Brooklyn - the apple of the capital’s eye
NE OF WELLINGTON’S oldest and most popular suburbs is synonymous with the White House.
Brooklyn, which evolved from two farms 130 years ago, may be named after a New York City borough but 10 of its streets bear the names of United States presidents.
They range from Washington Ave, Taft St and Lincoln St to McKinley Cres, Garfield St and Jefferson St.
Brooklyn’s also home to another Big Apple namesake, Central Park, where US forces set up a base during World War II.
The park is just one of many features that make the hillside suburb a vote-winner with homeowners.
It combines spectacular city and harbour views with a mix of modern housing and character homes (villas, bungalows, state houses), village shopping, and proximity to downtown, the motorway and the South Coast.
The community of 6500 is perched about three kilometres above downtown, where its “windmill”, a wind turbine that’s 299 metres above sea level, can be seen from many parts of the city.
Settlement pre-dated the subdivision of Fitchett and Goathurst Farms in 1888 but it wasn’t until a tram service linked it to the city that Brooklyn started to develop into the thriving 397-hectare suburb it is today.
It offers a variety of eateries and bars, its own cinema, library and fire station, and two schools: a primary school and a co-ed Catholic school.
In addition to Central Park, nearby Tanera Park combines sports facilities with community gardens, Elliot Park has a playground, and walking and mountain biking tracks link the suburb to Karori Wildlife Reserve.
While most of Brooklyn’s houses were built in the 1910s and 1920s, the Ernst Plischke-designed Sutch House dates to the mid-50s, Kingston and Mitchell streets were developed in the 1960s, and Panorama Heights and Kowhai Park in the 1990s.
House prices typically range from $400,000 to $2 million. The highest price paid in the last six months was $2.03 million for a renovated 1920s home with four bedrooms on a 739-square-metre section in Karepa St.
It was one of five sales to top $1 million.
The cheapest of the 44 properties to change hands was a 1910s three-bedroom apartment in Cleveland St that required strengthening ($320,000).
The median price was $740,000 and the average, $751,474.
Tenants can expect to pay from $575-$695 a week for a three-bedroom house, from $445$482 for a two-bedroom apartment, and from $449-$612 for a three-bedroom flat.