Strivers Revival

EVER strived to live on a quiet, tree-lined street of four-story townhouses designed by famous architects, by famous architects, where you have your own garage, and the garbage is picked up in a private alley behind your house? Think it doesn’t exist? It does. It’s Strivers Row in Harlem.

"You walk out your door and feel like you’re in London," says recent Strivers Row homeowner Linda Pavelka of the landmarked neighborhood (officially named St. Nicholas Historic District), located on 138th and 139th streets, between Seventh (Adam Clay-ton Powell) and Eighth avenues (Frederick Douglas).

Strivers Row was built in 1891 by David H. King Jr. (the developer of Madison Square Garden and the base of the Statue of Liberty) as a unified, yet distinct, speculative neighborhood for middle-class whites.

"When it was built it was a big flop," says independent broker and former Strivers Row resident Glenn A. Rice. "African-Americans were not allowed to live there until 1918. It was in the 1920s and 1930s that it attracted wealthy and artistic upwardly mobile African-Americans or those who ‘strived’ in life, thus receiving its name."

According to Willie K. Suggs, owner of Willie Kathryn Suggs Licensed Real Estate Brokers, "Many people today want to consider 136th and 137th streets as part of the Strivers Row extended neighborhood because of the prestige of the area."

The "neighborhood within a neighborhood" contains four-story townhouses with cellars that were built with similar scale, harmonious materials and related styles. Stanford White oversaw the entire design, but-the actual streets were divided among different architects.

The north side of 139th Street, for instance, contains 19-foot-wide McKim, Meade and White homes, built in the neo-Italian Renaissance style, in a dark-brown mottled brick.

"What sets these homes apart from the rest of the neighborhood is that they were built using the American basement plan," says Rice. "They have a low stoop, where you enter on the street level or garden floor, yet you still have a cellar."

The other three rows are built in the Georgian style, where you walk up the stoop and enter into the parlor. The south side of 138th was designed by James Lord Brown.

The homes are red brick with brownstone trim and, at 22 feet, are the widest in the area. The north side of 138th Street and the south side of 139th Street were designed by Bruce Price and Clarence S. Luce. The homes are a buff- or yellow-colored brick, with Indiana limestone and terra-cotta details, and are 17 feet wide.

"The interior corner homes are the largest, at 20 feet wide. You receive light on all three sides," says Rice.

What also sets these homes apart are their many ornaments, which include pocket doors, shutters, Tiffany stained glass, skylights, marble mantlepieces, numerous fireplaces, detailed crown moldings, carved woodwork, deck or patio capabilities and the garages.

While many of the homes have retained most of their original details, they vary in condition. When Sandy, who designs dog beds, and her partner, Marsha, who is an attorney, found their home on 138th Street four years ago, it was infested with cockroaches. Yet that didn’t deter them from purchasing it for $475,000.

After $500,000 to $600,000 worth of renovations to completely restore it to its original status, their home is now worth over $2 million.

Many recent Strivers Row residents keep whatever original details that are intact and salvageable, and often replicate the ones that aren’t.

"We feel that we have an ethic of form and detail to uphold," says artists Gerard Maynard and girlfriend Laura Iorio. They purchased a home on 139th Street about a year ago for $805,000.

"Anything that we change will dovetail into the original details," he says.

They eventually plan on converting their home into a two-family, with artist studio on the top floor.

Most Strivers Row homes are single families, yet multi-families, all-rental units and a few shells do exist. Keep in mind you may have to call the contractor.

"All of the homes on Strivers Row on the market need some work and/or repairs," says Corcoran Group sales associate Sandy Wilson.

But the fact that renovations are necessary doesn’t detract New Yorkers from moving to Strivers Row. In fact it might help it.

"Something less done often sells better," says RE/MAX Xcel sales associate Tamara Marotta. "That way people can design it however they like."

According to Robin Prescod of Harlem Homes, the price range for Strivers Row homes begins at $1.4 million and goes as high as $2.75 million.

"The market has quadrupled in the last five years," says McEwen Realty sales associate Paul Griffin. If you can’t quite afford multimillion-dollar prices, there is always the option of renting out one or more floors to offset the cost. One-bedroom apartments rent from $1,400 to $1,500. Two-bedrooms begin around $1,750 and can go as high as $2,200, while three-bedrooms can range from $2,500 to $3,000.

For architect Michael Bowman, living on Strivers Row was an amazing opportunity. "We are living in history," he says.

Bowman and his wife, Angela, rent a 900-square-foot one-bedroom floor-through on 139th Street for $1,400.

"Property values are so high now that we fear it will push out young people and artists," Bowman says. "We’re afraid we won’t be able to afford it much longer."

That is not the only gripe about Strivers Row. For designer Vincent Falls and his girlfriend, MBA student Hermia Nelson, and her two children, the area lacks variety in stores and restaurants.

"We love that everyone knows everyone and it has a family feeling, but we would like better amenities," says Falls.

"I think it is coming," adds Nelson. "It needs things that will service the community."

But all of that doesn’t matter to opera singer Linda Pavelka and her conductor husband, Asher Fisch, who purchased their home in May for $1.25 million.

"There’s a different feeling on Strivers Row," she says. "It feels like magic."