker building’s new buyer will come out free and clear of any monetary liens associated with the property, according to the Maltz Auctions listing.

A $250,000, four-story build

Built in 1920 – the “height of the corporation’s prominence” – the Studebaker building is one of few showrooms remaining on what was once considered Brooklyn’s “automobile row,” according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The borough was, at the time, a hub for car ownership. Now, less than 40 percent of Crown Heights residents own cars, according to 2022 census data compiled by Spatial Equity NYC.

Still containing in its original terra cotta, arches and a parapet, the building boasts neo-Gothic details designed by New York architects E. Post Tooker and Reginald Marsh, known for designing schools in upstate New York, Long Island and New Jersey. The massive building cost just $250,000 to construct at the time, according to a 1920 article in the Brooklyn Eagle.

“It remains a notable example of automotive showroom/garage architecture and an excellent example of a commercial terra-cotta clad structure which served as a company icon,” the commission said in 2000.

New Start Development did not respond to PIX11’s request for comment. 

Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter from Los Angeles who has covered local news for years. She has been with PIX11 since 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter.

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