Bacchus bistro on Atlantic Avenue.

The Basics: Slightly cheaper than Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill is home to quiet streets lined with quaint brownstones as well as Court Street's happening restaurants and bars.

Boundaries: Stretches from Atlantic Avenue to Douglass Street and from Columbia to Smith Streets.

Borders: Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens.

Subway stops: F or G to Bergen St.

 OUTLOOK

What's new: Development is scarce in these landmarked areas, and demand is high—so anything new is top-notch. The new four-story condos on State Street between Willow Place and Hicks Street are meant to blend into the historic block, and run from $590,000 to $1.89 million. Slightly more affordable are new units in five brick buildings on Warren Street, between Court and Smith ($525,000 to $995,000). Opening this summer: 58 rental apartments, priced from $1,600 to $4,500, behind a brick-and-glass façade on Atlantic Avenue between Henry Street and the river.

Bargain hunting: Scout the area delineated by Smith Street, Court Street, Atlantic Avenue, and Degraw Street. Also, look for loft-style apartments in up-and-coming “West Cobble Hill” (around Tiffany Place and Columbia Street).

Prediction: The best neighborhood in Brooklyn will never be cheap again, especially given the whopping increases of the past decade. But don’t look for more big gains. “I guess we are going to plateau for a while,” says broker Christopher Thomas. Two-bedrooms are the greatest draw (for people who’d otherwise buy a one-bedroom in Manhattan). The weakest market? Townhouses at the top of the range, around $3 million.

— Profile from the March 10, 2003 cover story of New York Magazine