45-12 11th Street

This one-of-a-kind townhouse has it all: light, space, location and low expenses along with one of the most healthy and quiet indoor environments possible, all in a climate change resistant and environmentally conscious structure.

Configured as a three-bedroom owner's triplex over a garden level two-bedroom apartment, the design of this 19.5' wide house includes a passive air exchange system and solar heated water which significantly reduce heating and cooling bills.

The first floor consists of three bedrooms and two bathrooms, including a king-sized primary suite with a large pass-through closet, along with a washer-dryer and access to the garden. The second floor has the main living space: a spacious living room with a small east-facing balcony, a bedroom currently used as a library/office with reclaimed original joists of longleaf pine shelves (trees that began growing around 1780), a kitchen with 2 exposures that allows for great cross ventilation and includes Bosch appliances with an induction cooktop and an Electrolux refrigerator, a dining room that can easily accommodate an 8-person table as well as an adjacent south facing terrace, and a half-bathroom.

The top floor of the building affords stunning views of the LIC and Manhattan skylines from both the solarium and either of the two terraces. The east-facing terrace features a green roof and built into the terraces are 13 large planters that allow for seasonal rooftop gardening. Of course, the solarium can function as a greenhouse to extend horticultural capabilities.

The well-kept garden level apartment has 2 bedrooms and two full baths along with access to both the front and back gardens. A crape-myrtle and viburnum in the front provide privacy from the street and the lush private back garden, irrigated by a rainwater runoff collection system, has extensive plantings of tulips, daffodils, crocus, peonies, narcissus and bearded iris. Sixty species of birds have been identified here.

Probably the best-constructed townhouse in Queens, the meticulous 3-year renovation, finished in 2014, fulfills passive house specifications. Originally completed in 1903, the whole structure was elevated 3.5' out of the floodplain during the reconstruction.

Some of the other passive house design features include Schuco triple pane windows with argon throughout the house for temperature and sound insulation and a controlled indoor environment with a Zehnder air ventilation unit where the air is filtered through hospital-grade HEPA filters and completely exchanged about every 3 hours. There is also a Mitsubishi split system for additional temperature control on each floor.