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Unicorn startup founder buys $10M Brooklyn Heights townhouse

Home at 48 Garden Place listed last April asking just under $12M

<p>A photo illustration of Mews&#8217; Richard Valtr along with 48 Garden Place in Brooklyn Heights (Getty, Mews, BLLA Events, Google Maps)</p>

A photo illustration of Mews’ Richard Valtr along with 48 Garden Place in Brooklyn Heights (Getty, Mews, BLLA Events, Google Maps)

The founder of a tech company with a $1.2 billion valuation is moving to Brooklyn Heights.

Richard Valtr, and his wife, public relations executive Elisabeth Von Schwarzkopf-Valtr, paid just under $10 million for a townhouse at 48 Garden Place, according to public records. 

Valtr is the founder of a hospitality management software startup called Mews. The company earned unicorn status earlier this year after its latest round of fundraising yielded $110 million. 

The couple’s renovated brownstone was the priciest Brooklyn abode to find a buyer between Jan. 29 and Feb. 4. 

It hit the market last April with an asking price just under $12 million, according to the listing on Compass’ website. The home was pulled off the market and re-listed for $11 million in August before the price dropped to $10.5 million in November. 

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Built in the 1800s, the historic home spans about 5,100 square feet with another 1,100 square feet of outdoor space, including a landscaped garden and two terraces. It has seven bedrooms and four bathrooms and features two wood-burning fireplaces, skylights and chef’s kitchen.

The seller is an unknown LLC with a listed address at 210 Pacific Street — an energy-efficient “passive house” condo in Boerum Hill. The condo board sued the developer, Nava Partners, last year over claims of construction defects and shoddy materials. 

Compass’ Barbara Wilding, Jillian Woods and Lucy Bekheet had the listing. 

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Home prices in Brooklyn soared last quarter with median sales exceeding $1 million in 14 neighborhoods, according to a report by Property Shark. Several neighborhoods in the borough ranked among the 50 most expensive in the city, including Brooklyn Heights. It finished 21st with a median sale price of $1.2 million, up 23 percent from $999,000 in the first quarter of 2023.

Townhouses in Brooklyn Heights regularly claim the top spot in weekly reports on the borough’s luxury market. Last week, two of the neighborhood’s landmarked homes, asking $7 million and $6.8 million, were the priciest Brooklyn properties to find buyers. 

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