We Buy Houses & Buildings in Grant City, Staten Island

Housing Stock

What Grant City Is Built From

Grant City is a neighborhood of small houses on a tight grid. Many of its one-family homes were built in the 1950s, and growth picked up again after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964 and made the commute to Brooklyn easier. Mixed in with the postwar houses are older frame homes from the late 1800s and early 1900s, two-family houses, newer semi-detached and attached infill, and apartment buildings along Lincoln Avenue and Hylan Boulevard.

On Richmond Road near the neighborhood’s western edge stands the Lakeman-Cortelyou House, an early Dutch farmhouse often dated to the late 1600s and among the oldest houses on this side of the island. Richmond Road and Hylan Boulevard carry most of the shops and services, and Lincoln Avenue ties the neighborhood together, running past the SIR station.

Typical Property Types

• 1950s one-family houses around Lincoln, Fremont and Adams Avenues
• Older frame houses from before the postwar boom
• Brick and frame two-family houses
• Semi-detached and attached houses from later infill
• Apartment and mixed-use buildings on Lincoln Avenue and Hylan Boulevard

From Frenchtown to Grant City

The area was originally known as Frenchtown. It was renamed for Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War era, a notable choice on an island where the war was unpopular and anti-draft riots broke out in July 1863. Several streets carry the names of figures from that period: Lincoln Avenue for Abraham Lincoln, Fremont Avenue for John C. Fremont, Colfax Avenue for Schuyler Colfax and Greeley Avenue for Horace Greeley, along with Adams Avenue for John Adams.

In the mid-1960s the Staten Island Railway through Grant City was placed in an open cut, which removed grade crossings and shaped the station that serves the neighborhood today. In August 1990 a small tornado tracked north along Fremont Avenue, toppling trees more than a century old.

Around the Station

Lincoln Avenue, the SIR & Hylan Boulevard

The Grant City Station

The Grant City station sits at Lincoln Avenue and North Railroad Avenue, with a main exit to Lincoln Avenue and a secondary exit to Fremont Avenue. Jefferson Avenue is the next stop north and New Dorp the next south. Trains run to the St. George ferry terminal, which makes the blocks within a short walk of the station popular with commuters and renters.

Hylan Boulevard

Hylan Boulevard carries the S78 and S79 buses and express buses to Manhattan. Its frontage holds storefronts, offices and apartment buildings. Mixed-use and commercial owners here often sell because of tenant turnover, deferred roofs and facades, or a retiring owner. We buy those buildings with leases in place.

Richmond Road and the Hill

On the western side, Richmond Road runs at the foot of a steep rise that separates Grant City from Todt Hill. Lots near the slope can be irregular, and hillside rules can apply on the upper side of the road. Richmond Road itself has older houses and small commercial buildings, and local buses connect it north toward the expressway and south toward Richmondtown.

Zoning

Zoning Context in Grant City

Most of Grant City is zoned for low-density one- and two-family housing, with commercial overlays along Hylan Boulevard, Richmond Road and parts of Lincoln Avenue. As part of Staten Island’s Lower Density Growth Management Area, new construction generally needs more off-street parking, larger yards and more open space than the base zoning alone requires.

City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, adopted in December 2024, applies here, but most of Staten Island keeps its parking minimums. Accessory dwelling units are allowed on many one- and two-family lots, with limits by district and location, and basement and ground-floor ADUs are barred in high-risk flood areas. Blocks east toward Midland Beach are more likely to fall in mapped flood zones.

Zoning and flood questions are specific to each parcel. Confirm the details for your property with a zoning professional or attorney before relying on them.

Regulated Buildings

Rent-Regulated and Tax-Benefit Buildings

Most Grant City housing is one- and two-family homes, which are not rent-stabilized, and Staten Island has relatively few stabilized apartments compared with Brooklyn. Older rental buildings with six or more units built before 1974 can include them. Since the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, owners have had very few ways to raise regulated rents while taxes, insurance and repairs keep rising.

If you own one of those buildings, see our rent-stabilized building page. For newer rental buildings with a 421-a benefit, existing benefits continue on their schedules even though the program closed to new projects in 2022; our 421-a page explains how we buy them.

Inherited Property

Selling an Inherited House in Grant City

Grant City’s postwar houses are now passing from the families who bought them new to children and grandchildren, many of whom live in New Jersey, on Long Island or out of state. The houses often need updating, and some have a tenant in a second unit.

Who Can Sign: Executors and Administrators

Staten Island estates go through the Richmond County Surrogate’s Court at 18 Richmond Terrace in St. George, across from the ferry terminal. When there is a will, the court issues letters testamentary to the executor. When there is no will, it appoints an administrator and issues letters of administration. The fiduciary with those letters generally signs the contract and deed. We can sign a contract while the estate is in process and close once authority is granted; your estate attorney confirms what the letters allow.

Situations We Handle

• Siblings who disagree — a written as-is offer gives every heir the same number to consider
• Out-of-state heirs — we can arrange access and handle the walkthrough so you do not have to travel
• Vacant-house costs — taxes, water, heat and insurance continue while the house sits empty, and vacant coverage can be hard to get
• Houses that need work — original kitchens, old boilers, oil tanks or a house full of belongings
• Tenants in the two-family — we buy with the tenant in place and take over the tenancy at closing

Read our guide to selling inherited property on Staten Island, and get tax and estate advice from your own attorney or accountant.

Where We Buy

Where We Buy in Grant City

We buy on every block of Grant City. These are the parts we hear about most:

• Lincoln Avenue — houses, apartment buildings and storefronts along the neighborhood’s main street and near the station
• Fremont, Adams & Colfax Avenues — postwar one-family houses and two-families on the grid
• Greeley Avenue blocks — older frame houses mixed with later infill
• Richmond Road side — older houses and small commercial buildings at the foot of Todt Hill
• Hylan Boulevard — mixed-use, office and apartment buildings along the main commercial road
• Jefferson Avenue & New Dorp edges — blocks that blend into Dongan Hills and New Dorp

Why Owners Sell

Why Grant City Owners Sell to Us

• Estates — heirs settling a parent’s house who want one clean sale
• Tired landlords — two-family owners who no longer want a tenant
• Deferred repairs — roofs, boilers, oil tanks or foundations a financed buyer would resist
• Legal-use problems — basement units or extra apartments not on the certificate of occupancy
• Violations and liens — open DOB or ECB violations, water charges or tax liens
• Relocating — owners moving off the island who want a firm price and date

These narrow the buyer pool on a public listing. Selling directly means one buyer, a written price and a closing date you choose.

Your Options

Your Options for Selling Grant City Property

List With a Broker

Grant City has steady demand from buyers who want a house near the SIR and Hylan Boulevard. A renovated, vacant house can sell well on the market. Listing means repairs, showings, an appraisal and a buyer’s mortgage, plus months before closing. If your house is ready and you have time, listing may net more, and we will tell you so.

Renovate or Develop Yourself

Renovating, legalizing a unit or rebuilding on a larger lot can raise value if you have capital and time. Permits, lower-density parking and yard rules and carrying costs add risk.

Sell Directly to Red Hook Development

We buy as-is, with tenants, estates and violations, off-market and confidentially. There is no commission to us, and you choose the closing date. See what we buy or submit your property.

How It Works

How Selling to Us Works

• Tell us about the property — address, units, rents and condition
• We respond within one business day — and review zoning, flood maps, tax records and violations
• Walkthrough — one visit on your schedule; we can arrange access for out-of-state owners
• Written offer — as-is, clear terms, no repair requests
• Close with your attorney — on the date you choose, once title is clear

Market Context

The Grant City Market

Grant City sells mainly to families and commuters who want an affordable Mid-Island house near the train, Hylan Boulevard and the bridge. Updated, vacant houses get the most attention. Estate houses with years of deferred work, occupied two-families, whole apartment buildings and properties with violations sell to a much smaller group of buyers.

Those are the properties we focus on. We also buy across the Mid-Island, including Midland Beach, Dongan Hills and New Dorp.