545 Washington Avenue (Isabella)

The condominium sits on a lot of about 26,850 square feet, with roughly 64,000 square feet of residential floor area above and around a garage of about 12,600 square feet. The facade is red brick and the height is seven stories. PLUTO maps the lot R6B today. The new-building application was filed in 2004, so if any owner is weighing a rooftop or terrace addition, have zoning counsel confirm the building's status under the current mapping first.

The 63 residential units run from about 465 square feet to about 1,650 square feet in Department of Finance records, which confirms a mix of studios to three-bedrooms. The size schedule repeats floor by floor, so most lines have a direct counterpart above or below, and resales are easy to compare across floors. Floor, exposure and outdoor space separate units. So does parking, because the garage is a separately owned unit and not a common element. The association's statements describe the parking as independently owned, so whether a unit comes with a space appears to depend on the garage owner's arrangements, not on the unit deed. Confirm that in writing before you pay for access to parking.

The association owns one apartment itself, unit 105, the superintendent's residence, which was conveyed to it in November 2011 per its audited statements.

Finances, per the audited statements on file (years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020). The association billed roughly $690,000 a year in common charges in 2020, plus income from the parking unit and other sources. It carried an association-level mortgage with a 2020 year-end balance under $900,000, split across a first and two second mortgages at rates in the low 5 percent range. That mortgage matures on November 6, 2027. The debt has been amortizing, so the balance due at maturity will be smaller than the 2020 figure, but a refinancing or payoff decision is coming within about a year of this writing. Ask the board how it plans to handle the maturity and whether the plan involves an assessment.

Reserve cash stood just under $400,000 at the 2020 year-end. The auditor noted that the association had not commissioned a reserve study and had not adopted a funding plan for major repairs. The 2020 statements also record a one-time settlement payment from the sponsor to the association. The statements give no detail about what the settlement resolved. Ask for the settlement agreement and confirm that no claims remain open. These statements are several years old. Request the three most recent years along with the current budget.

Governance record. Amended declarations were recorded against the condominium in January and March 2026. We have not reviewed their contents. Request both from the managing agent, because an amendment to the declaration can change use restrictions, common-interest allocations or leasing rules.

Capital and compliance. The building is now about fifteen years old. Its elevators, roof membrane, facade (under its Local Law 11 cycle) and garage structure are all at the age when capital questions come up. It is over 25,000 square feet, so it falls under the city's energy benchmarking and emissions rules. Ask the managing agent to state the building's position under those rules in writing.

Recent sales

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-02013-7503) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price.

Underwrite the full tax bill, because that is what you will pay. The 421-a exemption ended with the 2025 tax year. Pull the Department of Finance bill for the specific unit and ignore any older listing figure.

Ask about the November 2027 mortgage maturity. The association's own debt comes due in about a year. Find out whether the board will refinance, pay it off from reserves, or assess owners.

Request current financials and a reserve position. The statements on file are from 2020 and show no reserve study. Ask for the last three years, the current budget, any capital plan, and any assessment history.

Read the 2026 amended declarations. Two amendments were recorded this year. Know what they change before you sign a contract.

Confirm parking separately. The garage is its own unit with its own owner. A space is available only on the garage owner's terms.

Confirm the house rules. Pets, leasing minimums, sublet procedures and move fees are not documented in sources we can verify.

Price against unabated comparables. Buyers' attorneys will pull the tax bill. Setting the list price off abated-era sales invites a renegotiation later.

Get ahead of the 2027 maturity. A clear board plan for the mortgage, or a clean payoff letter, takes a question off the table for a buyer's lender.

Lead with location and scale. A 63-unit elevator condominium with a roof deck and parking on site, a block from the C, has few direct competitors in Clinton Hill.

If you're considering Isabella, also evaluate:

• 856 Washington Avenue — a 26-unit 2017 condominium further south on Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights; newer and smaller
• 35 Underhill Avenue (The Washington) — a 39-unit two-building Prospect Heights condominium of a similar mid-2000s generation
• 315 Gates Avenue (315 Gates) — a 72-unit 2009 amenity condominium in western Bedford-Stuyvesant with its own 421-a expiry
• 87 Irving Place — a 25-unit Clinton Hill condominium delivered in 2024; the new-construction alternative
• 532 Clinton Avenue — a 14-unit Clinton Hill condominium a few blocks west; the boutique alternative
• 550 Vanderbilt Avenue — the 278-unit Pacific Park tower across Atlantic; full service at far larger scale
• 280 Saint Marks Avenue — a 31-unit 2016 Prospect Heights condominium
• 360 Clinton Avenue — the prewar elevator co-op in the Clinton Hill Historic District; the tenure contrast