Reasons to like this 150-some-year-old Brooklyn townhouse: it’s beautiful, every bit of it done to high standards with impeccable taste; it’s 25 feet wide, which is a generous size; it’s on Willow Street in sedate, lovely Brooklyn Heights — in case you didn’t know, Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” while living on Willow Street and Truman Capote wrote “In Cold Blood” living on the same street; there are clear views of the Manhattan skyline and numerous terraces; it has a hot tub; and most of all, it has off-street parking! Anyone who has spent countless time looking for a spot to park in Brooklyn, muttering under their breath and cursing their existence, just might consider buying the house for this alone.
The townhouse belongs to power couple Joe Lockhart, former press secretary to Bill Clinton, and Giovanna Gray Lockhart, former DC editor of Glamour magazine. They obviously have good taste; they sold their previous Washington, DC, home, which is a knockout, to the Obamas. According to the New York Post, the first to report on the listing, the couple love their Brooklyn home, but they’ve moved out of state with their two small children. The Lockharts paid $9 million for the townhouse in 2019; it’s now listed for $10.5 million with Karen Heyman and Alan Heyman of Sotheby’s International Realty.
Built in 1834, the house is quite spacious at 6,200 square feet, with six bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two half-baths. Other notable features include 12-foot ceilings on the parlor floor, a center staircase topped by a skylight, wide-plank herringbone parquet, four private outdoor spaces, three fireplaces, and an elevator that stops on five of the townhouse’s six floors.
Starting at the bottom, the cellar includes an interesting brick-vaulted wine room with racks for 300 bottles, along with a home theater room currently used as a gym. Above that is the garden level, with an envy-inducing mudroom and laundry area, a guest bedroom and bath, and a family room with fireplace. This level also includes a cute kitchenette and a powder room.
Next is the parlor floor, which comprises a foyer, a combination living and dining room, and an eat-in kitchen that spills out to a terrace. The second floor is dedicated to the master suite, with an enormous dressing room, a freestanding tub, and a private library/study wrapped in glammed-up geometric wallpaper. The third floor is devoted to the children, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms arranged around a central playroom. There’s also second set of laundry equipment.
The fourth floor has a family room with another kitchenette, along with a large set-back terrace that boasts the aforementioned hot tub. Crowning it all is a roof terrace with wrap-around views over the historic neighborhood.
Yes, this place is a winner — stunningly updated, spacious, thoughtfully laid out, and well located. Did we mention the off-street parking?