Long Beach house for sale for $850G built during Prohibition
This Long Beach home is on the market for $849,999. Credit: Brandon Cusma
An elevated Long Beach ranch built when speakeasies ruled the barrier island is on the market for $849,999.
A short walk from East Atlantic Beach, the home on Connecticut Avenue was built in 1930 in the thick of the Prohibition era. While it was gut renovated earlier this year, its vintage facade remains intact, listing agent Brandon Cusma said.
"We left the original facade up top and that brickwork, and have some exterior stucco that has been revived," said Cusma, with Woodbury-based Realty Connect USA. But inside, "it's a true gut renovation."
The exterior matches the feel of the surrounding low-lying homes in the residential west end of Long Beach, Cusma said.
The Connecticut Avenue house is under 1,000 square feet. Credit: Brandon Cusma
Long Beach got its start as a resort town, drawing New York City elites looking for beachy fun before the Nassau County neighborhood officially became a city in 1922.
The Connecticut Avenue home dates to the area's swinging Prohibition days, when speakeasies abounded along West Beech Street and bootleggers unloaded cargo for delivery to Gotham.
Today, Long Beach holds a mix of homes, co-ops and rental apartments and a bustling real estate market, Cusma said. But the area is not for everyone, he added.
"You have to want Long Beach," Cusma said. "You got to want that salt life."
The house has one bathroom. Credit: Brandon Cusma
The house features three bedrooms and one bathroom, totaling around 964 square feet, according to property records. It also has a one-car garage with just enough storage space for residents' bikes, surfboards and even fishing poles, Cusma added.
"In this kind of market, where every square foot counts, having that storage area is huge," he said.
The home was gut-renovated earlier this year, the listing agent said. Credit: Brandon Cusma
Property taxes are estimated to be about $10,930 this year, but buyers may be eligible for the state's School Tax Relief (STAR) program, which can lower that bill, Cusma said. The home is in the Long Beach City School District.
The house was gut-renovated earlier this year, and has lofted ceilings which help make the interior feel spacious, Cusma said. Oceanside-based FAS Developers purchased the property for $605,000 in January, according to property records.
"Everything is truly new, from the HVAC, the plumbing, the electric, quartz countertop and even the backsplash," Cusma said. "All the stainless steel appliances are brand new."
At $849,999, the price of the home comes in below the median price of a home in Long Beach, which stood at $912,500 as of last year, according to data from OneKey MLS, Long Island's multiple listing service. It's also less than the median sale price in Nassau County, which rose to $852,000 in May, Newsday reported.
