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HELLO SWEETHEARTS

 

Erica and Ryan Keberle spend a lot of time in Hello Living apartments. Their first brush with the firm was in 2012, when they purchased a condo at Hello Hudson at 935 Pacific Street. The high school sweethearts left their wholesome hometown of Spokane, Washington in 2001 to pursue their passions. Ryan, a trombone player and Jazz musician, journeyed to Broadway, including a three years stint in the orchestra of In The Heights Lin Manuel Miranda’s breakout musical, as well as music festivals and tours all over the world. Erica, began her career in public service, advocating on behalf of underprivileged communities, working her way through City Council members’ offices to Mayor Bloomberg’s Deputy Director of City Legislative Affairs.

 

At the time of the purchase, the Keberles owned a 100 year old three family townhouse in South Slope and, tired of being landlords, they were attracted to the new developments going up around neighborhoods like Clinton Hill, Crown Heights and Bedstuy. “All that new construction came up around that time, and it was something totally different than what we were used to,” Ryan says. “In our minds it meant a lot less upkeep, something a little more flashy, and maybe even a view.”

 

While other developments were done up with Ikea kitchens and standard building grade finishes, Hello Living included outdoor space with every unit. “We loved the 35’ expanse of windows with views of the Empire State Building. We loved the aesthetics,” Erica says. “Our attorney told us all her coolest clients were buying Hello Living apartments.”

 

What sealed the deal though, was the building’s unique amenities model, in which the 6 buildings in the Hello Living Pacific street complex share a host of luxurious perks like a pool, fitness center, screening room, children’s playroom, and social. Likened to an upscale urban kibbutz, the model fosters a sense of community amongst the properties’ residents.

 

They sold the apartment in 2015, with a handsome profit, proving Hello Living properties to be a great investment, as well as founder Eli Karp’s knack at identifying opportunities and developing the area. Erica and Ryan have since moved to an apartment on Eastern Parkway, overlooking the Brooklyn Museum, staying in the Prospect Heights neighborhood they love.

 

That was not the end of the Keberle’s Hello Living story. In 2014, Erica left government life to turn her hobby of buying, renovating, and selling Brooklyn properties into a career brokering apartments. For the past 3 years she has been staging Hello Living’s apartments all over Brooklyn for their brokerage of record, Rahme Real Estate.

Hello, Living’s staged apartments are peppered with the couple’s personal knick-knacks. A coffee table, spray-painted silver for its original black, once sat in Erica’s mom’s Spokane home. A series of Ryan’s song lyrics are framed and mounted above a couch. “It’s important to me to have a mix,” Erica says. “Not to just go to Crate & Barrel and buy a showroom and vomit it up in the apartment. It should feel like it has character and soul.”

 

Moving down Washington Avenue from Pacific Street to their current home on Eastern Parkway, a mere nine blocks away highlights how drastically the neighborhoods vary even within a short geographical expanse. “What’s crazy to me about New York is the micro-ness of the entire city,” says Erica. “Pacific is more industrial with its body shops and bus depots. The southern end of the block is so grand, with the museums and the botanic gardens, some of the best cultural institutions in the city.”  

 

Today, the Keberles split their time between their Brooklyn apartment and a Catskill summer house, finding the perfect balance of laid back country life and their burgeoning Brooklyn creative community, for the best of both worlds. “Having our home upstate made living here not only more manageable but in some ways made us appreciate what we have here—that spark, that creative energy—even more.”

CHECKOUT

 

  • Trade Secrets:

    • Erica’s Favorite Furniture Shops

    • With an environmental background, it’s important to Erica to minimize waste and buy secondhand. Here are her favorite shops

  • Furnishare.com

    • Easily buy and sell second-hand furniture online

  • Reuse America Vintage Warehouse

    • 387 Bushwick Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206

    • A spacious warehouse packed with vintage furniture, clothing & decor, plus housewares & bric-a-brac.

  • Yanatiba  

    • 714 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

    • Local antique shop

 

Local Gems

 

EAT

  • Lincoln Station

    • 409 Lincoln Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11238

    • Polished coffee shop & deli with a menu of thoughtfully sourced sandwiches & comfort-food plates.

 

  • El Atoradero Brooklyn

    • 708 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

    • Bronx-born spot for both homey & inventive Mexican dishes along with sophisticated drinks.

 

  • Plant Love House  

    • 622 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

    • Homestyle Thai noodle dishes, soups & spicy plates in a compact setting with a patio.

 

COFFEE

  • Sit & Wonder

    • 688 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

    • Coffeehouse focused on organic/direct-trade brews, plus pastries & sandwiches.

 

DRINK

  • Bearded Lady  

    • 686A Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238

    • Classic '50s-diner-style lounge with large windows featuring upscale, creative cocktails.

 

VISIT

  • The Actor’s Fund Arts Center

    • 160 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

    • State-of-the-art black box performance venue located in downtown Brooklyn.

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