Hasidic "House Hunters"

Dailynews: How hot is Brooklyn these days? So hot that condo developers are seeking building sites even in Prospect Lefferts Gardens -- where single-family homes are the only thing that's allowed in a big section of the neighborhood, because of deed covenants that date back to the 1890s. And other parts of the nabe are included in a city landmark district, which also limits new construction.Builders are heading to this area despite the relatively low supply of available sites because of the continued strong demand for housing in one of the hottest boroughs.....New Yorkers who worry about all the talk of a housing bubble need look no further than Prospect Lefferts Gardens -- where apartment hunters are calling developer John Hanczor about buying condos on a site where he hasn't even started demolition."There's a big demand," said Hanczor of Talia Enterprises, who plans a seven-story, 27-unit condo building at 386 Lefferts Ave. He's custom-designing the apartments to appeal to Hasidic families who can't find places to live in Crown Heights -- the nabe just north of Prospect Lefferts Gardens.The condos will be large, including some five-bedroom duplexes. They'll have kosher kitchens with two sinks -- and terraces where residents can build sukkah huts for the fall festival of Succoth.The condos at 386 Lefferts are expected to sell for $400 to $450 per square foot. The pricing's modest compared with rates of $625 to $800 per square foot in Park Slope, which is just across Prospect Park......On sites that don't have suitable buildings for condo conversion, developers are starting fresh. At 393 Lefferts Ave., on the corner of New York Ave., developer Steve Rosenberg is constructing a seven-story building with 33 condos.Next door, at 379 Lefferts Ave., an eight-story building with nine duplex condos is planned. Like Hanczor's project, this development will have large apartments with kosher kitchens and other features to draw Hasidic house-hunters."If you provide a good product and include the amenities that follow religious law, buyers will walk a block or two extra from Crown Heights," predicted Henry Radusky of Bricolage Designs, the building's architect.This design formula has already worked once for its developer, Simon Liani. He recently built a six-story, 10-unit apartment house around the corner, at 502 New York Ave. Those condos sold out before construction was completed, Radusky said.