177 MONTAGUE STREET

One of the things that makes Brooklyn Heights such a gorgeous and, therefore, coveted neighborhood is its architecture. It's long been one of Brooklyn's priciest areas, so it's not surprising to hear that condos are proliferating there, especially given all those sexy historic bank buildings that are ripe for the picking. Take the old Brooklyn Trust Company Building. Completed in 1916, the building was designed by Edward York and Philip Sawyer, considered the go-to bank architects of the early 20th century. Modeled after the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona, Italy, it's as gorgeous inside as it is outside. It boasts a grand banking hall with a vaulted ceiling and a Cosmati mosaic floor. This splendid structure on Montague and Clinton Streets is a city and federal landmark and still operates as a bank. The ground level is home to a Chase Bank branch, and Chase ain't going anywhere. But the building's top floors are being converted to boutique condos, reports The New York Times. A dozen to be exact, plus four duplexes. Nice. "Construction will be complete this spring and sales are expected to begin soon, with prices starting at $3.35 million for a two-bedroom up to $4.35 million for a five-bedroom duplex." The conversion is, because of the building's landmark status, complex, but the results are sure to be pretty darn sweet for whoever is lucky enough to call the boutique condos home. The Times adds that "in perhaps the most striking anomaly, the top floor has no windows. Instead, rooms have operable skylights providing light and air. The top floor has dramatic steel trusses, from which the lower floors are suspended. Three of the duplexes have a stair ladder in a secondary bedroom leading to loft space." Talk about having the best house in the best neighborhood! The cherry on the top is that it's near all those subway lines, the picturesque promenade, and the magnificent Brooklyn Bridge.

Photo by Scott Bintner for Property Shark.