We Buy Houses & Buildings in Port Richmond, Staten Island

Housing Stock

What Port Richmond Is Built From

Port Richmond is one of Staten Island’s oldest communities. Dutch settlers established a church and burying ground here in the late 1600s, and the village grew up around the Reformed Church on Staten Island, whose current Greek Revival building dates to 1845. The village was incorporated as Port Richmond in 1866. For generations it was a ferry landing, with boats crossing the Kill Van Kull to Bergen Point in Bayonne, and a working port with lumber and coal yards, oil works and other industry along the shore.

That history left a varied stock of buildings. Richmond Terrace has older houses, some built by oyster captains in the mid-1800s, alongside industrial and maritime parcels. Port Richmond Avenue has a row of historic two- and three-story commercial buildings. The residential blocks between Richmond Terrace and Forest Avenue mix 19th-century frame houses, early 20th-century two-families, semi-detached houses and newer infill.

Typical Property Types

• Historic mixed-use commercial buildings on Port Richmond Avenue
• 19th- and early 20th-century frame houses on Heberton Avenue, Bennett Street and nearby blocks
• Detached and semi-detached two-family houses
• Storefronts and mixed-use buildings on Castleton Avenue
• Lots and light-industrial parcels along Richmond Terrace

Landmarks and History

Several Port Richmond buildings are designated New York City landmarks, including the former P.S. 20, built in 1891, and the house at 121 Heberton Avenue, a Rustic-style villa from around 1860. The Reformed Church is on the National Register of Historic Places. Aaron Burr died in 1836 at the St. James Hotel on Richmond Terrace, a site marked by a plaque on the Griffith Block. The Port Richmond branch of the public library on Bennett Street occupies a 1905 Carnegie building, and the former Ritz Theater still stands at Port Richmond and Anderson Avenues.

Zoning

Zoning Context in Port Richmond

Port Richmond has a more mixed zoning map than most of Staten Island. A city study of the Port Richmond waterfront and commercial core identified heavy manufacturing zoning along the Kill Van Kull, pockets of light manufacturing just south of Richmond Terrace, general commercial zoning around Port Richmond Avenue, and automotive-oriented commercial zoning on some corridors. Residential blocks carry lower-density residential districts, many with commercial overlays near the main streets.

All of Staten Island is a Lower Density Growth Management Area, which generally means higher parking requirements, deeper rear yards and more space between houses than elsewhere in the city. On Staten Island, those rules also limit residential-only development in commercial districts. Waterfront parcels can be in the flood zone, and older industrial sites may need environmental testing before redevelopment.

City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, adopted in December 2024, changed some rules citywide, including accessory dwelling units and parking in some areas, but several provisions apply differently on Staten Island and in flood-prone areas. Zoning and environmental questions are lot-specific, so confirm the details with a zoning professional or attorney.

Regulated Buildings

Selling a Multifamily or Regulated Building in Port Richmond

Most Port Richmond housing is one- to four-family, which generally is not rent-stabilized, and Staten Island has relatively few rent-stabilized buildings overall. But some older apartment buildings and larger mixed-use buildings here have six or more units and were built before 1974, the general profile of a rent-stabilized building.

Since the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, owners of regulated apartments have had few ways to raise rents to keep pace with costs. We buy these buildings with their current tenants and registrations and price them from the actual rent roll and condition. Read our rent-stabilized building page, or our 421-a page for a newer building with tax benefits.

Inherited Property

Inherited and Estate Property in Port Richmond

Port Richmond has many long-held family properties: frame houses bought decades ago, two-families where relatives rented the second floor, and mixed-use buildings where a family ran a store downstairs. When the owner dies, heirs often inherit tenants, a commercial lease and a building that needs work all at once.

How Estates Work on Staten Island

Estates for Port Richmond property go through the Richmond County Surrogate’s Court at 18 Richmond Terrace in St. George. When there is a will, the court generally issues letters testamentary to the executor. When there is no will, it generally issues letters of administration, which can limit a sale of real estate until the court approves it. The person holding the letters normally signs the contract and deed. We can agree on price early and time the closing to the court paperwork.

Situations We Handle

• Heirs who live out of state or abroad — we arrange access and handle the clean-out
• Siblings who disagree — a written offer gives every heir the same clear number
• Vacant houses — taxes, insurance, water and heat keep running, and vacant houses can attract break-ins or damage
• Properties that need work — we buy as-is, with contents left behind if you prefer
• Two-families and mixed-use with tenants — we take over residential and commercial tenancies at closing

Our guide to selling inherited property on Staten Island covers probate and administration in more detail. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Where We Buy

Where We Buy in Port Richmond

We buy on every block of Port Richmond. These are the parts of the neighborhood we hear about most:

• Port Richmond Avenue — the historic commercial spine, from Richmond Terrace south toward Forest Avenue
• Richmond Terrace waterfront — older houses, Faber Park, and maritime and industrial parcels along the Kill Van Kull
• Heberton Avenue and Bennett Street — older frame houses near the Reformed Church and the library
• Castleton Avenue — storefronts, houses and mixed-use near the Castleton bus depot at Jewett Avenue
• Post Avenue and the southern blocks — detached and semi-detached houses toward Forest Avenue and Westerleigh
• Clove Road edge — the eastern blocks bordering West Brighton

Why Owners Sell

Why Port Richmond Owners Sell to Us

• Inherited property — family houses and buildings left to heirs who do not want to manage them
• Tenant-occupied two-families — owners who are tired of being landlords
• Mixed-use with storefront problems — vacant stores, expired leases or tenants behind on rent
• Old houses with deferred work — roofs, siding, boilers and electrical systems
• Violations and unpermitted units — extra apartments or conversions that were never legalized
• Waterfront and environmental questions — flood zones, manufacturing zoning or brownfield history

Each of these can slow or derail a public sale, especially one that depends on a buyer’s mortgage. A direct sale means one buyer, a written offer and a closing date you choose.

Potential

Where the Value Is in Port Richmond

Port Richmond has a walkable historic core, a busy small-business corridor on Port Richmond Avenue, and direct access to New Jersey over the Bayonne Bridge, whose roadway was raised in the late 2010s so larger ships could pass beneath. Since the late 1980s, Mexican and other Latin American immigrants have made Port Richmond Avenue a center of Latino life on Staten Island, and many small businesses have opened there.

There is no passenger rail today. The North Shore Branch station on Port Richmond Avenue lost service in 1953, and a busway or light rail on the old right-of-way has been studied for years without being built. For a developer, value usually sits in underused commercial lots, mixed-use buildings that can be renovated, and residential lots near the core where zoning allows more than what stands today.

Your Options

Your Options for Selling Port Richmond Property

List With a Broker

A renovated, vacant house can sell well on the open market, and listing may net you more if the property is in good shape and you have time. Listing also means preparation, showings, a buyer’s mortgage contingency and a commission, and tenant-occupied or mixed-use buildings often take longer to sell.

Renovate or Develop Yourself

Renovating or building can add value if you have capital and time. It also means permits, contractors, possible environmental testing, carrying costs and working around tenants.

Sell Directly to Red Hook Development

We buy as-is, with residential and commercial tenants, violations, estates and deferred maintenance. The process is private, there is no obligation, and you choose the closing date. Compare our written offer with a broker’s suggestion. Read how selling to us works or see what we buy.

How It Works

How Selling to Us Works

• Tell us about the property — address, units, leases and condition
• We respond within one business day — and review zoning, the rent roll and any commercial leases
• We see the property — one visit, which we can arrange if you live out of state
• You get a written offer — with no obligation
• Attorneys handle the contract — as is standard in New York
• You choose the closing date — and we take over the tenancies at closing

Market Context

The Port Richmond Market

Port Richmond draws buyers looking for older houses and two-families at prices that are often below other parts of the North Shore, and small-business owners looking for space on Port Richmond Avenue. Many properties have been in the same family for decades, and many are tenant-occupied, which is why we see so many estates, tired landlords and buildings that need work.

We also buy in the surrounding neighborhoods, including Elm Park, West Brighton, Westerleigh and Mariners’ Harbor. See our North Shore overview for the region.