We Buy Victorians, Houses & Main Street Buildings in Tottenville

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What Tottenville Is Built From

Tottenville has deeper roots than almost anywhere in the city. A 17th-century manor house still stands at its southern tip, and the village that grew up on the Arthur Kill was renamed Tottenville in 1869 after the local Totten family. In the late 1800s and early 1900s it was a working waterfront town: oystering thrived until pollution forced a harvesting ban in 1916, and wooden boatbuilding flourished until steel hulls took over, with the last shipyard closing in 1930.

That era left Tottenville with one of the best collections of 19th-century frame houses on Staten Island, especially on and near Main Street and Amboy Road. You see Victorians, Italianate and Second Empire houses, worker cottages and simple vernacular homes, many with porches and deep lots. Some have been carefully restored; others have been divided, altered or left to age.

Newer housing fills in around the old town. Detached and semi-detached homes and two-families arrived after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964, and a wave of residential development in the 1990s extended the neighborhood toward Hylan Boulevard. Developers have also replaced some older houses with townhouses, which has made preservation a recurring local issue. Most homes are one- to three-family houses taxed as Class 1.

Landmarks You Will Know

The Conference House on Satterlee Street, built before 1680, hosted the failed peace conference of 1776 and is a National Historic Landmark inside Conference House Park, which also holds the Biddle House and Burial Ridge, a major Native American burial site near Ward’s Point. The 1904 Tottenville branch library on Amboy Road is a city landmark, as is the 1870 parsonage at 7484 Amboy Road, designated in 2005 after residents fought its demolition. Bethel United Methodist Church on Amboy Road anchors the old village.

Zoning

Zoning & Land-Use Rules in Tottenville

Tottenville’s residential blocks are zoned mostly for detached and semi-detached houses, with commercial overlays along Main Street, Amboy Road and Page Avenue. Several layers of rules sit on top of that zoning.

Special South Richmond Development District

Tottenville lies within the Special South Richmond Development District, created in 1975. The district’s tree preservation and tree-credit requirements, limits on changing natural grade, protection of designated open space and general 50-foot height cap all apply here. The 2023 South Richmond zoning relief amendments made approvals easier for homeowners and lots under one acre while keeping closer review for larger sites.

LDGMA, Flood Zones & City of Yes

As part of Staten Island’s Lower Density Growth Management Area, new homes here need more parking and larger yards than the same zoning elsewhere in the city. Shoreline blocks are in or near FEMA flood zones, where new and substantially improved buildings must meet elevation and floodproofing rules. The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity changes adopted in December 2024 apply, but accessory dwelling units are barred in the coastal flood zone and restricted in the lowest-density districts. Confirm specifics with a zoning professional or land use attorney.

Regulated Buildings

Tenants & Rented Homes in Tottenville

Because rent stabilization generally applies to buildings with six or more units built before 1974, it is rare in Tottenville. Old houses that were divided into two or three apartments, and mixed-use buildings on Main Street with apartments upstairs, are usually unregulated. Tenants still have strong protections under New York law, and removing one requires a court process.

We buy with tenants in place and take over the tenancies and any commercial leases at closing. For larger regulated buildings, see selling a rent-stabilized building, and for newer buildings with a tax benefit, selling a 421-a building. If a tenant has stopped paying, read our guide to selling with tenants not paying.

Where We Buy

Where We Buy in Tottenville

We buy throughout Tottenville. Most of our activity is in these areas:

• Main Street — the historic commercial core near the Tottenville station, with storefronts, mixed-use buildings and old houses
• Amboy Road — the old road through the village, with landmark-era houses, churches and the library
• The northern blocks toward the Arthur Kill — 19th-century frame houses and worker cottages near the former shipyards
• Near Hylan Boulevard — newer detached and semi-detached homes on the southeastern side
• Page Avenue — the second commercial area on the northern edge, near the Richmond Valley line

The Old Village

The streets around Main Street and Amboy Road form the old village, where most of Tottenville’s 19th-century houses stand. Owners here are often long-time families, and many houses need structural, roofing, porch or systems work. Some have been converted into two or three apartments over the years without clear permits. We buy them as they are and take on the renovation, aiming to keep the character that makes these blocks distinctive.

The Shore & Conference House Park

Along the southern shore and near Conference House Park, homes sit close to the water and to one of the city’s most historic parks. This is where Sandy hit hardest. In 2024 the state completed Living Breakwaters, a set of eight partially submerged breakwaters, about 2,400 feet in total, off the Tottenville shoreline, designed to reduce wave energy and erosion and to create habitat. Flood status and past storm repairs matter in any sale here, and we account for both.

Former Industrial Land

Tottenville’s waterfront was industrial for generations. The former Nassau Smelting plant, later used by Lucent Technologies, closed in 2001, and its roughly 30-acre site was sold in 2016 with its future use still unsettled. Smaller parcels near the Arthur Kill also carry industrial histories. We buy land with environmental questions and handle the due diligence ourselves. Neighboring Charleston and Richmond Valley lie just north.

Inherited Property

Selling an Inherited House in Tottenville

Many Tottenville houses have been in the same family for two or three generations. When they pass to the next one, the heirs may live far away, disagree about what to do, or inherit an old house that needs more work than anyone can take on.

Letters From the Richmond County Surrogate’s Court

Staten Island estates go through the Richmond County Surrogate’s Court at 18 Richmond Terrace in St. George. If there is a will, the executor receives letters testamentary. If not, the court appoints an administrator who receives letters of administration, which can limit selling real estate without additional approval. Older Tottenville houses sometimes still have title in a grandparent’s name, which may mean more than one estate to settle first. Your estate attorney will guide that; we are patient while it happens.

Estate Situations We Handle

• Siblings who cannot agree on selling, renting or keeping the house
• Out-of-state heirs; we arrange access and handle the walkthrough so you do not need to travel
• A vacant old house costing taxes, insurance, heat and water every month
• A Victorian that needs major work no lender would finance as-is
• A two-family or converted house with tenants; we take over the tenancies at closing
• A full house of belongings, from the attic to the basement

Read our guide to selling inherited property on Staten Island for the full process. Nothing here is legal advice.

Why Owners Sell

Why Tottenville Owners Sell to Us

Tottenville’s restored Victorians and newer homes often sell well on the open market. The owners who call us usually have a reason that is harder:

• An old frame house with structural, wiring or plumbing problems
• Flood insurance costs or unfinished post-Sandy repairs
• Apartments added without permits, or open DOB and ECB violations
• A storefront building with a vacant ground floor
• A tenant who will not leave or will not pay
• A divorce, relocation or health change that calls for a private, predictable sale

We buy as-is and work through those issues ourselves.

Potential

What Gives Tottenville Property Its Value

Tottenville offers what few places in the city can: a walkable 19th-century village center, water on three sides and protected parkland at Conference House Park. The Staten Island Railway ends here at the Tottenville station, with the Arthur Kill station, opened in 2017, serving the northern side, and express buses run to Manhattan. The Outerbridge Crossing is minutes away for drivers headed to New Jersey.

For a buyer like us, value usually comes from restoring old houses, legalizing or reconfiguring layouts, reusing Main Street buildings, and building carefully on lots where the zoning allows. That work takes capital, permits and construction experience, which is why many owners would rather sell to someone who does it every day.

Your Options

Your Options for Selling in Tottenville

List With a Broker

A restored Victorian or a clean newer home can draw strong interest on the market, and listing may net you more. Expect showings, a buyer’s mortgage and inspection, and flood insurance requirements near the shore.

Restore or Build Yourself

You could restore an old house or build on a lot. That can add value, but it means contractors, permits, South Richmond and flood-zone requirements, and months of carrying costs.

Sell Directly to Red Hook Development

We buy as-is, with estates, tenants, violations and storm repairs accounted for. You trade some possible upside for certainty, privacy and a closing date you choose. Start on our sell your property page.

How It Works

How Selling Your Tottenville Property Works

• Tell us about the property — address, type, occupancy and what you know about its condition
• We research — zoning, flood maps, landmark status, South Richmond rules and violations
• One visit — around you or your tenants; we arrange access for out-of-state owners
• Written cash offer — clear terms, no financing contingency
• Attorney-led closing — on the date you choose

We respond within one business day. No fee, no obligation.

Market Context

The Tottenville Market

Tottenville’s market ranges from restored Victorians that attract buyers who want history to newer homes near Hylan Boulevard and older houses that need everything. Flood zone, lot size, condition, permits and how a house was altered over the years all change what it is worth.

We do not publish price claims for Tottenville. We give you a written offer with the reasoning behind it, so you can compare it with listing, restoring or holding.