Downtown Brooklyn Development

[Derek2k3]

Me thinks they're some cheap panels.

http://static.flickr.com/121/263834396_fe540c4898_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/102/263834397_5b104fcd06_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/114/263834398_ec65515b00_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/104/263834399_1d051332c9_o.jpg

[ablarc]

Me thinks they're some cheap panels.
Probably so, but in the photos they look pretty good.

[sfenn1117]

Thanks Derek. Looks like it's 14 floors up. It has a website, but no rendering, but I did find a rendering here:

http://nymag.com/nymetro/realestate/advertorial/21904/index.html

The real thing is not as bad as I thought it'd be.

[antinimby]

Bridgeview does look very nice. I wouldn't mind if most of our residentials came out like that.

[krulltime]

Muss, Developer of Hotel-Office Complex, Plans To Acquire Space in Adams St. Bldg
Downtown Board OK’s Sale of 33,000 Square Feet for $8 Million


By Dennis Holt
10-16-2006

BROOKLYN — Downtown Brooklyn developer Joshua Muss, whose efforts produced Renaissance Plaza and, more recently, the addition to the Marriott Hotel, is taking another step in his vision to expand retail in the area.

The city has agreed to sell Muss the bottom two floors of 345 Adams St., space previously occupied by government agencies, to create more retail space. The building is right next to the Marriott. Community Board 2 on Wednesday approved the sale of the 33,000 square feet for $8 million. This is a land-use issue and will require the usual government approvals.

For a long time, Muss has had his eye on the space which is in a building that wraps around Willoughby Street and onto a part of Pearl Street. Originally, he wanted to create more shopping opportunities for nearby hotel patrons. However, his thoughts have now expanded to creating a whole new retail complex at the intersection of Fulton Street, Adams Street, Boerum Place and Willoughby Street.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle previously published one rendering of that concept that includes the triangular space between Willoughby and Fulton streets as well as the bottom floor facing Fulton and Boerum Place in a new office building Muss hopes to build on that corner.


No More Fulton Mall?


Although there is no overall master plan, discussions have taken place with planners and business leaders that would lead toward new developments at both ends of the Fulton Mall.

The Fulton Mall Improvement Association has obtained $11 million from the city to completely overhaul the street with new signage, bus shelters, paving, plantings and the like. It is also known that it will no longer be a “mall,” and there is speculation that buses will someday be removed from that part of Fulton Street and routes put elsewhere.

City Councilman David Yassky (D-Downtown/DUMBO) made the rounds Wednesday night, appearing at both Community Board 2 and at the regular meeting of Community Board 6. All his recent efforts had been devoted to his failed run for Congress.

At both meetings, he discussed his views on the current status of Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Atlantic Yards proposal. At Board 2, he also discussed the proposal to install a residential permit parking process in Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill and a part of Fort Greene.

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation is preparing final documents related to the issuance of Request For Proposals (RFP) for the four housing elements for the park, which should be issued in the next six to eight weeks. Yassky would prefer that the RFP focus on the most minimum structures required to generate the revenues needed for the park. He is sure, however, that the RFPs will focus on the highest bids which is normal in such situations.

On the Atlantic Yards issue, Yassky’s concerns relate primarily to the traffic implications of the development and that traffic measures should be covered in the final plan, not passed off as “things to do.” He even expressed thoughts that the intersections between Flatbush, Atlantic and Fourth avenues should be looked at with overpasses and tunnels in mind.

On the issue of residential permit parking, he flatly admitted that the Department of Transportation is very much against residential permit parking, and asked Board 2 to support permit parking trial runs.


© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2006

[krulltime]

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT


http://www.nypost.com/seven/10162006/photos/news006.jpg
SEE SPAN: When work is finished, the
Flatbush Avenue approach of the
Manhattan Bridge will look like this
computer image.


By RICH CALDER
October 16, 2006

Here's a first glimpse of Brooklyn's future welcome mat.

The long-neglected Flatbush Avenue corridor into Brooklyn via the Manhattan Bridge will soon get a much needed facelift. The Bloomberg administration is investing about $15 million on beautifying and re-creating a grand gateway to downtown Brooklyn, officials said.

An architectural rendering commissioned by the city's Economic Development Corporation obtained by the Post envisions the avenue's sidewalks filled with large trees and better lighting.

Donna Walcavage, the project's architect, said the sculpture "should be tall and very imposing to fit the area, make a statement, and serve as a signature for entering Brooklyn."

The project focuses on four-fifths of a mile along Flatbush Avenue south from Tillary Street in downtown Brooklyn to Hanson Place in Fort Greene.

Construction is expected to begin next year and completed by 2009.


Copyright 2006NYP Holdings, Inc.

[krulltime]

Condo Sales Begin Next Week at Landmark Telephone Building
Offering Loft-Style Homes in a Landmark While Helping Make Downtown Brooklyn 24/7


by Linda Collins,
published online 10-20-2006

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — With its stated goal of making Downtown Brooklyn more of a 24/7 neighborhood, the Downtown Brooklyn Rezoning Plan called for a greater residential presence. One such development is creating some excitement at Willoughby and Bridge Streets — the landmark former Verizon building that has been undergoing a conversion to residential and where condo sales begin next week.

Originally the Long Island Headquarters for the New York Telephone Company, the classic 1930 building will be called (appropriately) the BellTel Lofts, according to Hal Henenson, executive director of the Prudential Douglas Elliman Development Marketing Group, which is handling sales and marketing for the project.

“We are really excited to be a part of the first major residential conversion in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn, one that will strongly advance the revitalization of the area,” said Henenson, who said there are 461 people on a waiting list.

The project’s developer, David Bistricer of Berkshire Equity LLC, is also excited.

“Although we own over 5,000 residential units in Brooklyn and many commercial buildings, this is the first major renovation we’ve undertaken. And it’s beautiful. And the building itself is a landmark,” he said.

As previously reported in this newspaper, the 27-story office tower, designed by Ralph Walker and built in 1929-30, was designated an individual landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) in October 2004. Commissioners called it “a great architectural masterpiece in New York City.” “We have maintained the character of the building throughout,” said Bistricer, who confirmed he lives in Brooklyn but declined to talk about himself. “That includes the lobby where most of the architectural details remain and the marble is all intact.”

But it’s the location and the terraces that inspired him the most.

“You walk out the door [the residential entrance will be at 365 Bridge St. adjacent to the MetroTech Commons] and you’ll be in an almost private garden. It’s beautiful and private and maintained very well by the MetroTech BID. And it has concerts during the summer.”

There are 20,000 square feet of terraces in the building, according to Bistricer. One of those, on the 20th floor, is a 2,500-square-foot commom area with panoramic views.

The 27-story BellTel Lofts will contain 219 units — from studios to one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 600 to 2,700 square feet. Prices will start at $500,000. Occupancy is anticipated for spring 2007.

Bistricer said he chose the architectural firm Beyer Blinder Belle because of its reputation in historic preservation work (like the Grand Central Station renovation).The firm is also well known for new construction (The CourtHouse apartments at Court Street and Atlantic Avenue), and for its residential conversion projects, including 110 Livingston St., 70 Washington St., 166 Montague St., and the former Independence Community Bank, at 130 Court St. in Cobble Hill, which will be a mix of preservation, conversion and new construction.

At Belltel, the firm has designed loft-style layouts and included features like bamboo flooring, sliding glass walls, open kitchens, spa-like baths, large in-unit storage spaces and state-of-the-art fiber optics cable.

All of the residences will have 110-foot ceilings, many with breathtaking panoramic views and outdoor space.

Building amenities include a 6,500-square-foot common area with a fitness center, yoga and exercise room, high-tech screening room, multi-purpose room and a lounge. Additionally, there will be underground parking, a 24/7 business center, a 24-hour attended lobby and a 4,500-square-foot roof terrace with extraordinary views.

The available retail space is 64,000 square feet on three levels — 14,000 square feet on the ground floor, 25,000 square feet on the second-level “selling concourse,” and 25,000 square feet in a “selling basement,” according to Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of the PDE Retail Group.

Among the retailers being targeted by Consolo and her team are an upscale market, health clubs and universities.

In addition to the large retail space, 13 professional spaces will also be sold.


© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2006

[NoyokA]

All of the residences will have 110-foot ceilings, many with breathtaking panoramic views and outdoor space.


If you ask me, 110 foot ceilings are just plane excessive. lol.

[lofter1]

LOL ^^^

( maybe that's the only way to ensure those "breathtaking panoramic views" )

[ramvid01]

With those kind of ceilings, you can have the feeling of living in a lobby lol

[Xemu]

November 5, 2006
Street Level | Fulton Mall
Discount Sneakers in a Duplex World

By JENNIFER BLEYER
MARVELL CRUICKSHANK, an apple-cheeked 25-year-old with jet-black braids, belongs to the third generation of her family to shop at Fulton Mall in Downtown Brooklyn.
Her grandmother, who sewed her own clothes, ventured from Brownsville to buy fabric and patterns at Abraham & Straus. Ms. Cruickshank’s mother snapped up Christmas presents at Woolworth’s, enjoying as she did the aroma of the store’s fresh-baked cookies. And Ms. Cruickshank, a community organizer who lives in nearby Farragut Houses, recently snared discount sneakers and green cotton pajamas there for her daughters, Deonna, 8, and Tyonna, 4.
But a great deal of new luxury housing is built or on the drawing board for Downtown Brooklyn, from the BellTel Lofts one block north of the mall to the new condos one block southwest at 110 Livingston Street. With the influx of affluent neighbors, related plans to refurbish Fulton Mall have worried Ms. Cruickshank and some other patrons of the vibrant shopping strip. The mall, they fear, will no longer be for them.
“This mall caters to African-Americans, Latinos, Caribbeans,” said Ms. Cruickshank, sitting in Albee Square at the mall’s edge on an unseasonably balmy afternoon last week. Nearby, a jewelry counter displayed 200 styles of gold door-knocker earrings, and a small running-shoe shop offered Nike Air Force Ones decorated with candy-colored glitter and pictures of Tupac Shakur (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/tupac_shakur/index.html?inline=nyt-per).
•“When they close down all these local shops that cater to our hair, the clothes we buy, the food we eat, where are we going to shop?” Ms. Cruickshank asked. “Round up 10 people here, and I guarantee you they won’t say they want a Banana Republic. We don’t want another Manhattan. Let Brooklyn be Brooklyn.”
Fulton Mall is a commercial heavyweight, according to its merchants association. It draws 100,000 shoppers each day, rings up more than $100 million in annual sales and commands rents of up to $250 a square foot, among the highest of any retail district in the city.
But few of its customers are from the nearby brownstone neighborhoods.
“The challenge the Fulton Mall has is a lack of retail diversity,” said Joseph Chan, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the leader in the effort to renovate the mall. “There are certainly a lot of cellphone stores and shoe stores, for example. But in terms of retail that cuts across a broad socioeconomic spectrum, there’s not a lot right now.”
The first order of business for Mr. Chan is a makeover of the streetscape — streamlining sign clutter, installing new bus shelters — to which the city has committed $9.5 million. As for new stores, Mr. Chan said, the choice will largely be driven by the many newcomers.
“Basically,” he said, “you’re adding thousands of people who are going to need a quart of milk at 10 at night.” Local brokers say the new residents will also need a wine store, a specialty supermarket, new restaurants, dry cleaners and perhaps another bookstore.
•“There are no good restaurants, there’s no midrange apparel or accessories,” said Faith Hope Consolo, an executive with Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate, which handles many of the store rentals in the downtown developments.
“What we’re aiming for is a better neighborhood all around,” Ms. Consolo said. “That doesn’t mean Gucci, but maybe HMV, maybe Zara, maybe Equinox. We’re addressing chain restaurants like Cheesecake Factory and Legal Sea Foods. We’re not asking anybody to leave the street. We just have to bring in new stores in a way that everybody can work together. We’re Botoxing Fulton Street Mall.”
Officials in Downtown Brooklyn also say they do not want to displace Ms. Cruickshank and the mall’s other longtime patrons. In a study of the mall that has served as a guide for Mr. Chan’s groups, the Pratt Center for Community Development recommends actively promoting the mall as a center for “urban gear” and “hip-hop fashion,” and maintaining it as a “uniquely Brooklyn” place.
“You have to merge the old Fulton Mall with the new landscape,” Ms. Consolo said. “It’s kind of like a mixed marriage, and you have to make sure it works.”
Still, Ms. Cruickshank remains skeptical. “If this plan goes through,” she said, “my children won’t be able to shop here. It isn’t fair.”

[Lance75]

“If this plan goes through,” she (Marvell Cruickshank) said, “my children won’t be able to shop here [at the Fulton Mall]. It isn’t fair.”

The Fulton Mall is aggresively unattractive and declasse. Is the loss of a few sneaker/cell phone/gold tooth cap stores really a travesty in anyone's book?

[lofter1]

Fulton Mall is a commercial heavyweight, according to its merchants association. It draws 100,000 shoppers each day, rings up more than $100 million in annual sales and commands rents of up to $250 a square foot, among the highest of any retail district in the city.”

Seems from a buisness point of view that it's doing pretty damn good.




“What we’re aiming for is a better neighborhood all around,” Ms. Consolo said (Faith Hope Consolo, an executive with Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate). “... maybe HMV, maybe Zara, maybe Equinox ... We’re Botoxing Fulton Street Mall.”
”
Where do these real estate types come from???

[londonlawyer]

“If this plan goes through,” she (Marvell Cruickshank) said, “my children won’t be able to shop here [at the Fulton Mall]. It isn’t fair.”

The Fulton Mall is aggresively unattractive and declasse. Is the loss of a few sneaker/cell phone/gold tooth cap stores really a travesty in anyone's book?

I agree. Fulton Mall is a POS. Ms. Cruickshank fails to realize that downtown Brooklyn now serves people who don't receive Section 8 assistance. I'm sure that the stores she likes will resurface in poorer areas.

Life isn't fair, Ms. Cruickshank. I can't afford $1.5M for a crummy 3 bedroom condo in Manhattan, but I simply deal with it.

[Xemu]

I think this article is interesting because it raises a destinction between "white" and "black" retail. I.E. the Fulton Mall is currently "black" retail, and stores like Bannana Republic are "white" retail. While I don't think such a destinction is necessarily true I do think it's an intersting, if disturbing, concept. It makes me sad to hear people like Ms. Cruickshank quoted in the above NYT article say that if Fulton Mall is cleaned up her children won't be able to shop there.

[antinimby]

Anyway, I say let the market decide. Why should government intervene?

If the stores no longer cater to the residents, then they would eventually disappear on their own due to poor sales. No need to push them out.

[Lance75]

Ms. Cuickshank's comment that her children will not be able to shop at a cleaner/more diverse Fulton Mall was unsettling to me as well. Is she already convinced that her 8 year old child will grow up not being able to afford or desire shopping and dining beyond 3 Payless Shoe stores and Wendy's?

She also states that "the mall caters to African-Americans, Latinos, Caribbeans" and seems to imply that to allow the mall to appeal to a wider audience would somehow be wrong. "Let Brooklyn be Brooklyn", she says, as if Brooklyn were only African-Americans, Latinos, and Caribbeans.

The last time I checked, Brooklyn--and the vague notion of Brooklyn culture--wasn't limited to just African-Americans, Latinos, and Caribbeans. A large part of what makes Brooklyn "Brooklyn" is the diversity of the people here.

If we were to have a Fulton Mall that truly represented Brooklyn, wouldn't we also need a dosa cart, a kimchee stand, a deli that serves a decent egg creme, an izakaya, etc to cater to other Brooklynites?

[Xemu]

Ms. Cuickshank's comment that her children will not be able to shop at a cleaner/more diverse Fulton Mall was unsettling to me as well. Is she already convinced that her 8 year old child will grow up not being able to afford or desire shopping and dining beyond 3 Payless Shoe stores and Wendy's?

That's what troubles me too. Thanks for putting it in better words.


She also states that "the mall caters to African-Americans, Latinos, Caribbeans" and seems to imply that to allow the mall to appeal to a wider audience would somehow be wrong. "Let Brooklyn be Brooklyn", she says, as if Brooklyn were only African-Americans, Latinos, and Caribbeans.

The last time I checked, Brooklyn--and the vague notion of Brooklyn culture--wasn't limited to just African-Americans, Latinos, and Caribbeans. A large part of what makes Brooklyn "Brooklyn" is the diversity of the people here.

If we were to have a Fulton Mall that truly represented Brooklyn, wouldn't we also need a dosa cart, a kimchee stand, a deli that serves a decent egg creme, an izakaya, etc to cater to other Brooklynites?

Absolutely right.

Anyway, I say let the market decide. Why should government intervene?

If the stores no longer cater to the residents, then they would eventually disappear on their own due to poor sales. No need to push them out.

The only thing the government's doing to Fulton Mall is replacing the street furniture and cleaning the joint up a bit. No businesses are being forced out. In the end it'll be a better looking Fulton Mall with the same crap stores. If the business do go it will be the result of a changing neigborhood, not any government action.

[Lance75]

The only thing the government's doing to Fulton Mall is replacing the street furniture and cleaning the joint up a bit. No businesses are being forced out. In the end it'll be a better looking Fulton Mall with the same crap stores. If the business do go it will be the result of a changing neigborhood, not any government action.

Very true, although I imagine that there is some unofficial nudging from Joe Chan and Co to Sitt, Laboz, Muss, et al in regards to the immediate area.

I'm a little wary about the seemingly inevitable gentrification of the Fulton Mall. Certainly, no one denies that it needs a lot of cleaning up--from the garbage that's omnipresent on the streets to the tacky and inappropriately sized signage--and that it needs to offer a wider variety of shopping/dining/services, especially in light of the growing diversity of it's immediate residents.

But I'm also slightly concerned (maybe frightened is a better word) that the Fulton Mall might become another anonymous, equally tacky suburban strip mall. The NYT article mentions a broker who's trying to bring in a Cheesecake Factory or Legal Seafood along with a few other chains stores to the strip. I don't know about you guys, but big national chain restaurants that cater to middle American tastes aren't improvements in my book.

Also, is it even possible to have a retail corridor that "cuts across a broad socioeconomic spectrum"? I'm no expert, but it seems to me that, while idealistic and optimal, "downscale" and "upscale" can't really coexist. One will always push out the other.

I'd be very interested in examples to the contrary.

[posterboy]

I agree with most of the above (although I kinda like tacky and inappropriately-sized signage).

I don't understand why they are so desperately trying to de-african-americanize the area. If sneaker and cellphone stores are managed well enough and make the kinds of sales to be able to pay $250 a square foot, then they absolutely belong there. And who needs a Cheesecake factory when Junior's is right on the corner?

Of course a certain degree of gentrification is inevitable, but if you look at the neighborhoods around the area, they are alreay pretty diverse to begin with. Thing is, Fulton Mall attracts black, carribean etc shoppers from all over Brooklyn and that is a good thing. So why fix something when it's not broken (beyond the above-mentioned clean-up measures)?

Way I see it, you have Fulton Mall to the East, City Hall in the middle, and Montague street, a "whiter" shopping and dining area to the West, and these two shopping areas are going to grow together to some extent, but the mixing and mingling is going to occure on their "wings" - developments along Atlantic and Schermerhorn to one side and Tillary etc to the other. And I think there is certainly also room for more "upscale" (read, less black - who are we kidding?) shopping destinations in the more immediate Fulton Mall area, especially with all the residential development downtown, but I don't see why those need to replace what is there. There's plenty room for growth. The area is going to change, and that is good, but there is no need to turn it onto its head and alienate the consumers who have made it a prime retail destination to begin with.

[ablarc]

Certainly, no one denies that it needs a lot of cleaning up...the garbage that's omnipresent on the streets...
What's so hard about cleaning up garbage? You send in a garbage truck and pick up the garbage. Why is everybody making such a big deal out of this?

[Xemu]

[I'm] slightly concerned (maybe frightened is a better word) that the Fulton Mall might become another anonymous, equally tacky suburban strip mall. The NYT article mentions a broker who's trying to bring in a Cheesecake Factory or Legal Seafood along with a few other chains stores to the strip. I don't know about you guys, but big national chain restaurants that cater to middle American tastes aren't improvements in my book.

I agree with you about Cheesecake Factory, but please don't hate on Legal Seafood. It may be a chain, but it definatly doesn't cater to "middle American tastes". It's from Boston originally, and one of the best seafood resturants in the US (at least the ones up there are, can't speak to any others). I'm praying one of these comes to NYC.

[Lance75]

What's so hard about cleaning up garbage? You send in a garbage truck and pick up the garbage. Why is everybody making such a big deal out of this?

Precisely because it seems so easy to remedy. Yet it hasn't been.

[ablarc]

Precisely because it's seems so easy to remedy. Yet it hasn't been.
Is it simple incompetence or is it a conspiracy?

[Lance75]

I agree with you about Cheesecake Factory, but please don't hate on Legal Seafood. It may be a chain, but it definatly doesn't cater to "middle American tastes". It's from Boston originally, and one of the best seafood resturants in the US (at least the ones up there are, can't speak to any others). I'm praying one of these comes to NYC.

Xemu, I'm not hating on Legal Seafood. There was a branch near the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore that I went to a couple of times when I was attending college and I recall having enjoyed my meals there.

However, the fact that you can eat the exact same Legal Seafoods meal in Boston, Boise, Baltimore or Baton Rouge is what concerns me. Despite the fact that it's more than a few cuts above, say, a TGIF, it would still contribute to the homogenization of Brooklyn into anytown, USA--which, in my humble opinion, is not a positive development.

[Xemu]

Xemu, I'm not hating on Legal Seafood. There was a branch near the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore that I went to a couple of times when I was attending college and I recall having enjoyed my meals there.

However, the fact that you can eat the exact same Legal Seafoods meal in Boston, Boise, Baltimore or Baton Rouge is what concerns me. Despite the fact that it's more than a few cuts above, say, a TGIF, it would still contribute to the homogenization of Brooklyn into anytown, USA--which, in my humble opinion, is not a positive development.

True true. But need I remind you that there's more than a few chains occupying space in Fulton Mall as we speak. One more, and one that isn't fast food, isn't gonna hurt.

[Lance75]

I don't understand why they are so desperately trying to de-african-americanize the area.

Thing is, Fulton Mall attracts black, carribean etc shoppers from all over Brooklyn and that is a good thing.

I don't think anyone (well, save for perhaps Ursula Hahn, lol) is suggesting that the Fulton Mall "de-African-Americanize".

Hypothetically, if the Fulton Mall were filled with, say, pricey African art galleries and chic restaurants serving injera and yebig alicha, it would be very Afro-centric--yet, I bet you the current residents of Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill would flock there in droves. I'm not saying that's good or bad, just trying to say that it's less about the color of skin and more about the color of money...

It's good that the Fulton Mall attracts Black and Carribean shoppers, you're right about that. But I think the Fulton Mall would be great if it attracted shoppers of ALL stripes.

[Lance75]

True true. But need I remind you that there's more than a few chains occupying space in Fulton Mall as we speak. One more, and one that isn't fast food, isn't gonna hurt.

You're probably right.

I admit I'm probably more of a zealot vis-a-vis my position on chain restaurants than most.

I only hope that it takes the place of one of the three Payless Shoe stores in the Mall...

[BrooklynRider]

The Fulton Mall is kind og the epitome of "Ghetto-chic." It has a rather lowscale feel to it and an aesthetic that is completely derivative of Carribean cities and latin-American cities. The signage is very colorful, but bothersome in its mish-mash approach and amateur design.

If one were to read between thelines of that article, it is kind of clear that the implication is that the area doen't appeal to white shoppers. It has failed to appeal to workers at Metrotech, which was built with its back to the Mall. One has to work hard at not seeing what's being said: The neighborhood is seeing a influxe of high-end residences. The article speaks the truth to the inevitable, Darwin's theory applied to retail will prevail in the area. Ghoeet-chic and Thug clothes, however popular, aren't going to draw more shoppers to the area.

Flipside: As this Mall transforms into another version of the Broadway/SOHO Mall, retail districts in other areas will thrive. The same thing is going to happen on Atlantic Avenue, although I think Atlantic has the higher-end retail rihgt now. There might just be a flip as Atlantic goes down-scale with Atlantic Yards and Fulton goes upscale with new market rate condos in Downtown.

[investordude]

I can't really guage what the actual sentiment of residents is. Is there some reason to believe anyone besides this lady, who has a vested interest in protecting her store from competition, has an issue with an influx of new retail? What Fulton Mall area needs is a BID and some rules about signage, etc. I think this could help it attract more diverse retail to complement what exists there now, letting the better shops and restuarants that have unique ethnic stuff survive and getting rid of the things like payless shoe stores, etc.

[investordude]

If there was really a lack of restaurants in Brooklyn, I'd agree we wouldn't want only chains since that would be boring. But a complete absence of chains is also bad.

Chain restauranats are part of American culture, so a complete absence of them I think starts to be a disadvantage. Yes, of course, people move to Brooklyn to escape suburbia and even to escape the "unadventurous" nature of Manhattan, and so there will always be a large market for unusual and hip restaurants there. But I think most people really just want more choices than they have in the suburbs, rather than being denied access to the things they are used to and thereby having fewer choices.

And for the record, I love the Cheesecake factory.

[BrooklynRider]

It is worth noting that Fulton Mall has a real lack of "sit-down" restaurant choices. Gage & Tollner was such a landmark and it is now a Fridays, anchoring the west end of Fulton. The east has Juniors. In between, you can find White Castle, Wendy's, Burger King, McDonalds and food cart vendors. Without venturing too far into dangerous rhetorical territory, I think that says alot. Juniors and TGI Fridays are upscale restaurants here - at either end - with nada in the middle.

[krulltime]

And it’s all legal!
Myrtle tower tops out above limits


By Ariella Cohen
November 18, 2006

A glitzy tower now in the works for Downtown Brooklyn will be even larger than its 400-foot-tall neighbors, thanks to a city subsidy to builders of affordable housing.

Developer Donald Capoccia, of BFC Partners, unveiled plans this week to build 48 units of affordable housing on the eastern edge of Fort Greene in exchange for a zoning bonus that will allow him to build bigger than would be permitted otherwise on the Downtown site at Myrtle Avenue near Prince Street and Flatbush Avenue Extension.

His Flatbush Avenue tower, one block south of the Manhattan Bridge, will soar 40 stories and include 240 condos, 48 of which will be reserved for moderate-income residents.

Affordable housing advocates have said that this inclusionary bonus promotes class segregation by allowing developers to receive valuable air rights at a luxury site while building the affordable housing elsewhere within the Community Board.

In this case, the developer will build the affordable units nearly two miles away, on Quincy Street at the intersection of Classon Avenue and Downing Street at Community Board 2’s easternmost boundary near Bedford-Stuyvesant. The Pratt Area Community Council [PACC] will manage the six-story building.

PACC executive director Deb Howard said that she and the developer both regretted the need to build the affordable housing off-site.

“But this particular developer made every effort to have the inclusionary housing right on site,” she said. “He could not, so we had to go looking for sites farther afield in the Community Board.”

According to PACC, the developer had tried to negotiate to buy an adjacent lot but lost the parcel to another developer who is now building a mixed-income building on the site.

A spokesman for the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, which is spearheading the implementation of the city’s Downtown Brooklyn Plan, dismissed the notion that off-site affordable housing promoted segregation.

“This development is creating more housing for all levels of income,” said spokesman Shane Kavanagh.

The Quincy Street units will be rentals. Thirty-eight of the 48 will be available for people with incomes under $35,450 — the area’s median income. Nine units will be reserved for residents with incomes that fall below $21,270, or 30 percent of the AMI, and the final apartment will be reserved for a super.

The developer will also receive state and federal low-income tax credits for creating the 96 affordable units as well as lucrative transferable air rights building certificates — which will allow him or other developers to build outside of zoning rules.

Capoccia plans to sell the certificates that he didn’t already put towards his Myrtle Avenue project to another developer, according to Gary Rodney, a spokesman for BFC.


@ Brooklyn Papers

[BrooklynRider]

Segregation is alive and well.

While I generally think that Inclusionary Zoning was created with the best of intentions, it is something that needs to be reworked. "Inclusionary" should not allow off-site options so the developer can create an exclusionary building.

The zoning is young and new, but these glaring loopholes need to be closed.

[investordude]

brooklynrider, any motive beyond financial profit will always end up being segregation or something evil. Giving something to the guy who pays the most will ultimately be the most efficient at promoting diversity because its a color blind algorithm.

Newt Gingrich may not be a popular figure around here, but after welfare reform, Brooklyn became a lot more diverse and integrated. If we extend those reforms to the housing sector, New York would become even more inclusive.

[Eugenious]

The Fulton Mall is kind og the epitome of "Ghetto-chic." It has a rather lowscale feel to it and an aesthetic that is completely derivative of Carribean cities and latin-American cities. The signage is very colorful, but bothersome in its mish-mash approach and amateur design.

If one were to read between thelines of that article, it is kind of clear that the implication is that the area doen't appeal to white shoppers. It has failed to appeal to workers at Metrotech, which was built with its back to the Mall. One has to work hard at not seeing what's being said: The neighborhood is seeing a influxe of high-end residences. The article speaks the truth to the inevitable, Darwin's theory applied to retail will prevail in the area. Ghoeet-chic and Thug clothes, however popular, aren't going to draw more shoppers to the area.

Flipside: As this Mall transforms into another version of the Broadway/SOHO Mall, retail districts in other areas will thrive. The same thing is going to happen on Atlantic Avenue, although I think Atlantic has the higher-end retail rihgt now. There might just be a flip as Atlantic goes down-scale with Atlantic Yards and Fulton goes upscale with new market rate condos in Downtown.


Fulton Mall is THE personification of projects-ghetto-poverty-crime-early-1990's-era. The 99c stores, the sneakers and sport clothing stores, the burger kings, the kfc/tacobell, the pawn shops, the ripoff electronics stores. This is all a symptom of the clientelle that these business are catering to which is primarily low income street chic struggling on welfare group.

What needs to happen is instead of thug zero-taste poor mentality it has to change into the upscale black urban jay z/beyoncee/versace culture which is more tasteful while still being disctinctly black. Basically you need upper middle class blacks, or atleast solid middle class blacks in the area which as far as I know do not exist in the area. The whole problem with the black population (non-caribbeans) is the desire to get out of the ghetto, but those that dont - simply continue lives of despair and poverty. Those that get out do NOT look back and do NOT ever want to go back to the horror that is black brooklyn/projects etc. the successful blacks as soon as they are moderatelly successful flee farther and faster than even whites. Look at the movement of (american) african americans and you will see a flight from the ghettos and projects and historically poor black crime ridden areas. Only the immigrants and hipsters are able to change a neighborhood. This has been proven already in many areas of the city, such as flushing, flatbush, coney island, etc..

[investordude]

I think it's wrong to call the current residents thugs for being poor, or to say its a problem that people want to move some place else from where they were born if they become successful - listen, most successful people go to college and then move wherever life takes them, whether its Brooklyn or Bangalore. I also don't think there should be any desire to prefer one race to another in terms of specialty retail that move in with gentrification.

The beauty of the free market is it does away with all these potentially well intentioned but doomed ideas, and replaced it with a workable model where people move to the place that has the most opportunity for them, with suitable retail following them as they do. That can only lead to more diverse, cool, interesting neighborhoods, rather than onces centrally planned to appeal to a particular group. If you told city planners in the 1970s Williamsburg would be where hip diverse artists would want to live, they would have laughed at you - just shows the market is smarter than other strategies for determining these.

[lofter1]

Parts of Fort Greene were gentrified by blacks, whites, gays, straights ... all saw a place with promise -- plenty of middle class blacks living there, just blocks from the Fulton Mall.

[krulltime]

City Seeks Creative Firms To Fill Vacant Office Space Downtown
Many Companies the City Sought for Brooklyn Moved Elsewhere


by Sarah Ryley
published online 11-23-2006


FORT GREENE — The effort by the city to recruit large, back-office tenants to Downtown Brooklyn has to some extent been unsuccessful, leaving 800,000 square feet of office space vacant in the area that includes Fulton Mall, MetroTech and the Brooklyn Academy of Music cultural district.

To fill that space, and the 4.5 million square feet of additional commercial office space that could pop up in the neighborhood over the next five years, the city has changed course, now brainstorming ways to recruit smaller tenants and creative industries to the area.

Joe Chan, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, said at a meeting Monday with the Fort Greene Association that many of the financial and insurance companies the city originally thought would move to Downtown Brooklyn have instead consolidated their operations, moved to New Jersey or completely offshored.

“Right now, we’re facing a challenge that was not anticipated,” he said. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made Downtown Brooklyn his third highest development priority behind Lower Manhattan and the Hudson Yards, committing $275 million in capital expenditures over the next five years for the area under Chan’s purview, which does not include the adjacent Atlantic Yards arena proposal.

Long Island City in Queens ranks fourth. The investment in each area, in addition to the scores of other large development projects throughout the city, is all part of an aggressive effort to attract businesses away from New Jersey, which continues to acquire thousands of New York jobs each year.

The city maintains that this phenomenon is due to the scarcity of office space in the city coupled with the tremendous growth of New Jersey’s Hudson River waterfront developments, which boast large, inexpensive floorplates that are move-in ready.

Between 1958 and 2000, the city’s workforce only jumped 100,000 to 3.2 million workers, and its share of the region’s workforce dropped from 80 percent to 65 percent, according to information provided by the Department of City Planning and the city’s Economic Development Corporation.

There are 70,000 workers in the area covered by the six-week-old Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, which includes the Downtown Brooklyn Council, Brooklyn Academy of Music Local Development Corporation, MetroTech Business Improvement District and Fulton Street Mall.

But apparently, the investment in Downtown Brooklyn and the 11 million square feet of office space already there are not sufficient to lure enough new tenants to the area.

Locals who attended Monday’s meeting said they weren’t sold on the ambitious planning initiatives that Chan presented, which he said would make the area more attractive to residents and potential businesses alike. They included giving several streets a face-lift, improving transportation, building more cultural institutions, creating more open space and diversifying the notoriously lackluster retail in the neighborhood encompassed by the Partnership.


Atlantic Yards Issue Raised


That’s probably because of the pro-large-scale development undertone of Chan’s presentation to a group characterized by its aversion to such projects in their relatively small-scale community. Chan made clear at the end of his presentation that the Partnership’s “job is to help advance development,” and was bombarded with questions about the Atlantic Yards.

“Every time you see irritation of Brooklyn residents, it’s because people are coming in here and trying to Manhattanize us,” said resident Yvette Wright. “We like living here. We moved here for a reason.”

Chan said he is in part basing his new direction for the Partnership on the neighborhood where he lives, DUMBO. He and his team have been in discussions with architectural, engineering, media and publishing firms to find out what they look for when choosing a location, he said.

Roger Fortune, who works in the Partnership’s real estate department, would not be specific about the kind of retail the organization is trying to attract, aside from “retailers that don’t currently have stores in Brooklyn.” He said the discussions are still in the early phases, but mentioned restaurants and nightlife as things creative firms have suggested.

“That’s likely to follow as there are more residential properties in Downtown,” said Fortune.

Residents of the surrounding Fort Greene, Prospect Heights and Boerum Hill neighborhoods who oppose the Atlantic Yards project would say that those are the things being uprooted by all the large scale developments underway in Downtown Brooklyn.

“You have to respect what’s already there and build upon it,” said Peter Vitakis, a member of the Fort Greene Association.


© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2006

[investordude]

800000 feet vacant out of 11 million - that's a very low vacancy rate, unless I'm missing something. Why is the article worried about that?

Also, what happened to the Albee Square hotel Thor was going to build? The hotel market in Brooklyn and the city in general seems pretty hot, but they never went through. Are they holding out for a major office tenant? Anyone know what the deal is?

The NIMBYs for Atlantic Yards seem to have shown up for the wrong meeting - this is downtown Brooklyn, which doesn't involve eminent domain and which already was rezoned almost 2 years ago. I guess complaining is a sport NIMBYs like even when its pointless.

[BrooklynRider]

I think that Chan's connection to his own neighborhood (DUMBO) and his studies there are kind of irrelevant to Downtown Brooklyn. It is a primariy residential community wit residential development. It is also a "community" that is held to gether a subsidized by the Walentas' Two Trees Management Copany that is subsidizing retail tenents to ensure thatthe neighborhood gets the diversity of supportive retail it needs to survive. Very few developers are as engaged and as paternalistic over an area as Walentas is with DUMBO. By comparison, look at Ratner's Metrotech and wander about its retail promenade. Oh wait, I forgot, thee is no retail promenade. He destroyed the streetscape. He also built the Atlantic Terminal Mall and Office Building as well as the Atlantic Center. These represent the most recent "commercial" development in Downton Brooklyn & Fort Greene. Honestly, I think these some residents look at these relatively recent examples and they garner (and deserve) the anger, distrust, and condemnation of people.

Chan has a mighty big job ahead of him and I think his first foray landed with a thud. Talking about his experience in DUMBO only further alienates people. DUMBO, as a community, has been very effective in curtailing construction, limiting building heights, and has developed as strong a NIMBY reputation as Brooklyn Heights. His reliance on his status as resident of affluent, NIMBY DUMBO is not going to win over folks who are fighting for what they equally believe is sensible development.

If Chan is to succeed, we need to see a spectacularly designed, speculative commercial building go up in the middle of downtown that shows Brooklyn is willing to take a risk. Right now Chan is appealing to companies to come to a downtown that hasn't seen any new commercial construction outside of the anti-septic Metrotech. He need to sell Downtown and he needs to keep potential relocators from seeing Metrotech and think that THAT is what is to come.

[investordude]

Look, the city already voted to rezone Brooklyn. The only question is whether there's interest from commercial tenants. I think as the office market picks up someone will build there, although I'm not really sure you can build 3-4 60 story buildings at once, since that's hard to get interest for even in Manhattan, or the stronger office market of Jersey City.

I agree the fact he lives in DUMBO is irrelevant. But I also think the folks coming to these meetings and complaining don't represent the views of the city or even the local community board necessarily.

[BrooklynRider]

The zoning is done - agreed. The question is: how do you lure prospective commercial tenants to an area that looks they way Downtown Brooklyn looks now. There is NO commercial development in the works and Atlantic Yards (which is not a part of the Dowtown Zone) switched its commercial towers to hotel/residential. So, no one can point there.

Where exactly would Chan like prospective businesses to go? Thor is so focused on Coney Island, we can realistically expect them to be central to any revitalization in Downtown at this time.

[investordude]

When Manhattan office space hits 5%, and it becomes obvious that Hudson Yards is still a ways from happening, I think you'll see commercial interst in Brooklyn.

But like I said, I don't think we'll get 4.5 million of office space. Maybe 1 million of hotel, 1.5 million tall residentail and the rest office is more likely.

[Clarknt67]

Sorry to interupt the current topic but I searched and didn't find any news.

The Sovereign Bank in Brooklyn at the corner of Court & Atlantic (formerly the Independence Bank) is move across the street, kitty corner, into the big empty retail space at the Court House apartments. Once I dealt with my grief over the fact that the space was going to be a BANK and not something useful, like a retail store, it got me thinking.

Is this somehow related to this failed proposal? http://www.brooklynpapers.com/html/issues/_vol28/28_18/28_18nets6.html

Last I heard that project was dead, but I can't find anything about it rising from the dead. But it seems suspicious that the bank is moving out of it's headquarters, it so proudly declared it's home forever not so long ago.

[BrooklynRider]

I can't say whether is is going forward or not, but a Community Board recommendation is non-binding. Two Trees has a favorable track record for working with communities and remaining committed to the communities they build in. I would guess that they will negotiate this and determine whether to build based on profit/loss. Landmarks Preservation has been very pro-development and this mayor is pro-development. Housing seems to be a focus (and real estate continues to drive job creation in the city).

[Clarknt67]

Two Trees has then been very uncharteristically bad at working with this community on this. They've really ticked Cobble Hill off. But CB thinks 10 or 12 stories is too high for that building and TT claims they can't make it feasible at fewer stories. Personally, I doubt that, but I'm not an accountant.

Yeah, I was aware the CB was non-binding, that's why I wondered if anyone had heard of turnaround, because I have not, and I pay pretty close attention. Personally, I think that building could be kind of nice with some floors atop it, sort of like Hearst building but nothing as 21st century as that.

[krulltime]

City in Talks on Future of Big Site For Building in Downtown Brooklyn


BY DAVID LOMBINO - Staff Reporter of the Sun
December 14, 2006

While the city's master plan for downtown Brooklyn was originally spawned to create soaring commercial towers, the city is now negotiating with two private developers to build a $500 million project that would be predominantly residential and retail.

It would be the first major site developed in the area since the city rezoned downtown Brooklyn for increased commercial development two and a half years ago. The project would contain a cavernous retail base that could accommodate a large big-box store such as Wal-Mart, according to sources familiar with the deal.

If finalized, the large site known as Albee Square at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Willoughby Street would contain more than 800 apartments, 20% of which would be "affordable housing"; as much as 100,000 square feet of office space, and 500,000 square feet of retail space designed for an anchor tenant, according to a source familiar with the plans. The lot is currently occupied by the Gallery at Fulton Street, which is a shopping mall, and a large parking garage.

Developer Joseph Sitt of Thor Equities would flip the site he purchased for a reported $25 million in 2001 to a partnership between PA Associates/Acadia Realty Trust and Avalon Properties, according to a source familiar with the deal. The new owners could construct up to 1.5 million square feet of mixeduse space under the recently up-zoned plans. Financial details of the transaction were unavailable, but real estate experts said Mr. Sitt would stand to make a fortune, as real estate values in the area have skyrocketed.

The city owns the land underneath the site and Mr. Sitt controls the development rights. Sources familiar with the negotiations said the city's Economic Development Corp. is unsatisfied with the offer for the land it owns and had hoped to see more office space in the plan.

The president of the Real Estate Board of New York, Steven Spinola, said negotiations between Mr. Sitt and the city and the buyers are entering the final phases.

"The city is encouraging the office space, and the retail needs to be done," Mr. Spinola said. "The residential obviously is the surest thing."

About two years ago, the Bloomberg administration passed an ambitious rezoning plan for downtown Brooklyn, currently the third largest commercial district in the city, that envisioned as much as 5.4 million square feet of new commercial space and about 1,000 new units of housing, mostly along Livingston Street. While the market for new commercial buildings is red hot in Midtown Manhattan, no private developer has ventured into downtown Brooklyn since the rezoning to build a large office building.

Nearby, at the planned $4 billion Atlantic Yards project in Prospect Heights, developer Forest City Ratner drastically cut back on plans to build office space, and increased the number of planned apartments.

A spokesman for the Economic Development Corporation, Andrew Brent, said yesterday that indications from the private sector seem to favor mixed-use development of residential, retail, and commercial space than large stand-alone office buildings with anchor tenants.

"The negotiations for the Albee Square development are very much ongoing, but we're confident that at the end of the day, while the corporate component may be somewhat less than what was envisioned four years ago, the project will catalyze surrounding office development, and its contribution to Downtown Brooklyn's growing vibrancy will be greater than ever," Mr. Brent said.

In 2004, speculation circulated that Wal-Mart was eyeballing the Albee Square site for its first New York City store. Because the site would be as-of-right, the world's largest retailer would not need approval from the City Council, which has been critical of Wal-Mart's treatment of employees.

The executive director of sales for Halstead Brooklyn, William Ross, said the large retail space with room for a lot of parking would be "the least objectionable space in all of Brooklyn for a Wal-Mart."

Pointing to four large apartment buildings going up nearby along Gold and Myrtle Streets, Mr. Ross said the Albee Square development is the latest sign that Flatbush Avenue is undergoing a residential transformation. The city has committed up to $500 million to improve the area's parks, open space, infrastructure, and to pave the way for the Atlantic Yards project.

"Downtown Brooklyn was rezoned two years ago, and nothing happened. Now, everything is happening at once," Mr. Ross said.

Mr. Ross said developers' calculations in downtown Brooklyn are crystal clear.

"You make twice as much selling condos as you do renting office space," he said.

An executive director for Cushman & Wakefield, Glenn Markman, said the demand for commercial space in downtown Brooklyn is growing, despite the loss of the Albee Square site to mostly apartments.

"I don't think that this is a sign of weakness in the marketplace," Mr. Markman said. "It just takes a while for the commercial market to attract the tenants that we're hoping to get. If that transaction is concludes, it is another positive sign for downtown Brooklyn."

A spokesman for Thor Equities, Lee Silberstein, would not comment for this story.

A spokesman for the president of Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz, said negotiations should be concluded quickly so that Brooklynites could begin enjoy the benefits of new development.


© 2006 The New York Sun, One SL, LLC.

[investordude]

Look, its primarily private property and people should be able to do what they want with it [the city shouldn't demand office space if the private sector thinks housing provides greater profits], but if the city seriously considers Walmart or another big box an improvment over the Fulton Mall, I'd like to understand why.

I don't care about the Walmart politics, but I think the Fulton Mall tenants can upgrade as the neighborhood upgrades, and then you get a better overall experience.

[JCMAN320]

I still can't believe Downtown Brooklyn can't get any office space or buildings to heat up. I don't undertstand it. It looks like Downtown Brooklyn is just going to become one giant highrise bedroom community.

[MidtownGuy]

I am 100% against a WALMART in downtown Brooklyn. Walmart isn't an improvement over anything. Real classy patrons that'll attract. Maybe after a performance at BAM I'll stop in for a giant jar of pickles and some irregular underwear. Won't it kill scores of small businesses in the vicinity while it does nothing to elevate the quality or ambiance of the area? I could live with the Target down the street but now this?

[sfenn1117]

I still can't believe Downtown Brooklyn can't get any office space or buildings to heat up. I don't undertstand it. It looks like Downtown Brooklyn is just going to become one giant highrise bedroom community.

To be honest I don't think the developer is even trying. In the article he clearly says its economics; he can make much more money with condos than office rents.

[BrooklynRider]

I hope Wal-mart is kept at bay in favor of a Whole Foods/Trader Joes or another retailer with better labor records.

I do think one thing that is hurt Brooklyn as a commercial development zone is the crowded subway system. Once any line gets between Atlantic/Pacific Street and Manhattan it is packed for one ofthe most unpleasant stretches of subway riding.

I don't believe an commercial building/tenants will seriously consider Brooklyn until Flatbush Avenue Extension is transformed. Downtown Brooklyn, in its present state, is extremely unattractive both aesthetically and as a business location.

[pianoman11686]

The developer will build whatever the market tells him to build. With the condo boom waning, we might see a flip-flop back to commercial development.

I do agree with the sentiments about Wal-Mart, though. This isn't the right location. If they want to be in the city, let them find a place somewhere in an abandoned manufacturing area (a la Ikea) and have their big ugly store and parking lot. BTW: didn't the City Council enact a bill last year that makes it a lot harder for Wal-Mart to get the necessary approvals to open a store?

[krulltime]

BTW: didn't the City Council enact a bill last year that makes it a lot harder for Wal-Mart to get the necessary approvals to open a store?

I am not sure but according to the article they might...


In 2004, speculation circulated that Wal-Mart was eyeballing the Albee Square site for its first New York City store. Because the site would be as-of-right, the world's largest retailer would not need approval from the City Council, which has been critical of Wal-Mart's treatment of employees.

[lofter1]

BTW: didn't the City Council enact a bill last year that makes it a lot harder for Wal-Mart to get the necessary approvals to open a store?

City Council Stated Meeting - March 1, 2006

gothamgazette.com (http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20060301/203/1777)

MEETING SUMMARY: HEALTHCARE FOR GROCERY WORKERS

The New York City Council overrode its first mayoral veto under the leadership of Speaker Christine Quinn in an effort to require grocery and "big box" stores like Walmart to provide health care coverage for their employees.

The veto override relates to an amendment (Intro 758-A) to the Health Care Security Act (http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20050817/203/1533), a previous bill passed last year that requires employers to contribute $2.50 for each hour an employee works, or $5,000 a year for a full-time employee toward the worker's health costs.

The amendment changes the act (http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/searchlight/20051011/203/1614) so that it applies to stores with more than 50 employees (the previous bill said 35 or more employees) and excluded temporary and seasonal workers. The bill also applies to large stores, like Walmart, which use a significant amount of their space to sell food.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed both measures, arguing that they violate federal law, which limits state and local government involvement in employee benefits.

The council overrode the mayor by a vote of 48 to 2; Republican Councilmember Andrew Lanza and Democrat Simcha Felder sided with the mayor. The council only needs a two-thirds majority to override the veto.

***

http://www.hotelbruce.com/01_02/bruceblog_3-2-05.php

Wal-Mart’s actions are cheap payback, typical behavior from a corporation that ‘pursuades’ its employees to not unionize and insists that its suppliers move oversees. The payback in this case is Wal-Mart being rebuffed by Sacramento, California and New York City in the last two weeks. In New York, city council told Wal-Mart ‘no, thanks’ after the retailer wanted to locate in a development in Rego Park, Queens. "The idea of Wal-Mart was overshadowing what could very well be a good project," Melinda Katz, chairwoman of the council's Land Use Committee, told The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/nyregion/24walmart.html).

[posterboy]

The idea of a Wal Mart in downtown Brooklyn makes me gag. I agree with Brooklynrider - a Whole Foods/ Trader Joe's or a similar (and smaller) retailer would create greater value in the neighborhood. A Wal Mart at this location would not serve the increasing condo-dwelling population of the neighborhood, but attract incredible amounts of traffic from all over the borough. And I don't think what we want on Flatbush is more traffic. The presence of Wal Mart is sure to be a turn-off to any developer who may be considering a large-scale commercial development at any point in the near future.

Oh, and Wal Mart is the spawn of the devil. But that's just my humble (and otherwise very pro-market) opinion.

[antinimby]

Where are the NIMBYs when you need them?

[BrooklynRider]

Well, in the case of Downtown Brooklyn, I think you'll find very few NIMBY's with regard to building - and building tall. Residents of Brooklyn are hungry for commercial and residential development in the rezoned Downtown area. However, Brooklyn doesn't need to be the testing borough for Walmart to enter New York City. Build it in the base of Ratners Beekman Street Tower or the Norman Foster Building uptown. Maybe they can accommodate it in 15 CPW. Stick it in Manhattan first, just like K-Mart, and then we can see about rolling it out city-wide.

Under those conditions, a Walmart ain't so attractive a notion.

[antinimby]

What about Walmart NIMBYs?

Surely there must be some in DT Brooklyn.

[Lance75]

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/12/19/silver_delays_a.php

If true, then this is the best news I've heard in a while.

[sfenn1117]

These are from Saturday.

Oro Condos....306 is 3 stories up

http://i10.tinypic.com/33ux2rl.jpg

313 not out of the ground yet (far right)

http://i12.tinypic.com/2qvt4yw.jpg



Walking along Flatbush Ave (I'd have taken more pics but the batteries in my camera died) I see tremendous potential in the next several years. The east side of the road is lined with car repair shops, crap two story buildings and gas stations. It won't take long to be lined with 30-40 story condo towers. Too bad we can't get some 60-70 story towers, the area can certainly handle it.

I guess Brooklyn will just forever be height limited....a Vancouver, or San Diego. Thankfully it's not as bad as Stamford.

[sfenn1117]

Forgot 85 Flatbush...also not out of the ground yet. One of the most exciting designs from a non-starchitect going up.

http://i3.tinypic.com/2z7j1us.jpg

[Eugenious]

I hope Wal-mart is kept at bay in favor of a Whole Foods/Trader Joes or another retailer with better labor records.



Whole Foods is not exactly pro-labor.

I'd rather have a normal supermarket not one of these super-uber every kind of meat and fish and cheese and the world and 105 different kinds of olives stores. Just give me a damn good Keyfood or Shoprite like the one on 7th Ave or Shoprite on McDonald and 18th and I'll be fine.

In fact the checkout lines at Whole foods and their overpriced-over-the-top products are not for everyone.

As for Walmart they should take the most far away, most polluted and deserted area of the city and hand it over to Walmart let em build a super center and do whatever it is they want. It'll be a win-win for everyone. There's still no shortage of polluted and abandoned spaces in the boroughs.

[antinimby]

What ever happened to Waldbaums?

I used to like them a lot.

[antinimby]

Forgot 85 Flatbush...also not out of the ground yet. One of the most exciting designs from a non-starchitect going up.What does 85 Flatbush look like?

[sfenn1117]

http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=107494&postcount=173

[sfenn1117]

Another 400 foot condo proposed for the same area....80 dekalb ave.

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobDetailsServlet?requestid=5&allisn=0001331233&allboroughname=&allnumbhous=&allstrt=

Rendering at http://www.kondylis.com/ go to projects, and 80 Dekalb Ave. It's an average Kondylis building.

[Strattonport]

What ever happened to Waldbaums?

I used to like them a lot.

They're still around (http://www.waldbaums.com). They were bought out by A&P and largely remains a chain in Brooklyn/Queens and Long Island.

[NoyokA]

Another 400 foot condo proposed for the same area....80 dekalb ave.

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobDetailsServlet?requestid=5&allisn=0001331233&allboroughname=&allnumbhous=&allstrt=

Rendering at http://www.kondylis.com/ go to projects, and 80 Dekalb Ave. It's an average Kondylis building.

Looks like it belongs on the Upper East Side.

[lofter1]

Re: Kondylis at 80 Dekalb Avenue

Not a good enough looking building --- considering the location and that it will be seen by each and every person in Ft. Greene Park ...

Google Map (http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=84+DeKalb+Ave,+Brooklyn,+NY+11201&ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=40.691475,-73.979359&spn=0.013764,0.042658&om=1)

[Empire State]

These are from Saturday.

Oro Condos....306 is 3 stories up

http://i10.tinypic.com/33ux2rl.jpg

313 not out of the ground yet (far right)

http://i12.tinypic.com/2qvt4yw.jpg



Walking along Flatbush Ave (I'd have taken more pics but the batteries in my camera died) I see tremendous potential in the next several years. The east side of the road is lined with car repair shops, crap two story buildings and gas stations. It won't take long to be lined with 30-40 story condo towers. Too bad we can't get some 60-70 story towers, the area can certainly handle it.

I guess Brooklyn will just forever be height limited....a Vancouver, or San Diego. Thankfully it's not as bad as Stamford.


Some could argue low-rise is part of Brooklyn's appeal. For what it's worth, Brooklyn's transformation into a great place to live is in large part due to the fact that it is sort of "different" than Manhattan.


That's not to say that I'm NIMBY:D

[NoyokA]

The Brooklyn Paper:

Trump Eyeing Brooklyn?
By Stephen Hanks
for The Brooklyn Paper

The Donald has his eye on Brooklyn.

Jealous that The Bruce (as in Ratner) is getting lots of attention for his Frank Gehry-designed Atlantic Yards Xanadu, Donald Trump now says he’s eyeing projects in the land of his youth.

“My dad always jokes that he spent years to get out of Brooklyn [where Trump Sr. was born and raised], and now look at what’s going on there,” Donald Trump Jr. told City Scoops, a new Manhattan publication.

“That Ratner project is very interesting and a huge undertaking. Brooklyn is now a very viable market … and we think that there is potential for us there. Maybe not now, but down the road. Something along the waterfront would be great.”

The Trumps already have buildings on the west bank of the Hudson, so why not expand into the east bank of the East River?

Indeed, the Donald himself told the magazine that he was thinking about it.

“We’ve definitely looked at Brooklyn and have most definitely been approached,” the Big Man told the magazine. “But nothing that would merit the Trump name so far.”

He wouldn’t say more, but the imagination reels.

Trump Army Plaza, anyone?

[Derek2k3]

The city should demolish this monster on Cadman Plaza near Borough Hall and build Brooklyn's tallest here. Nearly every subway line runs underneath and it's across from MetroTech. It's also geographically center in almost every angle of the Brooklyn skyline.

Just imagine coming off the Brooklyn Bridge and this thing being directly ahead...most tourists now probably get off the bridge and just want to turn back. The blue dot is the site of that Renzo Piano tower.

[BrooklynRider]

I don't know. From the Borough Hall plaza side, it really is a handsome building. I find it rather unique amongst most buildings in Brooklyn or Manhattan.

I know what you mean about having a landmark for folks coming off the bridge, but I think that whole NY Tech campus at Tilliary and Addams Street ought to be demolished and a tower worthy of a tech school erected.

[Lance75]

As long as we're playing SimCity Brooklyn...

I wouldn't mind if the building on Cadman Plaza were torn down, but nothing else should be built there. How about a small park area instead? That part of town could use some additional green space.

If another building has to go up, then it should be kept low scale, and the design should be something that stands up to the gorgeous U.S Post Office. Between the Post Office and Borough Hall, the current building looks woefully out of place, like a midrise for municipal workers from a poor Eastern Bloc country.

And as long as we're redoing things, I say tear down the god-awful MetroTech and rebuild from scratch. Even Atlanta and Houston would be ashamed of that atrocity.

[Lance75]

Looks like serious changes might be afoot...

Albee Square Mall headed for demolition
By Erik Engquist for NewYorkBusiness.com

The Gallery at Fulton Street, usually called the Albee Square Mall, has been sold for approximately $125 million and appears headed for the wrecking ball.

Sources say Thor Equities reached an agreement yesterday to sell its lease, which has 70 years remaining, to Acadia Realty Trust and its development partner P/A Associates, headed by Paul Travis and Aaron Malinsky. They are likely to tear down the downtown Brooklyn mall to take advantage of a 2004 rezoning to build a much larger mixed-use project.

The land underneath the mall is owned by the city, which will get a cut of the sale price.

Whatever is built to replace the mall will have to be approved by the Bloomberg administration even if the project complies with the existing zoning.

Thor purchased the low-scale retail complex and an adjacent three-level parking garage for a reported $25 million in 2001, made some renovations and gave it a more elegant name. But when offers for the property last year surged past $100 million, it became clear that its future would involve more than a face-lift.

The new zoning allows for 1.4 million square feet of construction, including residential units and office space towering over ground-level commercial establishments. A hotel has also been contemplated.

The principal of Thor Equities, Brooklyn resident Joe Sitt, at one time envisioned building a 60-story edifice at the Flatbush Avenue end of the property, but lately has been focusing on a grandiose plan to build a ritzy amusement park and apartments in Coney Island, near his home.

The Gallery at Fulton Street, as well as other stores along the Fulton Street, do a brisk business but mainly for low-end merchandise.

[bklynite]

With the Albee Sq. news, is there any movement on the plans for Boerum Place between Fulton and Livingston?

see: http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=111477&postcount=187

[krulltime]

Deal Would Triple the Size of the Albee Square Mall in Brooklyn and Add a High-Rise


By ANDY NEWMAN
February 13, 2007

The Downtown Brooklyn shopping plaza formerly known as the Albee Square Mall will soon undergo yet another incarnation: It will be razed, rebuilt at triple the size and topped with a high-rise with offices and a thousand apartments, its prospective new owners said yesterday.

The mall is being sold to a partnership of developers for about $125 million, two people with knowledge of the negotiations said. Today, the city’s Industrial Development Agency is expected to approve $3.2 million in tax breaks related to the sale for the new owners, a coalition including a nationally prominent firm, MacFarlane Partners of San Francisco.

The partnership, Albee Development L.L.C., has drawn up a letter of agreement with the current owner, Thor Equities, said Roxanne Donovan, the new team’s spokeswoman. Thor Equities, which bought the mall for $25 million in 2001, would not comment yesterday.

Albee Development’s plans, Ms. Donovan said, call for nearly half a million square feet of retail space, up from 150,000; about 125,000 square feet of Class A office space; and 1,000 rental apartments, 20 percent of which would be for tenants of moderate income.

The size of the project was made possible by the rezoning of much of Downtown Brooklyn in 2004, along with a seemingly endless economic boom.

The current mall, the Gallery at Fulton Street, is three stories high. There is no specific height planned for the tower, but the city’s deputy mayor for economic development, Daniel L. Doctoroff, said that the project would be “one of the tallest buildings in Downtown Brooklyn.”

The project, to be known as the Center at Albee Square, would have to go through several layers of government approval, but the new zoning allows more than 1 million square feet of development on the site. The pending sale was reported in Crain’s New York Business last week. The city owns the land under the mall, and Mr. Doctoroff said a tentative deal calls for the new owners to pay $28 million in rent over the next four years.

When the Albee Square Mall opened in 1980 at a pivotal spot on the Fulton Street pedestrian plaza, where much of black Brooklyn and Queens shops, it became a fashion destination for the young.

In a 1988 paean to the place called “Albee Square Mall,” the comic rapper Biz Markie described a typical jaunt:

I step in the place and shop around for a while

Buy some jewelry for Treny and Ali, and after that I’ll

Go take a stroll inside of Gibb’s Pups

Then buy some fresh silks, Bally’s too.

But the mall was also beset with problems, including rent strikes by store owners and endless complaints about security and maintenance. In 1990, Forest City Ratner bought the mall, rechristened it the Gallery at MetroTech, promised to bring it upscale, then seemed to lose interest.

In 2001, Joseph L. Sitt of Thor Equities bought the mall, named it the Gallery at Fulton Street and promised to remake it in the image of a palatial Italian villa with granite floors, national retailers like the Gap and tuxedoed greeters.

He got as far as spiffing up the first floor and putting a new awning on the outside. The basement level is a mostly vacant bunker. In place of a greeter in a tuxedo stands a man wearing a sandwich sign over his parka, advertising a sale at a leather coat store inside.

However humble, the mall is home to dozens of merchants, some of whom were upset over the new plans.

Eric Waltower, owner of Cunora Accessories, said he was selling jewelry from a cart on a nearby sidewalk two years ago when he was tempted inside. He sunk $30,000 into the space, which is now filled with necklaces, handbags and shiny belts.

“If they’d told me at the first meeting that they were looking to get rid of the place,” he said, “I’d have stayed out on Bridge Street.”

One of his customers, Janae Woodbury, 14, of Bushwick, said she would be sad to see the mall torn down. She brightened when she learned that a bigger mall was planned.

“That would be better,” she said. “They need more stores.”


Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

[NoyokA]

This is shaping up to be the Time Warner Center of Brooklyn.

[antinimby]

^ Wishful thinking.

If I know Brooklyn, it'll probably end up resembling Forest City's Atlantic Terminal but with condos in the tower instead of office space.

http://www.fcrc.com/images/projects/galat21b.jpg

[ablarc]

the project would be “one of the tallest buildings in Downtown Brooklyn.”
...but of course just shorter than Williamsburgh Savings.

NIMBYs prolly wouldn't want too much momentum; the borough might lose its character.

[ZippyTheChimp]

The Albee Square Mall sits on the site of a demolished gem, the RKO Albee Theater (http://cinematreasures.org/theater/1302/)

[lofter1]

Some links to pics from the comments at that ^^^ link:


This (http://iii.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/articles/10514689.3381/1.JPEG) photo of the RKO Albee is supposed to be from the 1960's.

posted by Lost Memory (http://cinematreasures.org/members/profile_view_ind.php?id=3871) on Nov 11, 2005 at 7:04am***

A rare view of the auditorium.

The Albee was one of three large theatres in downtown Brooklyn designed by Thomas W. Lamb, preceded by the Strand and Loew's Metropolitan:

www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/bkalbee01.jpg (http://www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/bkalbee01.jpg)

posted by Warren (http://cinematreasures.org/members/profile_view_ind.php?id=1239) on Dec 29, 2006 at 9:24am

[bklynite]

any news?

[bklynite]

I walked through the area where Belltel is yesterday -- it really does not fit with the surrounding character of businesses. The walk to Metrotech is uninviting -- you have to cross several lanes of service underpass roads. Seems like a long process to transform Downtown

[Eugenious]

I walked through the area where Belltel is yesterday -- it really does not fit with the surrounding character of businesses. The walk to Metrotech is uninviting -- you have to cross several lanes of service underpass roads. Seems like a long process to transform Downtown

Are they still asking $650,000 for a studio?

[krulltime]

I saw a curtainwall section detail of the condo tower.

Where exactly did you saw it? At the site? Sounds interesting looking. Anyway you can take a pic?

[Derek2k3]

Bridgeview Tower.
http://www.bridgeviewtower.com/

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/134/404665034_b5c272c159_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/174/404665039_5d6fea7530_o.jpg

[antinimby]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/174/404665039_5d6fea7530_o.jpg
Are there plans for a new building at this corner (where the pine tree now stands)? --------^

[bklynite]

Downtown Brooklyn Is Booming

BY MICHAEL STOLER
March 1, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/49594

Everyone loves Brooklyn, and that's especially true of its president, Marty Markowitz, the borough's biggest promoter, salesman, and cheerleader. "My agenda as borough president is to focus on one thing: making Brooklyn a better place to live now, and for future generations," he said. "Remember, if it's good for Brooklyn residents and businesses, it's good for New York City."
Downtown Brooklyn is at the forefront of the dramatic changes that have been taking place across the borough's landscape. More than 5,000 condominium units, 2,000 hotel rooms, and hundreds of thousand of square feet of retail and office space are in the development pipeline. They will transform the look and feel of the neighborhood.
Big development deals are a significant part of the action. Last Thursday, a joint venture of Acadia Realty Trust, P/A Associates, AvalonBay Communities, and MacFarlane Partners agreed to purchase the lease on the Gallery at Fulton Street, its attached parking lot, and the former Albee Square Mall from Thor Equities for about $125 million. The land under the mall and the parking lot are owned by New York City.
The new owners plan to demolish the facility and construct a 1.6 million-square-foot mixed-use complex called the Center at Albee Square which will have retail, office, and residential rental units. Arcadia and P/A Associates will develop 475,000 square feet of retail space that may include a major discount department store. AvalonBay Communities and MacFarlane Partners will build 1,000 rental apartments, 20% of them for tenants of moderate incomes. The two joint ventures would build and construct a total of more than 125,000 square feet of office space. The new owners will also receive about $1.8 million in city tax subsidies through sales tax exemptions and a mortgage tax waiver.
As I reported last September, the City University of New York and Forest City Ratner Cos. plan to begin construction of a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use tower in the heart of downtown Brooklyn later this year. The development on the campus of the New York City College of Technology, to be located at 300 Jay St. in the MetroTech Center, will occupy an entire city block bounded by Jay, Johnson, and Tillary streets. The first eight floors will house classrooms and a majority of the urban college campus; the upper floors will be for luxury residential condominiums.
Meanwhile, Polytechnic University is exploring a joint venture with Forest City Ratner Cos. on its campus in MetroTech, real estate sources said. The transaction would include the sale of about 800,000 square feet of available air rights for development. In addition, it is rumored that Forest City has plans to construct a residential condominium on the former site of Brooklyn Technical High School; the school would move to MetroTech.
HOTELS
Before 1998, when the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge opened at 333 Adams St., a new hotel had not been built in the borough for 68 years. In October, a 24-story, 280-room hotel opened adjacent to the Marriott, an expansion that brings the overall number of rooms to 660 rooms, making it one of the largest hotels in New York.
There are about 773 hotel rooms under construction, and industry leaders expect more than 2,000 rooms to arrive in downtown Brooklyn in the next five years.
This spring, Boymelgreen Developers plans to open the 93-room Smith Hotel at 75 Smith St. at Atlantic Avenue. The hotel will be located in a 13-story building that will also house 50 luxury residential condominiums.
Later this year, McSam Hotels plans to begin construction of a moderate-priced hotel with about 200 rooms at Nevins and Scherhorn streets.
In the fall, the Lam Group is expected to complete a 300-room Sheraton and a 200-room Starwood Aloft Hotel, a spinoff of its W Hotel chain. These properties will be adjoining lots at 216–228 Duffield St. near Willoughby Street. Real estate sources said a luxury hotel, possibly Brooklyn's first W Hotel, may be headed to Flatbush Avenue.
The building spree has prompted a warning from the president of McSam Hotels, Sam Chang: "The hospitality market in downtown Brooklyn does not need all these rooms and cannot absorb the supply."
RESIDENTIAL AND CULTURAL EXPANSION
The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership estimates 20 residential development projects are under construction, and 20 more projects are planned in the area; 3,991 condo units under construction or recently completed, and an additional 1,140 condo units are planned.
The city has announced plans to transform the area between Fulton and Lafayette streets near Fort Green Park into Brooklyn's cultural center. The $650 million Brooklyn Academy of Music Cultural District will be built around the Brooklyn Academy of Music and will include a theater and arts library, a dance studio, a public park, a museum and gallery, an underground parking lot, and a residential high-rise. The project will include the 299-seat Theater for a New Audience designed by Frank Gehry. The dance studio would be located inside the 20-story residential tower with 150 apartments, half of which would be affordable housing.
"The area is around BAM, and all of downtown Brooklyn is growing," the president of Newmark Knight Frank, James Kuhn, said. "Park Slope is hot, especially since the upzoning of Fourth Avenue."
The Clarett Group is developing a 30-story tower with 108 units, called Forte, at 230 Ashland Place in the Brooklyn Academy of Music Cultural District. About 65% of the condominiums reportedly are priced at less than $1 million, and residents are benefiting from discounted real estate taxes stemming from the 15-year 421a tax abatement.
In 2003, a joint venture of Hamlin Ventures and Time Equities acquired a two-acre site to construct a mixed-use development on the Hoyt-Schermerhorn urban renewal site. It is constructing a development of 500,000 square feet that includes new market-rate singlefamily townhouses, lofts and apartments, and 217 units of affordable housing aimed at providing housing for former homeless people and residents with special needs. The remainder will be for artists, lowincome workers, and a mix of retail, cultural, and commercial uses. The first phase of the project, 14 townhouses, has been completed. The second phase, Schermerhorn House — a residence for Common Ground and the Actors' Fund featuring affordable housing, a café, and a black box theater — is under construction.
"As a result of market forces and public actions, specifically rezoning, downtown Brooklyn is experiencing a surge of new, primarily residential development that will strengthen adjacent neighborhoods and invigorate the downtown core," the principal of Hamlin Ventures, Abby Hamlin, said. "The new development will connect vibrant residential communities to downtown's retail, cultural and business center."
The sales office opened last month for Oro Condo, a development of Ron Herscho and Dean Palin. The pair of 40-story condominium towers, with a price tag of $400 million, is the tallest new construction in Brooklyn. Located at 306 Gold St., Oro Condo was the first ground-up residential highrise condominium built after approval in 2004 of the Downtown Brooklyn Plan, which rezoned the area to permit larger residential as well as commercial development.
"Since the opening of the sales office last month, we have contracts for 56 apartments at a level much higher than anticipated," Mr. Palin said.
In January, AvalonBay Communities purchased a parcel of land on the southern portion of the block bounded by Gold Street, Flatbush Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, and Prince Street. The company paid about $70 million to an assemblage of sellers. The company expects to begin construction in the second half of 2007 of a 42-story residential rental tower.
Later this year, North Development Group will begin construction of a 21-story residential condominium tower with 108 units. The building will be located at 85 Flatbush Ave. Extension at Tillary and Duffield streets. The company is also planning to begin construction of a 70-unit condominium tower at Nassau Street near the Manhattan Bridge
"The demonstrated high demand for Brooklyn defines it as the leading destination for the young urban professional and growing families looking for affordable, high-quality housing, driving the absorption of new condominium development," the president of Metropolitan Valuation Services, Steve Schleider, said.
A partner at Aria Microwave Systems, Wayne Cheo, added: "The proximity to Wall Street, the Brooklyn and New York City courts, MetroTech, and endless transportation makes downtown Brooklyn an idea place to live."
A number of other residential condominium developments are in development in downtown Brooklyn.
Berkshire Capital is converting the 27-story, 509,000-square-foot Verizon Building at 7 Metro Tech Center into 244 condominium units and 34,000 square feet of retail.
In Brooklyn Heights, at 166 Montague St., the 10-story, 50,000-square-foot landmarked Franklin Trust building is being converted from office into residential condominiums.
The former home of the New York City Board of Education at 110 Livingston St. has been converted into a 300-unit condominium, a development of Two Trees Management.
The former headquarters of Williamsburgh Savings Bank, the landmarked tower at One Hanson Place, is being converted into 189 luxury condominiums by the Dermot Co. and Canyon Johnson Urban Funds.
"The addition of nationally recognized retail names that are looking in the marketplace will bring a new shopping experience to this area," a principal at PRD Realty, Scott Domansky, said. "Citibank and Borders Books have taken the base of the Williamsburgh Bank Building. The Target store located in the Atlantic Mall is known to be one of the top three revenue producing stores within Target's chain."
THE OFFICE MARKET
Class A office space is needed all over the city, especially in downtown Brooklyn.
The Treeline Cos. has announced plans to construct a 120,000-square-foot Class A office building at 177 Livingston St., with completion scheduled before summer.
"We are in the process of redeveloping the property, a portion of the Macy's stores on Fulton Mall that was being underutilized," the executive vice president of Treeline Cos., Michael Shor, said. "The property is synergistic with our similar redevelopment of 180 Livingston Street across the street, where we have the MTA as our major tenant. Our view is that Livingston Street is the next area of office development, along with the exciting retail and residential opportunities in the area. In a way, Livingston Street is the gateway to the Atlantic Terminal, the Nets stadium, and the Ratner project, as well as to Albee Square."
"If there's one thing downtown Brooklyn needs, it's a better office supply," a principal, at the Hudson Cos., David Kramer, said. "When Hudson was looking for office space recently for our own business, we were disappointed in the availability of basically tired, Class B office space. As residential and retail continue to develop in downtown Brooklyn, the area could still stand to benefit from improved office supply, which would continue Brooklyn's journey as a 24/7 standalone location."
I concur with the president of Sholom & Zuckerbrot Realty LLC, Frank Zuckerbrot, when he says downtown Brooklyn "is very active and arguably the strongest development market in New York City. It is truly going through a renaissance."
Mr. Stoler, a contributing editor to The New York Sun, is a television broadcaster and senior principal at a real estate investment fund. He can be reached at mstoler@newyorkrealestatetv.com.
March 1, 2007 Edition > Section: Real Estate (http://www.nysun.com/section/22) > Printer-Friendly Version

[ablarc]

The building spree has prompted a warning from the president of McSam Hotels, Sam Chang: "The hospitality market in downtown Brooklyn does not need all these rooms and cannot absorb the supply.
A self-serving statement?

[sfenn1117]

In January, AvalonBay Communities purchased a parcel of land on the southern portion of the block bounded by Gold Street, Flatbush Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, and Prince Street. The company paid about $70 million to an assemblage of sellers. The company expects to begin construction in the second half of 2007 of a 42-story residential rental tower.

This is a new one. I shudder to think what atrocity Avalon will bring to downtown Brooklyn.

[bklynite]

Avalong can't be much worse that the traffic snarl and desolate expanses that are there now...

[Derek2k3]

This is a new one. I shudder to think what atrocity Avalon will bring to downtown Brooklyn.

This was the site owned by Isaac Katan. He was going to construct a few buildings 28-32 stories each. All of the businesses fronting Myrtle have already closed and the site is directly across from the planned 400' SOM tower.

[sfenn1117]

^I'm hoping the SOM tower is something grand....it's a sharp triangular site that begs for something creative.

The Avalon Bay site is huge, and even a 42 story tower could be a hulking mess. Without zoning/height limits it could be a slender 70 story tower. This is why Chicago's tallest residentials top out at 60-80 floors, and our tallest top out 40-60 floors.

[Xemu]

I had heard this was a hotel project. Guess not...

Walentas ‘Independence’ plan back on track

By Christie Rizk
The Brooklyn Paper
A Cobble Hill apartment building project that was temporarily suspended last year is back in full swing. Developer David Walentas’s plan for a 37-rental-unit building on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Court Street has been revamped and redesigned.
Community Board 6 rejected the Walentas’s original plan for an 81-foot building in 2005, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission refused to give the company permission to demolish a smaller building on Atlantic Avenue, next to the property, in 2006.
But it seems the kinks have been worked out.
“The project is definitely back up again,” said project manager Sam Charney, who didn’t want to go into detail before full design plans are revealed in two weeks.
What is known is that Walentas’s Two Trees Management wants to build a six-story building on the current parking lot behind the Sovereign Bank building, with stores at street level.
The LPC has approved the proposed building’s facade, as it is required to do for any new structure going up in a historic district.
The initial proposal called for tearing down a small annex to the 84-year-old Renaissance revival-style bank, converting the old bank building to housing and connecting the two buildings with a glass bridge. But the LPC insisted on the preserving the annex.
Two Trees is now looking for a major retailer to occupy the bank space. Construction is set to start late this summer, and the building is expected to be done in 2009.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

[Xemu]

110 Livingston:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/418140130_110b3a4e0a.jpg
14 Townhouses:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/418139571_7d2e858257.jpg
The stalled Smith House:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/418140035_c56699b45d.jpg
A tower crane has gone in at Schermerhorn and Hoyt:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/181/418139218_4ca19b9a7a.jpg
The site of the future Walentes project in the article above:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/418139731_d02ec5a8b3.jpg

[BrooklynRider]

The Smith House aka Luxe + Pop is of the same crap aesthetic as every other Boylemengreen project. The brick work going up on Atlantic is so bad I cringe walking past it. Truly a blemish on an up and coming area.

[Derek2k3]

Thanks for the pictures Xemu.

[antinimby]

Anyone else think that row of townhouses were a bow to the NIMBYs?

Why would you build an entire block of townhouses in DT Brooklyn of all places?

Anyway, in the fourth pic above, that site at Schermerhorn and Hoyt is where a 25-story rental is going up.

I believe the design firm is the Stephens B. Jacobs group, the same one's who did Boulevard East (http://www.sbjgroup.com/blvdeastcondo.html) nearby and of course, 325 Fifth in Manhattan.

[Derek2k3]

well kinda...This block is really the dividing line between Dtwn Bk. & Boerum Hill. Before being knocked down for a parking lot, the entire block use to be lined with brownstones and they still line the southern side of State Street across from this development.

These townhouses are part of a master plan by Time Equities to develop the entire block. The southern side is to be developed with lowscale townhouses while the northern side will have mid-high rises. I like how the developers actually cared to build projects with some kind of architectural integrity. The block just east of this going through a similar type of development but looks horrible so far.

Schermerhorn House designed by Polshek is the next to rise on this block and is already under construction methinks.

[BrooklynRider]

I agree with Derek. If you saw where they are built, it is a very apprpriate development, finishing out a classic rowhouse/brownstone block. Mid-rise development will be directly behind it. It is a rather nice design.

[BrooklynRider]

FYI - Oro condo is up to 13 stories.

[Xemu]

Thanks for that graphic derek. Schermerhorn House has been underway for some time now. They're still working on the foundation though. Here's a pic I took of the site the other day (14 townhouses in the background):
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/424696391_cbd9aaacf6.jpg
I think I read that the foundation work at this site is especially complicated because of the huge Hoyt-Schermerhorn station below. If 14 Townhouses is anything to go on this building should turn out pretty nice. Fingers crossed...

[fishermb]

Can anyone comment on 125 Court? Looking to move into the neighborhood, seems like a nice building but haven't got a chance to see in person, or know about any problems with it-

[Xemu]

April 3, 2007
To Help Rikers, City Wants More Prisoners in Brooklyn

By TRYMAINE LEE
The city’s Department of Correction wants to double the number of prisoners it plans to house at a reopened Brooklyn House of Detention as part of its effort to ease pressure on the aging jail complex on Rikers Island officials said yesterday.
The plan to expand the Brooklyn jail, which has been closed since 2003, will take five years and should help the city eliminate beds for 4,000 prisoners at Rikers Island, Correction Department officials said. Most of those inmates would be transferred to the Brooklyn House of Detention, at Boerum Place and Atlantic Avenue, and to a planned jail in the Oak Point section of the Bronx, the officials said.
The Brooklyn jail, in its current state, has room for 749 inmates. The expansion would allow it to house 1,479.
The expansion would be built on empty land next to the House of Detention, which is in the heart of a booming residential and commercial area, and it would include jail space and a retail development, officials said. The existing building would not be altered.
Stephen Morello, a spokesman for the Correction Department, said the city would soon seek proposals from developers about how they might design the combined retail-jail space.
Some neighborhood groups are opposed to the plan to reopen and expand the jail.
“Before it was mothballed, the House of Detention was not a good neighbor,” said Robert Perris, district manager of Community Board No. 2 in Brooklyn.
“The bottom line for people in that corner of Boerum Hill is the impacts of both the Department of Correction and the visitors to the facility have caused in the past and might cause in the future,” he added.
Sandy Balboza, president of the Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association, said the reopened jail could hurt the rebounding neighborhood’s momentum. “People have invested recently, they developed around the jail site,” he said. “They’ve invested, and the jail hurts their investment, especially the expansion of the jail.”
A majority of the inmates expected to be sent to the Brooklyn jail would be from the borough, which is in keeping with a corrections trend in which inmates are kept closer to home, Mr. Morello said. Over all, he said, 33 percent of the city’s inmates come out of Brooklyn courts.
“Rikers Island is not a great place to have jails, for a number of reasons,” Mr. Morello said, citing its proximity to La Guardia Airport and the limited access from the mainland to the East River complex.
“It’s an impossible trip for family members, attorneys and aid groups who offer various services to the inmates,” Mr. Morello said. The Correction Department shuffles some 1,500 inmates a day from Rikers Island to court appearances throughout the city in an “inefficient manner that is not good for the justice system,” Mr. Morello said.
He added that 80 percent of the inmates on Rikers Island have not been convicted of any crime and that 50 percent of the prisoners are released within 10 days. The average stay in the jail is 45 days, Mr. Morello said, adding that it does not make sense to have inmates spending so much time traveling from Rikers Island to courts in each borough.
Mr. Perris said the plan to increase the inmate population at the House of Detention is not just about keeping prisoners closer to home.
“That is a very humane goal, but there are people in the community who question whether it’s just rhetorical leverage,” Mr. Perris said. He said the community board’s Transportation and Public Safety Committee and its Land Use Committee both voiced opposition to the expansion at the board’s February meeting.
“Court officers abused placard parking thought the area, and some visitors to the jail would urinate in people’s yards, hide weapons and contraband in flower pots,” Mr. Perris said. “So there is concern that if the jail reopens and doubles in size, these problems will reappear and be worse than they were before.”
Some residents and community groups also spoke out against the plan at a public hearing held by the full board.
Still, many of those who oppose the expansion say they will work with developers to include community goals, particularly in the plans for a retail development.
Mr. Balboza expressed skepticism about that part of the plan. “The retail, how do we know retail can work there?” Mr. Balboza asked, citing the no-parking and no-standing areas along that stretch of Atlantic Avenue and the lack of a viable loading dock.
“We have developers who have come to the neighborhoods around the jail and developed it, not because the jail was there but because people came in and saved these neighborhoods,” Mr. Balboza said.
Mr. Morello said the next step in the Brooklyn jail expansion plan is the Unified Land Use review process. He said the Correction Department also must still buy the 22-acre parcel in the Oak Point section of the Bronx to build a jail where the city plans to house 2,040 inmates.


__________________________________________________ ___________

On a personal note, I live across the street from this place. I completely understand the need to reopen the prison. I was never here when it was in use, but I doubt it was as bad as the people above make it out to be. I am a little concerned about this line though: "The expansion would be built on empty land next to the House of Detention." The jail fills the whole block, so that could only be a parking lot across Boerum Pl. to the west and next to the new Y in the "Court House" rental. Would really kill what could have been a nice new city block.

[antinimby]

Not too long ago, I remember they were actually talking about turning the jail into condos.

I know the courts are right there, but isn't the land prices in this part of Downtown Brooklyn too valuable to be used for housing inmates?

Isn't there another out-of-the-way site somewhere else they can build a prison? Red Hook? (joking)

[BrooklynRider]

The Family Court building on Adams Street is now empty and sits right next to new court building at 330 Jay Street. They could sell of the old detention center (in a much more residential area) and use the funds to construct a new prison that depends less on razor wire and more on modern prison technologies. The city really screwed that community on this one.

[BrooklynRider]

On a personal note, I live across the street from this place. I completely understand the need to reopen the prison. I was never here when it was in use, but I doubt it was as bad as the people above make it out to be. I am a little concerned about this line though: "The expansion would be built on empty land next to the House of Detention." The jail fills the whole block, so that could only be a parking lot across Boerum Pl. to the west and next to the new Y in the "Court House" rental. Would really kill what could have been a nice new city block.

There's the whole back yard to the prison on the State Street side that can be built on.

[Xemu]

The Family Court building on Adams Street is now empty and sits right next to new court building at 330 Jay Street. They could sell of the old detention center (in a much more residential area) and use the funds to construct a new prison that depends less on razor wire and more on modern prison technologies. The city really screwed that community on this one.

That would really kill any chance of improving the Fulton Mall though. I've heard talk of retail going into the ground floor space in that building. I understand why the city would wand to reopen the House of D. I mean it's already a fully built Jail. What point would there be to tear it down and rebuild one up the street (farther from the criminal courts to boot).


There's the whole back yard to the prison on the State Street side that can be built on.

True, but when I read "empty land" I assumed they meant completely empty. There is a one story structure surrounding the tower part of the jail that fills the entire block. I hope you're right though.

[Xemu]

Some more measured reactions from area residents. None of that "they'll hide their guns in our flower pots" garbage.
__________________________________________________ _____________

April 4, 2007
Jail’s Return in Brooklyn Raises Hopes and Fears

By TRYMAINE LEE
When YaYa Ceesay’s dream of opening a soul food restaurant came true in 2003, business, at first, boomed. He had found a great spot along an up-and-coming stretch of Atlantic Avenue across the street from the Brooklyn House of Detention and quickly built a strong group of regulars.
He opened the doors each day at 6 a.m., and from then until after the lunch crowd headed back to work, his restaurant, the Soul Spot, was packed with correction officers, prisoners’ families, neighborhood residents and passers-by. Fish and grits, chicken and waffles, scrambled eggs, salmon cakes — you name it he served it.
But in June 2003, three months after his glorious introduction to Brooklyn, the jail closed and the breakfast crowd disappeared. Three months after that, Mr. Ceesay was forced to trim the Soul Spot’s menu, and he moved back its daily start time to just before noon.
When the prison population left, he said, about 20 percent of his customers went with it.
Now that the city’s Department of Correction has said that it wants to reopen the jail and double the inmate population in five years, Mr. Ceesay and many other nearby business owners are saying they will be more than happy to provide food or services to those who will work there or who will visit the people held within.
“The jail being there was really good for us,” Mr. Ceesay said. “The corrections officers and all the breakfast they ate was a big part of the business. It was good for us.”
But not everyone is quite so happy that a jail that once held 700 inmates will hold more than 1,400 if plans become reality.
Some residents in the area said that what is good for the mom-and-pop businesses might not be so good for the moms and pops whose new condominiums, many worth several hundred thousand dollars, would be just down the street from the repopulated jail.
“Go ask the parents of the schoolkids who go to Packer who will have to walk past the jail on their way to the store for a bag of potato chips,” said Corey Baylor, an investment banker who moved into a State Street condo four days ago, referring to the Packer Collegiate Institute on Joralemon Street. When the jail closed, the area surrounding the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Boerum Place, where it sits, was trying to reinvent itself. It was an unremarkable neighborhood of gas stations and hunched old office buildings. Today it is home to some of the newest high-end apartment buildings in Brooklyn. There’s a sparkling new YMCA a block away from the old jail, a high-rise is being built next door and rows of condos line State Street a block away.
Mr. Baylor said the resurrection of the jail could hurt growth in the neighborhood. He suggested that the city lease or sell the building to a company that would be able to bring in the kind of money the community needs to nurture more residents.
Correction Department officials said they want to encourage the economic gains on Atlantic Avenue, which is why they are seeking to include commercial space in the expanded jail.
Those plans do not alleviate Mr. Baylor’s concerns. “If the jail never comes online, we’ll all be very excited,” he said. “If it does come online, we’ll be extremely disappointed. What about all of those people who bought condos here and were told that the jail would never reopen?”
Onur Aktulgali, manager of a gift store near the jail, said the Correction Department plan is “not good for Brooklyn.”
“Brooklyn is developing,” he said. “Nice places for shops, nice places for people to sit at coffee shops or cafes. The last thing we need is a jail next door.”
Ludner Jacques, who lives in the area and works at the Brooklyn Criminal Court building, said he has heard the buzz about the jail-reopening plan but does not understand what the fuss is about.
“It’s going to be interesting,” he said. “It makes me laugh, actually. You know, when you are paying this kind of money for a place, you don’t want to live next to prisoners. But if we can live here, and people live in this area, why not inmates too?”
From behind the counter at the St. Clair Restaurant at Atlantic Avenue and Smith Street, opposite the jail, the owner, Costas Costa, watched the comings and goings yesterday. Since 1968, when he bought the 100-year-old building where he operates the restaurant, Mr. Costa has served diner food to anyone who wants it.
“For business, it’s a good thing,” he said, wiping down the counter with a stained rag that was once white. “The area doesn’t like it. But we made good money with them there.”
Back at the Soul Spot, a few doors down from the St. Clair, Mr. Ceesay cut a few pieces of his prized meatloaf. Then he lifted his head and took a step back, chuckling.
“The neighbors act like the prisoners are going to be out in the streets causing trouble,” he said. “But they’ll be kept inside, in check. And we look forward to having them back.”

[JCMAN320]

That last sentence says it all. They will be inside. I love how they are talking about just making rich people happy. The jail is not going to be a detrement its just going to increase revenue.

[macreator]

Too bad the market seems to be cooling a little, I was hoping we'd see some kind of ambitious prison + luxury condos + office space mixed-use project :D

With separate entrances of course ;)

[krulltime]

• 200 Livingston, also identified as 189 Schermerhorn, the 25-story residential mixed-use tower that is being developed by Second Development Services partners Lou Greco and Mario Procida. The building, which will have access from both streets and will contain 214 condominium units, is being designed by The Stephen B. Jacobs Group Architects.

Is this under construction already?

200 Livingston:

http://www.pbase.com/image/77106294.jpg

http://dbpartnership.org/lookingahead/development/residential

[krulltime]

http://www.pbase.com/image/67681754.jpg


27-Story Sheraton Hotel Coming to Downtown Brooklyn
First New Commercial Building to Go Up Since Rezoning Plan Adopted in 2004


By Linda Collins
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Construction fences are up and work has begun at the site of two new upscale and “hip” hotels in Downtown Brooklyn.A Sheraton and another, as-yet-unidentified “but hip” hotel are planned for the site, according to the developer, John Lam of The Lam Group, a Manhattan-based builder of hotels in the city.


Yeah well what can you expect...


The Sheraton Hotel:

http://www.pbase.com/image/77106302.jpg

http://dbpartnership.org/lookingahead/development/residential

[NoyokA]

Im at a loss of words. Poor Brooklyn.

[NoyokA]

Gene Kaufman. oy vey!

[sfenn1117]

Gene Kaufman's website was updated!

http://www.gkapc.com/

Scroll through for dozens of horrifying new renderings....and 1 pleasant surprise.

[NoyokA]

Gene Kaufman's website was updated!

http://www.gkapc.com/

Scroll through for dozens of horrifying new renderings....and 1 pleasant surprise.

To tell you the truth they all made me throw up a little in my mouth.

[bklynite]

which was the pleasant surprise?!

[sfenn1117]

5th one under residential, 544 Union, looks interesting.

Otherwise, these buildings are like a plague feeding on our city. And there's no way to stop it. :mad:

[antinimby]

To tell you the truth they all made me throw up a little in my mouth.Throw up a little?!!

My whole floor is now full of puke!

[NoyokA]

Maybe it's time to rotate your user title.

[antinimby]

Back to Gene Kaufman again? :D

[krulltime]

Gene Kaufman's website was updated!

http://www.gkapc.com/

Scroll through for dozens of horrifying new renderings....and 1 pleasant surprise.

OMG so much similar crap! What that hell is going on with these guys?

[NoyokA]

Back to Gene Kaufman again? :D

lol.

[BrooklynRider]

Brooklyn is going to be an ugly mess. It's the place where folks build cheap ass back office junk. It's pretty mortifying.

I can't for the life of me understand how Kaufman continues to get commissions. His commercial designs defy any good taste and have no aesthetic qualities whatsoever. I mean, these are seriously offensive designs and his descriptions have me dumbfounded.

[bklynite]

i think that rendering overestimates the size of the building -- the empy lots are not that wide relative to belltel.

[BrooklynRider]

Is it going to be built just on the empty lots or have they assembled a larger footprint?

[Derek2k3]

I can't believe the city would let someone build this overlooking the planned park, "Willoughby Square." Modeled after Post Square in Boston my ass...wherever the hell Post Square is, it wouldn't have junk like this lining it.


http://www.gkapc.com/

"A large site facing a new public square is developed with two hotels for Starwood, a 300-room full service Sheraton and a 180 room "aloft" by W Hotels. The 24 story full-service pair of buildings features extensive amenities including ballrooms, conference facilities, spa, fitness center, aquatic center, restaurants, and rooftop bar. The 200,000 square foot development was tailored to fit a master plan by NYC Economic Development Corporation and the Mayor’s office as part of the revitalization of downtown Brooklyn. Crafted to a site with a zoning street wall requirement, the bases of the side-by-side structures terminate in a stepped terrace configuration that provides premium suite units, many with outdoor space overlooking Willoughby Square. The stepping facade planes and horizontally banded windows capture the unique wrap-around views afforded to the first major development under the historic rezoning initiative."

[BrooklynRider]

We need architectural review in this city.

[Xemu]

April 15, 2007
Living In | Downtown Brooklyn
Now Open for Living, as Well as Business

By JENNIFER BLEYER
MATTHEW AND LORI RICHMOND were newly married and living in Greenpoint when they began looking for a home to buy in 2005. They yearned to be near multiple subway lines, having spent several years relegated almost exclusively to the L train, and with busy careers as designers and little time to renovate, they wanted a new building that they could move into right away.
They were familiar with Brooklyn’s stylish brownstone neighborhoods, but less so with its downtown, a shabby-fringed commercial district that bustles during the day with 100,000 workers but is nearly deserted at night. Still, when they were shown an apartment in Boulevard East, an 11-story tawny-brick condominium on Boerum Place on downtown Brooklyn’s border, they quickly perceived the area’s residential possibilities.
Ms. Richmond’s father, Domenic Mozzone, had worked in the nearby MetroTech office complex and advised the couple that with a staggering 12 subway lines within six blocks of Boulevard East, the apartment was most likely a solid investment. They put a deposit on a 900-square-foot unit with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open kitchen the same day they saw it. They have been thrilled with their choice ever since.
“We’re in the crux of all these amazing neighborhoods,” said Ms. Richmond, 30, who gave birth to their first child, Cooper, in January. “I walk two blocks this way, I’m in the heart of Brooklyn Heights. I walk two blocks that way, I’m in Carroll Gardens. And because of the close proximity to all the trains, it was kind of like, ‘Why haven’t people been living here?’ ”
Downtown Brooklyn has long been a civic center, retail destination and, with the development of the 16-acre MetroTech complex beginning in 1989, a home for Wall Street back offices.
It hasn’t really been known as a place where people live, but a rezoning that took effect in 2004 is poised to change that, because it gave a green light to the construction of larger residential buildings.
The area now teeters on the edge of a building boom, which officials and developers predict will transform it into what they deem a “24 hour” neighborhood.
“If you walk down a street in the commercial core now at 7:30 at night, it’s very quiet,” said Joseph Chan, the president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, an umbrella group overseeing the area’s renewal.
“That lack of activity does not convey the sense of a vibrant downtown, and that’s going to change extraordinarily quickly with the development here.”
By Mr. Chan’s estimate, more than 7,000 residential units are in planning stages or under construction in downtown Brooklyn, not including the nearby Atlantic Yards proposal — which calls for eight million square feet of high-rise housing, office space and a basketball arena on 22 acres.
He noted that his organization was working with the Real Estate Board of New York and local property owners to fill in the neighborhood’s retail gaps.
Hal Henenson, the executive director of the development marketing group at Prudential Douglas Elliman, agreed that downtown Brooklyn is on the verge of change, attractive for its transportation options, relative affordability and proximity to borough shopping strips.
“For people who are looking for the next new neighborhood, if you will,” he said, “I think in Brooklyn, it’s downtown.”
What You’ll Find
The neighborhood stretches from the rumble of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway south to Schermerhorn Street, and from the busy shops along Court Street and Cadman Plaza West toward Flatbush Avenue to the east, where cars head toward the Manhattan Bridge.
At the area’s heart is Borough Hall, a stately Greek Revival structure facing a handsomely landscaped plaza where a farmer’s market is available two days a week year round. Farther north, Cadman Plaza Park offers a 10-acre swath of green space popular with dog walkers and office workers.
The neighborhood’s civic and commercial character remains prominent, with a heavy concentration of courts and other municipal facilities as well as the boxy MetroTech center, its modern buildings arranged around a manicured commons. Abutting MetroTech is the Fulton Street Mall area, a rollicking destination for electronics, jewelry, hip-hop music and urban street wear.
Housing at this point is limited to scattered rentals and a handful of co-ops and condominiums. An exception is Concord Village, a co-op development of more than 1,000 apartments on the edge of downtown beside the Brooklyn Bridge.
But one need only follow the trail of cranes and cement trucks to see what’s in store for the area, much of it within what Mr. Chan identifies as three nodes of development.
The first is a pocket east of the Flatbush Avenue Extension that was included in the 2004 rezoning, where several major high-rises are planned. The Oro, a glassy 40-story condominium with 303 apartments, a 50-foot swimming pool and an indoor basketball court, is already well under way there.
Next are the Schermerhorn and Livingston Street corridors. The former Board of Education headquarters at 110 Livingston is being transformed into a 299-unit condo by David Walentas, who originally envisioned the neighborhood now known as Dumbo. There is also the 158-unit State Renaissance Court on Schermerhorn Street, a mixed-income project financed by the city’s Housing Development Corporation. Both are set to open this spring.
Finally, there is a cluster of buildings being planned around the commercial core, including the BellTel Lofts, in the former Verizon Building on Willoughby Street. The residential future of the Fulton Street Mall itself was confirmed in February with the announcement that its three-story Albee Square Mall will be demolished and rebuilt, topped with 1,000 apartments.
What You’ll Pay
Although downtown Brooklyn is in its infant stages as a residential neighborhood, prices can generally be discerned from apartments sold but not yet occupied.
At 110 Livingston, the Walentas condo, 262 units have sold since last summer — from studios starting in the high $300,000s to three-bedrooms starting above $900,000. Earlier this month, a three-bedroom penthouse with an 800-square-foot terrace sold for $1.35 million. Common charges average $500 a month.
“We found that the more expensive product was what was selling quickly,” said Asher Abehsera, vice president for residential sales at the Two Trees Management Company, the building’s developer, noting that the larger three-bedrooms were almost gone. “It shows that downtown Brooklyn can handle and would like to see more high-end large condominium homes.”
Mr. Henenson of Prudential Douglas Elliman said that the commercial core, where BellTel Lofts are, offered Manhattan-style luxury at a lower cost. As he put it, “You could buy a loft in Chelsea, and the same loft in downtown Brooklyn would be literally half the price.”
Last month, Mr. Henenson noted, two apartments were bought together in BellTel for $2.5 million, to be combined into five bedrooms with four and a half bathrooms, with nearly 3,000 square feet of space.
How long prices will remain at this level, however, is a question. “We’re in the echelon of $1,000 a square foot,” said Jerry Minsky, a senior vice president at the Corcoran Group in nearby Fort Greene. “There’s enough evidence to prove that it’s not turning back.”
What to Do
Like gems in a necklace, some of the borough’s best-known amenities ring downtown. Just beyond its perimeter in Fort Greene is the Brooklyn Academy of Music; nearby, a theater and an arts library are to join what is being called the BAM Cultural District.
A stroll south along Smith Street in Carroll Gardens reveals dozens of restaurants, including the Grocery and Saul, as well as bars that brim with life on summer evenings. To the west is Brooklyn Heights, with its promenade.
Closer in, a Y.M.C.A. opened in 2005 below the Court House Apartments on Atlantic Avenue, offering a six-lane pool and children’s classes. Court Street is a main commercial artery, with a Barnes & Noble store and a 12-screen movie theater.
The History
Near the East River waterfront where Dutch farmers formed the village of Breuckelen in the 17th century, the downtown area grew as the civic heart of independent Brooklyn.
The grand City Hall was completed in 1849 and became known as Borough Hall in 1898, when Brooklyn became part of New York. Schools and churches sprouted, as well as office towers, hotels and theaters. Retailing floundered in the postwar period, although downtown Brooklyn began a new phase in the 1990s with the development of MetroTech.
The Schools
There are no public elementary schools in downtown Brooklyn, but schools in adjacent neighborhoods have received good marks.
One is Public School 8 on Hicks Street in Brooklyn Heights, which has benefited in recent years from new administration and increased parent involvement, 62 percent of students met city and state standards in English in the 2004-2005 school year, versus 61 percent citywide. Sixty-nine percent achieved the math requirements, versus 65 percent citywide.
As for private schools, downtown Brooklyn boasts a well-regarded kindergarten-through-Grade 12 institution: Brooklyn Friends, which opened in 1867 in the Quaker Meeting House on Schermerhorn Street.
The Commute
There are stations on the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, F, M, R, B, G and Q subway lines. Some stop twice within the area, and many are one or two stops from Manhattan. Ms. Richmond, the designer, said she and her husband both had door-to-door commutes of under half an hour to the SoHo area.
In addition, the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges are nearby, as well as the Flatbush Avenue terminal of the Long Island Rail Road.
Going Forward
With thousands of new residents en route, business-centered downtown Brooklyn can swiftly morph into a livable neighborhood.

[bklynite]

Is it going to be built just on the empty lots or have they assembled a larger footprint?

looks like digging has begun -- no sign of demo'ing the adjacent building:
http://www.curbed.com/2007_04_duffield3-thumb.png

[BrooklynRider]

That's definitely not the footprint for this hotel monstrosity.

[investordude]

Look at how much lawsuit and delay Ratner is facing because people don't like his creative buildings (ok, the eminent domain issue there is important too, but that's not why most NIMBYs object).

In practice, I think this harassment makes it unreasonable to expect a hotel to build provocative architecture. Think about it - people stay in Brooklyn to save money and it therefore makes sense to be pragmatic and control costs by keeping out of the limelight.

However, I'm excited by this project. My complaint with Brooklyn is not architecture - its the retail scene at the Fulton mall. Let's get an entreprenuer to buy some fast food chains and replace them with a nice French cafe to appeal to Europeans who will flock here as the dollar keeps falling. Once this happens, downtown Brooklyn will become the next hot neighborhood and we'll see things go upscale there. I'm totally willing to stomach a few ugly buildings, which weren't going to be pretty given the NIMBYs anyway. In exchange, we get revitalization of a still crappy strip. Hopefully, the whole area from Atlantic Yards to Borough Hall can become more reasonably attractive - like a discount, more funky, 14th street of sorts.

[BrooklynRider]

I agree with you on the Fulton Mall, but you need to take another look at that hotel design. It really is atrocious. No one in Brooklyn is going to object to interesting and exciting architrcture in downtown Brooklyn. These hotel buildings are an eyesore. No need for us to actually build blight in the borough. Seems they are taking inspiration from Ratner's Metrotech complex.

[krulltime]

Tall tower, high rents


By Dana Rubinstein
April 21, 2007

Talk about the Manhattanization of Brooklyn: A new mega-development slated for the booming border of Fort Greene and Downtown is being built by the same real-estate giant that built a luxury Xanadu with a Whole Foods in the lobby on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

AvalonBay, a Virginia-based development group, will build a $250-million luxury “community” on the land bounded by Myrtle Avenue, Gold and Prince streets. The massive development will hold 600 market-rate rentals — more than three times the number of units in the iconic Williamsburgh Savings Bank building, the tallest building in Brooklyn.

“It will be similar to the Avalon on Chrystie Street,” said Joe Korbel, a spokesman for the developers. “I’m not sure there will be a Whole Foods, but there should be ground-floor retail. And there will be a lot of amenities.”

Korbel said that the building was still “in creative design,” so no renderings were available.

The $70-million land purchase was first reported in the New York Sun.

If the Lower East Side development is anything to judge by, this project should come laden with perks — for those who can afford them.

In addition to the Whole Foods, the Chrystie Street building has a rooftop sundeck, a fitness center, a resident lounge complete with billiards, and 24-hour concierge service.

And tenants pay through their organic-produce-loving noses for it.

According to the leasing office, the average studio runs $2,500 a month, the typical one-bedroom runs $3,500 and two-bedrooms run $5,000.

Construction will begin on the 42-floor Brooklyn project in September, and the units will be ready for occupancy by March 2009.


©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

[krulltime]

Tall tower, high rents

“It will be similar to the Avalon on Chrystie Street,” said Joe Korbel, a spokesman for the developers.

:rolleyes: What good can it come out of this as a 42 story tower...

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/assets/photos/30/16/30_16manhattanavalon_z.jpg

[bklynite]

besides high rents? only hope is the tenants will give the area some life and services...

[investordude]

There is a fairly comprehensive list of planned Sheraton hotels on Sheraton's corporate website. If they are building a Sheraton in Brooklyn, why is it not listed?

[NewYorkDoc]

A view of Downtown Brooklyn

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/1821/pics083ri8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[bklynite]

Anyone have updates on one brooklyn plaza? this was the boerum place one, between fulton and livingston, where red hook lane currently is.

[investordude]

Actually, it looks to me like it will be in One Brooklyn Bridge Park condo, according to curbed. I'm somewhat disappointed this wasn't put on Fulton Street - One Brooklyn Bridge Park seems like a place with almost no foot traffic and relatively bad public transit. And besides, it would help gentrify the Fulton Mall, which sorely needs it.

[investordude]

My feeling is we are debating a hotel that isn't happening - http://www.starwoodhotels.com/corporate/new_star_props.html

This link provides very extensive listing of new hotels, from what I can see. Is there something special about the Brooklyn hotel which would cause it not to be listed?

Admittedly, if the pace they are building the W Hoboken is any guide, it'll be 2030 by the time these hotels are actually constructed.

[investordude]

Looks like they also left off the Jersey City Westin, so I guess they are just sloppy with their website updates.

[BrooklynRider]

It could also be that the contract isn't executed or hinging on unreported issues. A lot of hotels are not built by hoteliers, but are rather contractually operated by hoteliers for developers. For example, the Westin Times Square is owned by Tishman as is the Westin Rio Mar Resort in Puerto Rico and the Chicago Sheraton. The Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin hotels (Westin Sheraton hotels, respectively) are also owned by Tishman. Also, look and the crap McSam & Kaufman are throwing up (I guess that is the right terminology) all over the city. McSam owns it all. None of these properties are owned by any of the hotel chains.

[investordude]

That may explain the absence of 4 Points by Sheraton - I was wondering why they aren't on the site either.

OK, so I'll assume these are getting built then.

[BrooklynRider]

Yeah, they would post a "coming soon" notice, until construction was nearing completion of completed.

[investordude]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05212007/news/regionalnews/mall_wonder_regionalnews_rich_calder.htm

Looks like it might help improve the Fulton shopping area. I hope the comment about Albee Square construction waiting until 2008 is just a reference to the stree though - I think the Center at Albee Square should move forward faster than that.

[Xemu]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05212007/news/regionalnews/mall_wonder_regionalnews_rich_calder.htm

Looks like it might help improve the Fulton shopping area. I hope the comment about Albee Square construction waiting until 2008 is just a reference to the stree though - I think the Center at Albee Square should move forward faster than that.

Here's a slideshow from the Fulton Mall Improvement Association on this:

http://www.fultonstreet.org/slideshow/slideshow.cfm

And there's a nice lively discussion about this going on over at Brownstoner:

http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2007/05/big_bucks_for_j.php

Of course as usual it's beginning to digress into race-baiting and accusations of gentrification.

Also of note in the article investordude posted is the mentioning that the improvements to both Boerum Place and Flatbush Ext. are moving forward and should be complete by 2009. Exciting stuff!

[investordude]

I'm trying to figure out what's happening on that site? There's a huge fence - whatever is going up there will be pretty big. DOB seems to have permits for a new building foundation listed.

[antinimby]

B'KLYN BIZ IS RAZING BIG STINK


By RICH CALDER

May 24, 2007 (http://www.nypost.com/seven/05242007/news/regionalnews/bklyn_biz_is_razing_big_stink_regionalnews_rich_ca lder.htm) -- A developer is booting 20 longtime Downtown Brooklyn businesses to make way for a massive commercial complex aimed at attracting high-end retailers, local merchants said yesterday.

Manhattan-based United American Land plans to build a $208 million development topped with luxury housing on the property - a block from both the Fulton Street Mall and the Metro Tech high-rise office complex, according to planning documents for the site.

The half-square-block property runs along Willoughby Street, between Bridge and Duffield streets, and down both side streets, according to the documents.

The 594,000-square-foot project would displace a diverse row of popular stores, as well as more than 20 residences.

"They're trying to destroy a community of people who kept this area alive and vibrant when no one thought it was good," said Beverly Corbin, who co-chairs the board of Families United for Racial and Economic Equality, which is organizing a petition drive to assist those being evicted.

United American Land, which has gobbled up other prime real estate in the area, is co-owned by Al Laboz, co-chairman of the Fulton Mall Improvement Association. Calls to Laboz and other United American Land officials were not returned.

Corbin's group is planning tomorrow to protest the planned development of the nearby Albee Square Mall site, which is being transformed into 800 to 900 residential units and 625,000 square feet of retail and office space.

Wal-Mart had reportedly been interested in the Albee Square site but pulled out after community protests, raising concern yesterday that the mega-retailer might be eyeing the new site. A Wal-Mart spokesman said the company would not comment on rumors.

Many of the Willoughby Street merchants said they have time left on their leases but are being booted through a "demolition clause" that allows them to be evicted if the owner decides to demolish their buildings. Most were given between one and four months to get out.

"They're telling us to get the heck out for luxury apartments? I've built up a nice business here the last 10 years - it would be nice if someone at least tried to help us relocate nearby," said Jeffrey Gargiulo, owner of Bagel Guys on Willoughby Street.

Copyright 2007 NYP Holdings, Inc.

[krulltime]

10 Billion in 10 Years for A New Downtown Brooklyn
Over 14,000 New Apartments, 1,250 Hotel Rooms Are Coming


by Dennis Holt
published online 05-25-2007


DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — About $10 billion will be spent in the next 10 years to build a new Downtown Brooklyn, an unprecedented amount of money. The new Downtown will be developed at a pace never experienced before in this borough.

This staggering sum is expected to generate a total of 22.5 million new square feet of space in the Downtown area, almost all of it in Community District 2. It will include 14,179 new residential units of various kinds, 1,253 new hotel rooms, and about 1.6 million additional square feet each in retail space and office space.

It is impossible to compare this to any other period in Brooklyn’s history. Nothing remotely close to this scale and scope has ever happened before, and it probably won’t ever again.

And these hard-to-grasp numbers do not include projects being built in DUMBO, Brooklyn Bridge Park or Two Trees Management’s CourtHouse project. Also not included is any proposed work on the Brooklyn Detention Complex on Atlantic Avenue.

This information and detailed project summaries have been compiled and made public by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, formed last year by the city to coordinate and oversee all current or planned building activity in the area.

The partnership, headed by DUMBO resident Joe Chan, has also produced an informative, expertly created map of Downtown Brooklyn. The map is color coded, and will become a much-sought-after item.

The Atlantic Yards project is, of course, included in the totals. While Atlantic Yards will cost about half of the total dollar amount for Downtown, its housing component will provide only 30 percent of all the units to be built there, and its total square footage is only about 38 percent of the Downtown total. There are four reasons for the magnitude of all of the development activity. One is that previous projects, like MetroTech, have demonstrated that Brooklyn is a viable business center. Another draw is the plan for a cultural center, which has drawn the strong support of the city. A third is the recent rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn, which made it practical for developers to plan for development with confidence.

The fourth reason is the proliferation of high-rises with spectacular views, not so frequent in Manhattan anymore. This has come as a surprise to many people who are used to brownstones as the area’s main draw, and is a joy to residential developers.


© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007

[krulltime]

On the Outs in Brooklyn
The city's complicity behind the borough's soaring eviction rate


by Neil deMause
May 29th, 2007

At the end of April, the shopkeepers and residents of a block-long trio of three- and four-story buildings on downtown Brooklyn's Willoughby Street got a jolt from landlord Albert Laboz. Without warning, eviction notices arrived en masse in mailboxes, giving tenants between 30 and 120 days to clear out or face court proceedings.

The merchants on the otherwise unremarkable block, between Bridge and Duffield streets, were stunned. "Out in 30 days is almost an impossible task for me," says Jeff Gargiulo, who opened his Bagel Guys store in 1997. "I have ovens and walk-in boxes and showcases and refrigeration units. It's going to take me 30 days just to disassemble it. And then to move it and store it, it could be up to $30,000 to do all that stuff."

The reason for the sudden evictions, Laboz's tenants soon found out, lay buried in a chart compiled by a public-private group known as the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. Among the dozens of projects listed as pending for Brooklyn's downtown was one called "Willoughby West," a "mixed-use" building on the site of their stores. The only details given were its cost ($208 million) and size (594,000 square feet)—enough on that site to rise 30 stories or more.

While Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards megaproject and the insta-towers popping up across Williamsburg have gotten more attention, an equally big land rush is stalking downtown Brooklyn in the wake of a rezoning approved by the city in 2004. Around the corner from Laboz's planned Willoughby West, the city is planning to raze a half-block of buildings to make way for a public plaza and underground parking garage for a Sheraton hotel already under construction across the street.

Among the doomed buildings are two 19th-century row houses that, local lore has it, were part of the Underground Railroad. "I was very disappointed that they would even think of taking these houses," says Joy Chatel, owner of 227 Duffield Street, where abolitionists Harriett and Thomas Truesdell lived and where the remnants of old tunnels are still visible in the basement. "They're going to level my house and then apply for a 'freedom trail' to take people past empty lots."

Another block east, Albee Square Mall merchants wait anxiously for word of their fate after its owner (and would-be Coney Island condo builder) Joe Sitt of Thor Equities sold the property to a consortium with rumored plans for a 60-story tower of condos, offices, and shops.

"The neighborhood is changing for the worse, not the best," says Yaakov "Jack" Fuzailov, who runs a basement barbershop adjoining the Lawrence Street subway entrance in one of the buildings that Laboz and his brothers want to raze. "They're taking the poor out, and they're not even putting in the middle class—it's the rich."

Fuzailov, who had just entered the last year of a five-year lease when his eviction notice arrived, says that whenever he asked his landlord about the pending neighborhood redevelopment, he was told, " 'Jack, don't worry; it'll be 20 more years. I'm not even thinking about selling.' It was nothing but a lie."

Other tenants of the Laboz buildings—which include a sushi joint, a check-cashing store, a tiny deli, and what must be the city's only remaining pizzeria serving $1.25 slices—tell similar stories. "[Laboz] said, 'Don't worry, if I wanted you out, I would have had you out already—you got plenty of time,' " says Gargiulo, who, like many others in the building, has been without a lease since 2004—coincidentally or not, the same time as the city rezoning went through. (Albert Laboz and his brothers Jody and Jason, who collectively own United American Land LLC, did not answer repeated e-mail and phone inquiries for this story.)

The occupants of the Willoughby West site are now organizing with the help of Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE), a low-income-families group that moved into offices on Willoughby in late 2004 and promptly found itself in the middle of what it sees as a turf war over whom the neighborhood will serve. "Nothing is priced affordably for the people who live here," says FUREE board member Scherrille Murray. "This is not organic change. This is planned change—but planned for other people."


The roots of the battle go back at least to the 1980s.


The city cleared out row houses and warehouses along Myrtle Avenue west of Flatbush, evicting about 250 residents and 750 workers, to make way for MetroTech, a planned hub to draw corporate back-office workers to Brooklyn. The city helped out not just by using its powers of eminent domain, but with about $300 million in subsidies to lure anchor tenants Chase Manhattan and Bear Stearns across the East River.

While MetroTech's corporate campus was a controversial addition to the skyline, it only whetted the appetite of Brooklyn business leaders and city planners to turn the area into a competitor with Jersey City for office tenants seeking relief from Manhattan rents.

The long-awaited catalyst finally came in January 2000, at a time when the Silicon Alley boom had soaked up every last scrap of available office space. Senator Chuck Schumer convened a working group of corporate execs, city officials, labor leaders, and more corporate execs—18 of the 35 represented either large corporations or the real estate industry—to examine future city development. A year and a half later, the "Group of 35" report was issued, calling for 60 million square feet of new commercial space by 2020—equal to 15 World Trade Center towers—to deal with what it perceived as an office-space crisis. "Without taking action to create more space," the report concluded, "New York City will miss out on hundreds of thousands of new jobs and increased economic activity in the next 20 years."

The following year, newly elected mayor Michael Bloomberg and his economic-development sidekick, Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, arrived in City Hall and began working to make the Group of 35 vision a reality. The booming economy of the '90s that had sparked the Schumer report may have already become a distant memory, but Doctoroff, for one, was undaunted, saying: "We can't predict the future—when the economy's going to rebound. But we know that in the last boom, this city did not have the space for companies who wanted to stay here or relocate here."

The city ultimately approved a massive rezoning of an irregularly shaped stretch of downtown covering 22 blocks from Tillary Street south to Schermerhorn Street. Within that zone, the allowable height of buildings was effectively doubled. "If our views are obscured," said Downtown Brooklyn Partnership president Joe Chan last year from his MetroTech office, "we'll know we've done a good job."

At least at first, though, what Chan will see out his windows will not be Doctoroff's beloved office towers. The Brooklyn commercial market has stubbornly refused to rebound; MetroTech itself saw both JP Morgan Chase and Empire Blue Cross move out last year, leaving some 350,000 square feet of vacant floor space. Chan, looking on the bright side, told the Real Deal recently that this presented "a real opportunity to draw in new industries." Chan tells the Voice that the "renaissance" of the surrounding neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, and Fort Greene presents special possibilities, creating "a residential base that translates well to the employee base" of "creatively driven industries" like graphic design and architecture.

In the meantime, developers have swiftly moved in to claim the newly liberated downtown frontier for the real estate flavor of the month: condos. Mid-rise apartment blocks were already in the works on Schermerhorn Street, along the northern edge of Boerum Hill; in the rezoned area, the preferred form looks to be the skyscraper, led by the much hyped Oro (top price: $995,000 for a two-bedroom) now rising at the base of the Manhattan Bridge on-ramp. (Condo conversions are also under way in both the old Board of Education headquarters at 110 Livingston Street and in the Verizon building opposite Laboz's planned Willoughby West.) The city's environmental-impact statement for the rezoning estimated that it would create 1,000 new units of housing; the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership now counts 7,500 new units already in the works, with Chan projecting as many as 14,000 eventually.

Turning Brooklyn's low-rise downtown into high-priced towers wasn't the original idea. "There was no constituency that had a vision of downtown Brooklyn as a high-rise bedroom community," notes Robert Perris, the district manager of Brooklyn's Community Board 2, which covers Brooklyn Heights, downtown, and Fort Greene. "Even people that were pro–economic development are disappointed that what we've gotten instead are 40-story residential buildings."

Even more disappointed, needless to say, are those who'd staked their futures on being a part of a newly energized downtown, only to find themselves staring down the barrel of a new Chelsea.

"We moved to this neighborhood when there were crack vials on the floor," Aviva Jakubowitz of Track Data Corporation testified last Tuesday at a city hearing on the fate of the block that contains her company's offices, as well as the Duffield Street Underground Railroad houses. "Now, finally, the neighborhood has changed, and the city wants to take our property by eminent domain."

Also galling is the incestuous nature of the planning process, which has from the start been guided by people with one foot in the development community and the other in City Hall. The Downtown Brooklyn Council, the advocacy group of major area institutions that helped spearhead the rezoning push, was launched in 2000 with James Whelan as its director. Whelan left in 2003 and is now Doctoroff's senior economic-development advisor; his replacement, Michael Burke, was formerly chief of staff for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Last year, the DBC was folded into a new organization, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. Its first president was Chan, Whelan's predecessor as Doctoroff's development aide. Formed from the merger of the DBC, the MetroTech Business Improvement District, the Fulton Mall Improvement Association (whose co-chairs are Al Laboz and Joe Sitt, and whose treasurer is Michael Burke), and the BAM Local Development Corporation, the Partnership has been described as a "BID on steroids": Technically a private nonprofit, it has worked so closely with the city Economic Development Corporation on rezoning that several press accounts have mistakenly called it a city agency.

All this has left some small-business owners who are members of the BID wondering whether anyone is left to look out for their interests. "The MetroTech BID, we didn't hear from them," says bagel guy Gargiulo. "I was even up at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce talking with Mr. Burke, and I had asked him, 'Did Mr. Laboz tell you anything about our building?' This was maybe six months ago. And he hadn't heard anything."


The question of whom a redeveloped downtown will serve is touchy


With all involved doing a careful dance to avoid the worrisome topic of who will be pushed out when the New Brooklyn arrives. Chan stresses the new retail space set to be built, which, he hopes, will provide enough excess supply to keep storefront rents low. (Retail rents in the Fulton Mall are already among the highest in Brooklyn.)

Laboz has used his spot as co-chair of the Fulton Mall Improvement Associa tion to push a vision of the mall as a "new 34th Street"—which fits well with the Macy's that currently occupies the historic A&S flagship building there, but perhaps not so much the rest of the busy strip, seemingly equally divided between jewelry stores with sneaker displays and sneaker stores advertising "We Buy Gold." "This is not a race issue," Laboz assured the Observer last year. "The car is running on five cylinders. The goal is to make it a better experience and a better environment for everybody." Chan calls it "surprising" that downtown Brooklyn lacks its own H&M, and points to the Atlantic Terminal's Target outlet as a model for a "diversified" retail experience where you find "families from Park Slope shopping next to families from East New York."

The Department of City Planning's webpage on the downtown Brooklyn redevelopment plan declares that its goal is to "serve the residents, businesses, academic institutions, and cultural institutions of Downtown Brooklyn and its surrounding communities." The city's actual environmental-impact statement for the rezoning plan, though, was more blunt, saying that while current businesses would be displaced, they would not be "significant" losses because "they do not have substantial economic value to the City, they do not define neighborhood character, nor do they belong to a special category of business that is protected by special regulations or publicly adopted plans."

The area's council representatives choose their words more carefully. Letitia James, whose Fort Greene district abuts the eastern edge of the rezoned area, lauds the two planned developments on Myrtle Avenue in her district that will include affordable-housing components. As for displacement of the existing community, she calls the situation "a very delicate balance" and says she plans to "continue to monitor the situation."

Most of downtown falls into the district of David Yassky, the chair of the council's small business committee, who has backed the rezoning. He echoes Doctoroff's belief that commercial demand will ultimately rebound, and "when the demand comes back for office space here, the zoning means that people will be ready to respond." Seven years ago, he notes, Goldman Sachs chose to build a new office tower in Jersey City instead of Brooklyn. "I think we do want to make sure that doesn't happen again," Yassky says.

What about the widespread feeling among downtown merchants that the rezoning was designed to push them out in favor of a new clientele with deeper pockets and lighter pigmentation?

"Sure, I've heard some business owners saying things like that," says Yassky. He calls Albee Square Mall an anomaly—some merchants pay as little as a third of the going rate—because "the guy who owned it wanted people who he could kick out at a moment's notice." And as for the rest, well, that's just capitalism. "To me, it's not accurate to say that this is because of the rezoning," says Yassky. "These are market forces here that are making what were formerly low-rent areas, both residential and retail, into high-rent areas. I'm not saying it's a good thing. But it's market reality."

It's a market, though, that was largely created—or at least abetted—by the city's own rezoning. "We had a significant jump in developable floor-area ratio in some of these areas, so some of these buildings would not have gone up without that incentive," says CB2's Perris. "When you increase the size of the building by 50 percent, it changes all the numbers."

The city's ability to create tremendous wealth for landowners simply by tweaking a few floor-area ratio numbers is one reason many urban-planning advocates have pushed for something called "inclusionary zoning," in which developers must agree to provide a certain percentage of affordable housing in order to exceed the existing height limits.

Though inclusionary zoning was used on a limited scale in the recent rezoning of Williamsburg and Greenpoint, it was rejected by the city for the upzoning of Park Slope's Fourth Avenue and never even got on the table for downtown Brooklyn. Chan insists that even if the city had known of the coming residential boom, inclusionary zoning was not needed. As with Fulton Mall rents, he keeps faith in the restorative powers of supply and demand, saying that by allowing taller residential buildings with more units, "hopefully, with that amount of supply, prices will kind of balance out."

"I couldn't find some array of forces willing and interested to work on it, honestly," says Brad Lander of the Pratt Center for Community Development, who has been the strategy's most tenacious champion. "I met Jim Whelan when he was head of the Downtown Brooklyn Council, and I tried to pitch him. I said, 'Here's this great idea; it'll work for you, it'll work for everyone.' And he chuckled—he kind of said this seems like a reasonable idea, but the way things are going in this administration . . . "

It's a scenario that, planning experts say, points out one of the main flaws with the city's rezoning process: With public discussion limited to the advisory vote of the local community board, it takes an extraordinarily committed organization of local residents to get the city to veer from its declared path. And even then, the appointed community boards are no guarantee to represent the community—as residents of Brooklyn's Board 6 found out last week when nine members were purged by their political patrons for voting against Atlantic Yards, and the Bronx's CB4 saw last year in a similar purge over the new Yankee Stadium plan.

The main reason Williamsburg got a side dish of affordable housing with its condo towers and downtown didn't, says Lander, is that "in downtown Brooklyn, nobody stepped up to organize. It was the whole normal process in terms of what the city did. Folks on the ground did not step up and try to affect it."

Now, with the 60-story horses out of the barn, the opponents' options are limited. FUREE says it wants to cap the height of new buildings, save the Underground Railroad site at 227 Duffield, and increase the affordable-housing component. "Let's make sure we're looking at at least 50 percent affordable housing, because you need to build for the people who are already in the area," says FUREE board member Murray. FUREE and Lander both feel that the city is missing an opportunity by approving the transfer of the Albee Square Mall lease to the new development consortium, letting go one of its few remaining pieces of leverage on a downtown parcel, without demanding any kind of affordable-housing commitments in return.

Gargiulo, who admits that he paid little attention to the rezoning plan when it was in the works, now keeps a petition in his store for patrons to call on the city to "reject the destruction planned by the Willoughby West Development Project." He recalls the mayor's recent statement on the proposed redevelopment of Willets Point in Queens: "There will always be one person who objects to everything, but I don't think anybody suggests that this society should stay back in the Stone Age and never move ahead."

"I got a thousand signatures in three days," says Gargiulo. "It's not just one person that wants to stop this. It's thousands."


Copyright © 2007 Village Voice LLC (http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0722,demause,76802,6.html/1)

[investordude]

Anyone who thinks the city is better off with the existing merchants than a new luxury corridor is either misguided or corrupt. I think its wonderful that landlords are demolishing the bad stuff and replacing it with what I hope are progressively more luxurious shopping.

And yes, a Walmart would probably still be better than what is there now, though I'd prefer another retailer that can anchor an upscale mall for the upscale tenants moving in.

[BrooklynRider]

An administration that touts the job creation benefits of every project under the sun ought to be offering these merchants assistance with relocation. These are jobs being lost.

[antinimby]

I support the rezoning but the gripe I have is why are the design and layout of these new developments, particularly the Metrotech office towers of the 90's and early 2000's, so antiseptic and streetlife deadening?

Look at what they are still planning on doing now:
Around the corner from Laboz's planned Willoughby West, the city is planning to raze a half-block of buildings to make way for a public plaza and underground parking garage for a Sheraton hotel already under construction across the street.Public plazas a half-block wide? Parking garage? Are they serious?

This is 1950's/60's type of bad urban planning. Haven't they learned a thing since then?

You can redevelop an area without draining the life out of it. In fact, if done right the whole place can be even more vibrant and bustling than ever before but not the way they are doing it now.

As usual, both the politicians and community are only concerned about the numbers: square footage and heights, when they should be worrying about intangibles such as layout, design, ambiance, vibrancy, vitality as these are the factors that will ultimately determine the failure and success of Downtown.

Businesses and I mean big corporations that they are thinking about wooing to come to Downtown Brooklyn, make decisions to relocate base largely on the vitality of the area and not just based on the asking rents.

Just look at Metlife and Queens Plaza. Sure the rent was cheap but they can't get out of the area quick enough because the area around Queens Plaza is still a mess. Now they're back in the ultra-expensive Midtown despite the higher costs.

[investordude]

I think the idea is to make it like Bryant Park - not really a plaza so much as a small park.

I'm inclined to agree the park is useless, but if they actually have concerts there and stuff, then that would be an amenity.

An underground parking garage is a necessary facility for a major office district - as long as its underground its fine with me.

[antinimby]

Call it what you want but plazas, parks, open space all have their places and shouldn't just be placed in any which area and be assumed it's going to work.

This plaza/park will just be another void in the streetscape in that area. It'll be mostly empty except for maybe during lunchtime during the weekdays. This will not be a Bryant Park, I will guarantee you.

By the way, why are we still discussing plazas, haven't we all agreed they are a bad planning mistake from a bygone area?

And I disagree with your claim that a major office district needs parking garages, underground or otherwise. You brought up Bryant Park. It's lined with nothing but office towers, do you see a parking garage anywhere near it?

[investordude]

I'm sorry - I don't think the city should help these businesses. They're crap. I'm sure the people are nice, but New York City is no longer impoverished, and we should have businesses that appeal to more affluent customers. Hopefully, we'll also get cool restaurants in downtown Brooklyn out of this - something currently missing.

10 billion in private investment to recruit and retain affluent people in Brooklyn is going to create more jobs, and clean up the generally sh*tty condition in downtown Brooklyn as well.

Sometimes, capitalism is a good thing - this is a perfect example of a time when the city should allow creative destruction to get rid of slum oriented business and allow prosperity to happen.

[antinimby]

Just look how inviting the streetscape at the base of a typical Metrotech tower is (:rolleyes:):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/57/SIAC-MetroTech.JPG/800px-SIAC-MetroTech.JPG

[antinimby]

Here's a few more examples showing how these Metrotech towers add to the vibrancy the streets around them:

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/Scruffy66/DSC04333.jpg

[antinimby]

http://www.pbase.com/image/75030415.jpg

[investordude]

Maybe that's a better example of what's being aimed for here? The underground parking lot works very well there for shoppers.

I don't think I would call Union Square an urban planning mistake, though there is a slight homelessness problem there just as everywhere else in San Francisco.

Do I think a plaza in downtown Brooklyn will ever look like San Francisco's most affluent shopping area of the richest major metro in the world - no, of course not. Do I agree with the decision to condemn private property for the garage - no, its an abuse of eminent domain to call a parking lot a public purpose, even if its economically useful to have one.

But its definitely an improvement over what's there now to have parking that is aesthetically hidden and serves the Fulton Mall with affluent shoppers.

[antinimby]

Compare that with other areas within the very same neighborhood:

http://www.pbase.com/image/75030420.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/75030421.jpg

[antinimby]

Look, I'm all for redevelopment but there's smart redevelopment and then there's dumb redevelopment. I'm afraid and very sad to see that Downtown Brooklyn is more on the side of dumb than smart.

This is not true, of course, in all cases but unfortunately there's still too many poorly planned/designed projects.

We're living in 2007 and having seen so many mistakes in the past, there is no excuse for anyone to be making them now.

[investordude]

I also read that the city realized they shouldn't develop the rest of the area in the same way. The problem with metrotech though it its deliberately separated - its intentionally built as an inward facing place where there was crime at the time. I suspect developers won't do that again - crime in downtown Brooklyn has fallen.

[antinimby]

I suspect developers won't do that again.Unlike you, I don't have nearly as much faith in them. Anyway, the developers are not the real problem. They're only following what the law allows them to.

The root of the problem in this city, is that everyone: the bureaucrat, the community board, the NIMBYs, etc. are only concerned about the numbers, i.e. the bulk, the number of units, the height, FAR's, etc. instead of looking at design and how it meets the street.

When you propose to build a new building, the only thing you have to do is to meet the numbers. That's the only thing anyone looks at. Not how it looks, not how it may feel at the street level, how it will interact with the pedestrian, etc.

Until this city wakes up and finally realize this, new vapid and soulless buildings and the dead zones created by them will continue to plague this city, Downtown Brooklyn and elsewhere.

[sfenn1117]

Here is information about the Albee Square Tower. At 58 floors, ~600 feet, it's bound to draw outrage by the tireless people who want the WSB to remain the tallest.

http://www.acadiarealty.com/Docs/Albee%20Square.pdf

Seems to be a lot of small spaces on the ground floor for local retailers, but huge blocks of space for big boxes as well. Overall considering what's there now, I will take it, plus 1,000 new apartments, a hotel, and a small office component.

[antinimby]

Wow. Great job digging that up sfenn. There's so much good stuff in there to digest all at once.

I will more than take it, I totally love it. What a wonderful project for Brooklyn.

Everything is positive, from the store fronts facing the streets surrounding it, to the rental units, to taking advantage of its close proximity to the large number mass transportation links.

This is like a little Time Warner Center for Brooklyn. I just hope NIMBYs won't whittle or water this down to something forgettable but somehow I know they will.

Anyway, if this is as-of-right, then the only thing they can do is apply pressure, which hopefuly will just get ignored.

[sfenn1117]

Well to be fair I found it at SSP....but yes, looks like a great development, hopefully it will get started soon. Once Flatbush Ave gets fixed up and made a little more pedestrian friendly, and the towers on the east side of it (like Oro) are finished with residents moved in, it's going to be a great area.

[Dynamicdezzy]

its in the downtown area (not outside of it) so maybe it won't.

[antinimby]

^ It won't what?

[BrooklynRider]

The little triangular park to the north portrayed in the rendering will never happen. The Instititue of Design & Construction building is protected in the rezoning plan.

[investordude]

I think this still needs city approvals since the city has some sort of land ownership here. So, the NIMBY attack is still possible. I don't think so though - the Bloomberg administration seems behind this one.

[Dynamicdezzy]

^ It won't what?

woops.... I didn't specify. Actually, I didn't realize Sfenn beat me at posting his comment (by a minute!). I was referring to your post.

"This is like a little Time Warner Center for Brooklyn. I just hope NIMBYs won't whittle or water this down to something forgettable but somehow I know they will"

[BrooklynRider]

This will meet no resistance, although there is growing disenchantment with the crap architecture from those who do take interest in new development.

[antinimby]

Downtown Development Reaches Flatbush Extension In a Spectacular Way

Expect More than 2,500 New Apartments in Next Three Years


By Dennis Holt
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
06-04-2007 (http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=13248)

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — When the city decided it needed a second East River bridge, to be called the Manhattan, planners knew exactly where it should be placed. It had to connect in as straight a line as possible with Flatbush Avenue, which began at Fulton Street.

For that bridge to be built and the connection made, about 300 Brooklyn buildings had to be destroyed, and what is called the Flatbush Avenue Extension was laid down.

That path is the major reason why there are some strange short streets that seem to end unexpectedly, and why a small part of Brooklyn is called Bridge Plaza.

The Flatbush Avenue Extension has never been an attractive entry into the heart of Brooklyn. It has always been very utilitarian. That, however, is about to change.

The street itself is going to be renovated, improved and made quite attractive. It will still be utilitarian, but in a much more appealing way. And what surrounds it is changing, too.

If all goes according to plan, during the next three years or so, there should be 2,667 new residential units built along what planners call the Flatbush Avenue Extension Corridor. This will create more than 3 million more square feet of new space. The whole effort should cost more than $1.3 billion.

Although Brooklyn planners, in rezoning the Downtown Brooklyn area in 2004, hoped those efforts might lead to 1,000 new housing units, no one anticipated the wave of residential development. Few had thought through the appeal of living in Brooklyn with a view.

With height plans for four of the 10 projects still being determined, there will be at least 224 new combined stories of buildings climbing into the sky. This will probably amount to a minimum of 2,500 feet of high-rises.

With five buildings contributing retail space, there should also be about 113 feet of new stores. Three of these projects are in Bridge Plaza along Nassau, Duffield and Gold streets. Three others are between Tillary Street and Myrtle Avenue, and still another three are on the southern part of Myrtle Avenue. Every one of these projects is east of the Flatbush Extension.

A summary follows. Bridge View Tower at the corner of Nassau and Bridge will be 19 stories tall and have 58 market-rate condos. The “flatiron”-shaped building will be at Duffield, the Extension and Tillary, with 108 condos. It will have 8,000 feet of retail space.

Gold Street Holdings hopes to build a 417,000-square-foot complex for 348 market-rate rentals at Tillary, Prince and Gold streets.

Ron Herscho/United Homes plans two towers flanking Gold Street at Johnson Street with 517 market rate-condos. Avalon Bay is putting together a massive project at 343 Gold St. that would consist of 628 market rate rentals.

And two developers are planning and building three projects along Myrtle between the Extension and Ashland Place that could total 559 market-rate condos, 192 market-rate rentals, 192 affordable rentals and 42 affordable condos.

If all this comes to pass, this part of Brooklyn and the old extension will never be the same.

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007

[antinimby]

The Albee Square proposal:


http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/5517/albeesquaresx7.jpg

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/7143/albeesquare1vd0.jpg

[antinimby]

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/5517/albeesquaresx7.jpg

The placement of the tower is the poorly chosen, particularly the western flank as it will essentially block most of the sunlight from reaching that little park next to it.

That half of the tower should be moved further south instead, which should let in more light as well as give the entire complex a more balanced look.

You'd think something that is just common sense would be so easy to see but I guess not. So much for those fancy architectural degrees.

This generation of architects (particularly the ones peddling their services in this city) are pretty much incompetent and worthless.

[BrooklynRider]

The other residential building placements and heights to the north are simply wrong. Oro is there, but no Oro II. The building at the corner of Tillary & Flatbush will only be 20 stories - half the size of the other buildings. It is getting tiresome hearing the same projects trotted out with new make-up and heels to walk the runway as the latest news. This is old news. Another press release for the "Brooklyn Construction Tsar."

[investordude]

As far as tower placement for Albee, I see a reason to put it that way - it looks good from Manhattan. I mean, at the end of the day, visibility from Manhattan is good for drawing buyers to the building, and may override concerns about the Park. If you split the tower, I could see it being too think to make a dominating impact on the Brooklyn skyline.

I doubt the developers really care about the park - though you could argue the city should care - though I doubt they care either.

[investordude]

Some typos in previous post, as I've imbibed a bit much this evening. Anyway, in the previous post, Park should be lower case - and I meant to say I think the split towers might be to thin to make an impact on the skyline.

[antinimby]

It's not about caring about the park or not. The trees and plants that will be in that park are going to need adequate sunlight to live.

That being the case, why not just put that other half of the tower in another section of the site? It's not like there's no other place to put it.

As it is right now, the tower acts like a big wall, when it can be split up into two separate towers instead. It's just smarter planning and makes more sense.

[antinimby]

Anyway, I decided to draw this diagram to show clearer what I'm talking about.

Looking down at the site from above.

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6479/albeesquarekm2.png

[investordude]

yeah, I think you're right. They should move it the way you have it.

[antinimby]

Developers Pare Housing Plan for Albee Square


by Matthew Schuerman
Published: June 19, 2007 (http://www.observer.com/2007/developers-pare-housing-plan-albee-square)

A number of community groups thought they might have forced the city to reconsider a downtown Brooklyn real estate deal by packing public hearings with dissenters, but the transaction closed anyway last week pretty much as planned.

The big difference was that the developers have scaled down expectations for the number of apartments—a change that might end up diminishing what critics thought was the one redeeming, if limited, feature of the plan: affordable housing.

The buyer, a partnership consisting of the White Plains-based Acadia Realty Trust, MacFarlane Partners and two smaller entities, closed on the deal to buy real estate developer’s Joe Sitt’s groundlease for the Gallery at Fulton Mall on June 13, according to the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
The purchase price was reportedly $120 million, compared to $25 million that Thor Equities, Mr. Sitt’s company, paid in 2001.

The 137,000-square foot city-owned parcel at Fulton and Albee streets represents the difficulties city planers have faced in trying to turn downtown Brooklyn into a job-generating office district. A rezoning in 2004 doubled the size of what could legally be built on Mr. Sitt’s site. The final environmental impact statement envisioned 1.23 million square feet of offices on top of a new shopping mall, housing a total of 5,762 jobs.

But office space has been a tough sell in downtown Brooklyn. The new leasees are planning a 1.6-million-square-foot building (which comes out to between 40 to 60 stories) with just 125,000 square feet of office space—for which they are receiving $3.2 million in tax breaks. In addition, they plan a mall of about 475,000 square feet—which will replace the very urban-centric one there now--and 650 apartments, according to E.D.C. spokeswoman Janel Patterson.

When announced in February, the project called for 1,000 apartments, and it is unclear how the excess space will be used now that housing has been scaled back. “The developer is looking at alternative mixes of uses,” Ms. Patterson said.

All told, the current plan anticipates 1,500 permanent jobs, according to a press release from the developers, plus whatever the mystery component will bring.

Assuming that the developer is keeping its original pledge to make at least 20 percent of the apartments affordable to low-income families, Albee Square, as the new tower will be named, will offer 70 fewer such subsidized rentals.

Critics, who packed two public hearings on the transaction, had called for a far higher percentage of affordable units, considering that the parcel was owned by the city. As it happened, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which in other parts of the borough is requiring that developers make 50 to 100 percent of units affordable if they lease city-owned land, gave its approval to an amendment to the original lease that permits the new owners to take full ownership of the site after 25 years for a mere $20 million. An H.P.D. spokesman referred all questions to the E.D.C.

“It’s a sad thing that they did not respect the community’s input and the historic value of Albee Square Mall,” said Beverly Corbin, the co-chairwoman of Families United for Racial and Economic Equality, a membership organization in Brooklyn that was one of a handful that objected to the lease transfer. “What about the small businessman who has his shop in the mall and will now be forced out?”

A press release from the development partners did not specify the number if apartments planned for the site, although it did say that it would include “a mixture of affordable and market-rate rental housing.” The press release does not mention a hotel, although previous press reports had indicated that was a possibility, and a spokeswoman for the partnership would not comment further.

The developers also experienced a disappointment on the housing front. The press release announcing the project in February stated that AvalonBay was in discussions to join the partnership as its residential developer. A spokesman for the Virginia-based REIT, Josef Korbel, told The Observer that the mention “was premature publicity.” He added, “Since that point, AvalonBay has pulled itself out of the negotiations.”

Copyright ©, The New York Observer, L.P.

[ablarc]

In addition, they plan a mall of about 475,000 square feet—which will replace the very urban-centric one there now...
"Urban-centric": what's that?

[BrooklynRider]

“It’s a sad thing that they did not respect the community’s input and the historic value of Albee Square Mall...What about the small businessman who has his shop in the mall and will now be forced out?”

Oh brother! I don't even want to here her explain the "historic value" of the dumpy mall. I also think this lady might want to walk that small business man over to Fulton Street or Flatbush Avenue. Whoever elected her as co-chairwoman of the hysterical FUREE have to be pretty embarrassed to have such a numbskull for a leader.

[Xemu]

It really upsets me how people can be so opposed to a tower of this size in Downtown Brooklyn. If there's anywhere to be building big in Brooklyn it's here. I really am starting to feel that all these anti-development types are just selfish yuppies who don't want to share their precious low-rise Brooklyn with newcomers. They hide their real motivations behind bogus arguments like contextual development and affordable housing. I know it's a gross generalization but I really believe in a lot of cases it's pretty apt.

[krulltime]

June 22, 2007:


http://www.pbase.com/image/80987332.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/80987329.jpg

[krulltime]

They are already digging for the sister tower next door.

[sfenn1117]

Looks like it's topped...that was fast! This one makes a nice skyline presence, but it will be diminished by towers of equal height very soon

Oro 2: 35 floors/367'
Avalon Bay: 41 floors/393'
SOM's tower: 37 floors/399'

I'm hoping SOM's tower is a real stunner, since the Avalon tower will certainly not be.

[krulltime]

Something is happening at a block on Tillary street and close to Gold Street. Hmmm... any ideas?


June 22, 2007:


http://www.pbase.com/image/80991316.jpg

[ramvid01]

Wow the Oro Tower really came out nicely. Thanks for all the pics today krull.

[krulltime]

BOOM ON FLATBUSH
$3B IN BUILDING ON B'KLYN AVENUE


By RICH CALDER
June 25, 2007

Brooklyn's Flatbush Avenue is getting a makeover that would make "Queer Eye's" Fab Five envious.

The north end of Flatbush Avenue is slated to see more real-estate development over the next five years than nearly any other slice of the Big Apple - even without Atlantic Yards.

More than $3.1 billion worth of construction projects is in the works for the nearly one-mile stretch running south from the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO to the Williamsburg Bank tower in Fort Greene, according to data provided by the city's Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.

These 18 projects alone will generate 6.3 million square feet of newly developed space for Brooklyn's downtown.

The bulk will come in the form of at least 4,422 new residential units, much of which will be spread among high-rise towers reaching 40 stories high that will soon line the avenue.

We're talking about 2,063 market-rate rentals and 1,721 luxury condos, along with another 570 apartments and 68 condos created for low- and middle-income families.

And these projects will also bring 645,000 square feet of new retail and another 190,000 square feet of office space.

The city also plans to revitalize the long-neglected Flatbush Avenue corridor by filling it with large trees, better lighting and a signature sculpture.

"Flatbush Avenue is the borough's quintessential boulevard and the gateway into Brooklyn," said Joseph Chan, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. "It is to Brooklyn what Broadway is to Manhattan, and it is poised for some dramatic change."


Among the projects under construction or being planned are:


* A $750 million development to transform the former Albee Square Mall into 900 apartments and 600,000 square feet of retail and office space.

* The BAM Cultural District, a $500 million city and private-sector investment in Fort Greene around the existing Brooklyn Academy of Music that will include adding a 299-seat theater and 350 apartments.

* The Oro Condos, a $400 million project that will bookend a section of Gold Street near Metro Tech with massive 40- and 35-story condo towers.

And that's without factoring in the nearly $4 billion Atlantic Yards project that connects with Flatbush Avenue a block south of the Williamsburg Bank. Besides an NBA arena, it will bring the borough another 6,430 new residences and more than 400,000 square feet of new retail and office space to be spread among 16 new skyscrapers.

There is also about another $1 billion in private investment under way along other streets near Flatbush Avenue's north end.


Copyright 2007 NYP Holdings, Inc.

[krulltime]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06252007/photos/news017.jpg

[NewYorkDoc]

between 6,14,4, and 5 is that Tillary Street?

[antinimby]

Yes.

[antinimby]

Schermerhorn rising


http://www.brooklynpaper.com/assets/photos/30/25/30_25_schermerhornnewbldg_z.jpg
The soon-to-be occupied “Schermerhorn House” on the street with the same name,
is part of a mixed-income residential and retail project on the long-suffering strip.


By Dana Rubinstein
The Brooklyn Paper
June 23, 2007 (http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/25/30_25schermerhorn.html)

Schermerhorn Street — long home to parking lots, litter, a food stamp distribution center, job placement offices and a Hare Krishna temple — is finally joining the rest of the Downtown Brooklyn residential boom.

An eye-popping number of new projects are in the works, from Flatbush Avenue to Court Street, with as many as 500 units expected to come on line this summer alone.

And in contrast to the rest of the Downtown Brooklyn boom, this one actually promises some affordable housing to boot.

State Renaissance Court, which takes up most of the block between Bond and Hoyt, is a 158-unit, city-subsidized development of low- and middle-income and market-rate rentals. Residents are expected to move in by August.

Just down the street, between Hoyt and Smith, the city is subsidizing an 11-story, 217-unit building for low-income residents called the “Schermerhorn House.” Half of the units will be reserved for the formerly homeless.

That said, most of the new housing in the pipeline is luxury.

A 25-story residential tower is rising on Livingston Street, between Hoyt and Smith streets, a lot that stretches all the way to Schermerhorn. One block away, at 230 Livingston St., between Bond and Hoyt, a developer will break ground on another more-than-20-story residential tower with ground-floor retail.

And a stand of new townhouses — by the same developer who built the modernist homes on neighboring State Street — will rise around the future Schermerhorn House.

All the activity has even attracted a hotel: At the corner of Nevins Street, hotelier Sam Chang — who built the Holiday Inn Express on Union Street and the Comfort Inn nearby on Baltic Street — is building a still-unnamed 80,000-square-foot hotel.

Add to that the number of old buildings now for sale — 333, which houses the New York State Division of Parole building, and 300, which is home to the Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service building, for example — and the street should be unrecognizable in just a few years.

“If we close our eyes and open them up three years from now, you’d think you’re somewhere else,” said Frank Terzulli, of Winick Realty Group, which is leasing out the ground-floor retail spaces in State Renaissance Court. “It’s actually happening.”

It’s a striking turnaround for a street that has languished since the 1920s, when much of the area was demolished to make way for the A/C subway lines. The recent transformation has been in the works since the late 1990s, according to Michael Burke, the executive director of Policy and Strategic Planning for the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.

Starting in 1999, local civic groups like the Boerum Hill Association, elected officials and then-Borough President Golden started trying to revive the area, getting the state to privatize many of the government-owned lots.

Developers did pounce on the rare pieces of Downtown real estate, but only now their investments are finally taking tangible shape.

Burke estimated that in the next few years, another 1,500 residents will move onto and around Schermerhorn.

Community leaders seem to agree that the changes are for the better.

“Those sites were fallow for so many years,” said Rob Perris, the district manager for Community Board 2. “It’s very satisfying to see them being developed consistent with the vision that the community created back when Howard Golden was borough president.”

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

[antinimby]

One block away, at 230 Livingston St., between Bond and Hoyt, a developer will break ground on another more-than-20-story residential tower with ground-floor retail.This puppy will be 26 stories and about 273 units but unfortunately, it is designed by H. Thomas O'Hara.

[sfenn1117]

^Disappointing. Checking the latest building permits for CB2 (downtown BK) shows two new 50 story proposals:

388 Bridge St, 49 floors/528', SLCE
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobDetailsServlet?allisn=0001391822&requestid=1

111 Lawrence St, 51 floors/514', Gerner, Kronick + Valcarel
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobDetailsServlet?allisn=0001388443&requestid=1

And the Avalon building, bound to be an eyesore, a HUGE one at that with 627 units. Damn 400 foot height limit, this could have been much taller.
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobDetailsServlet?allisn=0001384699&requestid=1

[sfenn1117]

Albee Square is on Greenberg Farrow's website, so they must be the architects. Same renderings we've seen though.

http://www.greenbergfarrow.com/Experience/ExperienceSubCategory.aspx?id=5&open=Mixed-Use&sub=Retail/Residential/Commercial

[antinimby]

An update on 200 Livingston St.

http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/procida-scherm.jpg
Brownstoner (http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2007/07/200_livingston.php)

http://dbpartnership.org/images/photo/200%20Livingston%20-%20large.jpg

[krulltime]

Downtown Brookyn’s Towers: 2 Top Out, 2 Break Ground, 1 in Site Prep
Estimated $9 Billion in Developments Underway


by Brooklyn Eagle,
published online 07-20-2007

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — As two large-scale residential projects have their topping out, two more have their groundbreaking and a third undergoes site preparation, the renaissance in Downtown Brooklyn shows no sign of stopping.

All five projects are the result of the Downtown Brooklyn Rezoning Plan, which allows the construction of millions of square feet of new office, retail, residential and academic space. It also committed nearly $100 million in public investment, according to Joe Chan, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.

“With more than $9 billion in private investment underway, Downtown Brooklyn is experiencing an historic period of growth,” said Joe Chan, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. “New residential, hotel, and office projects, retail, an arena for a professional basketball team, new cultural facilities and a waterfront park are all under development. This activity reaffirms the area’s status as one of America’s great emerging downtowns.”


Site Preparation


The newest and least known of the five developments is a project by AvalonBay Communities, a company that is “in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing luxury rental communities,” according to its website.

Site preparation work has begun on AvalonBay’s $250 million, 41-story mixed-use tower at Myrtle Avenue and Gold Street, where at least nine low-rise buildings will be demolished.

The new tower will include 628 rental units, a below-grade parking garage and 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

It should be ready for occupancy in 2009, according to Philip Wharton, vice president of development for AvalonBay Communities.

“Avalon is delighted to be a part of the renaissance taking place in Downtown Brooklyn,” said Wharton, who added that this project is part of AvalonBay’s expansion throughout the New York metro area.” A rendering of the tower and further details were not yet available at press time.


Topping Out


The two developments that had their topping out this month are BE@Schermerhorn, the 25-story residential tower and loft building at 189 Schermerhorn St.; and Oro, the 40-story tower at 306 Gold St. A project of developers Lou Greco, Jr. and Mario Procida, principals of SDS Procida, 189 Schermerhorn topped out last week.

As previously reported, it will have 246 condominium units and approximately 15,000 square feet of street-level retail space. The project also features an adjoining six-story loft building with townhouses. The developers estimate completion in fall 2008.

“SDS Procida strongly believes in the viability of Downtown Brooklyn and have been doing business in the area for over 25 years,” said Greco. “Our newest condominium project ... is a testament to our continued commitment to this dynamic and vibrant neighborhood.”

Ron Hershco, president of United Homes, the developer of Oro 306, reports its topping out this week. It will be the first building completed along the Flatbush Avenue Extension corridor, which has approximately $3.1 billion in projects under development.

The 40-story building will have 303 condominiums and is expected to be completed and open for occupancy in January 2008.

“The incredible response we received from perspective residents confirmed our expectations about Downtown Brooklyn,” said Hershco. “This area presents tremendous opportunities for the future of New York and we are excited to be part of its growth.”


Groundbreaking


The two new, mixed-use development projects that have broken ground in recent weeks include two more 40-story towers — Oro 313, another project by United Homes at 313 Gold St.; and the $200 million tower by BFC Partners at Myrtle Avenue and Prince Street.

United Homes’ $168 million second project will have 296 condos and is expected to be completed by April 2008. Originally planned for BFC Partners’ $200 million, mixed-use tower will have 240 condominium units, 20 percent of which will be available to moderate-income families, and will include 13,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.

It is scheduled to be completed in March 2009, according to Donald Capoccia, managing principal at BFC.

“With so much activity taking place in Downtown Brooklyn this project could not be in a better environment,” said Capoccia. “As the area undergoes a renaissance we are proud to be creating much needed housing and providing retail space to make the district a better place to work, live and shop.”

A rendering of this tower and further details were also not available at press time.


© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007

[sfenn1117]

Great to see, but the 400 foot height limit sucks. Too many towers of the same height.

[sfenn1117]

The avalanche of new towers continues:

http://www.archpaper.com/images/features/feature2007_13/grid32.jpg

MYRTLE AVENUE DEVELOPMENT
Location: Myrtle Avenue and Fleet Place
Developer: Red Apple Group
Architect: Dattner Architects
Size: 38 floors, 765 units
Type: Residential
Completion (est.): 2010

http://www.archpaper.com/features/2007_13_grid.htm

[BrooklynRider]

It has been excruciatingly slow for most Downtown Brooklyn projects to get out of the ground.

[antinimby]

This one just got the greenlight (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobDetailsServlet?requestid=2&allisn=0001252369&allboroughname=&allnumbhous=&allstrt=):

http://i5.tinypic.com/16irvhf.jpg

[NewYorkDoc]

Nice!

[Derek2k3]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06252007/photos/news017.jpg

I'm thinking # 11 is this project. Only a large tower such as this could justify that price. They also have the address wrong.

http://www.ilarch.com/images/photos/29_060526_new.jpg
Ismael Leyva Architects

There are about 20 towers above 400' planned and at least 5 are expected to be taller than the WSB.

Forte'
Oro
Oro 313
At least one of the BAM towers.
80 Dekalb Avenue
164 Myrtle Avenue
156 Myrtle Avenue
AvalonBay Tower
1 Brooklyn Plaza


4 AY towers are projected to be over 400'.
Miss Brooklyn

111 Lawrence Street
388 Bridge Street
60 Flatbush Avenue
Albee Square Tower
New York City Technical College Tower

[posterboy]

you mean just below 400', since that's the limit for most of these. and a number of them will be closer to 300', much like forte.

still, a ton going on in the area. the plots along myrtle and dekalb look like they are all ready or close to ready for excavation. anyone know what the timeline for the above projects is?

[Derek2k3]

Well yea...Forte' is actually 360'.
At least we didn't get the 250' height limit Leticia was pushing for.

[posterboy]

well, unfortunately this issue easily gets voters' attention ... though i can't say that she's done a bad job otherwise. ultimately, if there is a real need to build higher in ten or twenty years, we'll see higher buildings. and if everything that's on the drawing board now gets build by then we're already looking at a much more extensive skyline, hopefully with a few peaks above the 400' plateau.

[antinimby]

Well yea...Forte' is actually 360'.
At least we didn't get the 250' height limit Leticia was pushing for.Why even go that tall?

The city should just put a freeze on all developments above two stories. Big tall skyscrapers are just bad for Brooklyn - destroys character.

Look how skyscrapers have turned Jersey City into the sewer that it is now while Hackensack prospers laying low.

[BrooklynRider]

Considering what lays to the west of Flatbush, it is rather disheartening to see no significant development there. The city still can't get a developer to build a spec commercial building in Brooklyn, even in a red-hot commercial market. Instead we are seeing a high-rise residential neighborhood being built from the ground up. So much time, energy, and public money is being dumped in Atlantic Yards. The city could have expended a fraction of that cash and actually attracted someone besides Ratner to the area. I think we are seeing some pretty bad public policy.

[investordude]

I'm just curious if people know how many of those projects are already financed. The reason is that I would think credit spreads rising will make it harder to get loans, even logical loans. For example, the subprime mess should theoretically increase demand for renters at projects like Avalon Forte Greene.

But if credit spreads rise, I think that project would be hard to finance even if it makes sense to expect rents to go up.

[Derek2k3]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1351/931146854_598733bb4e_b.jpg
Oro


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1295/931123598_414e43f0af_b.jpg


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1131/934914164_935cadf623_b.jpg


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/378991490_e2962f64e4_b.jpg
City Tech site where Piano's tower should rise.


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1347/934960598_d06225d16e_b.jpg
sibertekt (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sibertekt/tags/downtownbrooklyn/)

[NewYorkDoc]

Derek, thank you again for the pictures you posted here and in other threads! You are a treasure to this forum.

[Derek2k3]

Your very welcome.

[muziqgod]

I'm thinking # 11 is this project. Only a large tower such as this could justify that price. They also have the address wrong.

I was told by the Halstead Agents at 96 Rockwell that that lot, currently a parking lot, was proposed to be a hotel but nothing had been approved or was official. Ismael Leyva Architects' website says otherwise....

[BrooklynLove]

bsed on avalon's statement that this building would be similar to the Chrystie Place development I'm thinking that Arquitectonica may be the designer for this building. Does anyone have more concrete info on this? and I'm fiending for a rendering ...

This is the best thread in the history of all online forums, by the way, just needed to make that clear.

[Derek2k3]

The permit (http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobDetailsServlet?allisn=0001384699&requestid=1)says Perkins Eastman are the architects, the same firm that did Avalon's L.I.C towers. I don't think any firm working with Avalon can produce good work...
Welcome to the forum by the way.

[BrooklynLove]

thanks, derek. happy to be here.

that permit app must be fresh - nice find. bummer that avalon is going with perkins eastman for this building instead of arquitectonica (i believe that avb use arquitectonica for their chrystie street development). the new avb riverview north building in LIC (perkins eastman) is so disappointing when compared with the rockrose buildings (arquitectonica) that are going up over there. speaking of which, the first story for the 3rd rockrose building is now going up.

[infoshare]

This is the best thread in the history of all online forums, by the way, just needed to make that clear.

Agreed. And a particularly Derek2k3 and ArchitecK; thanks for all the wonderful photos and web links.

[BrooklynRider]

bsed on avalon's statement that this building would be similar to the Chrystie Place development I'm thinking that Arquitectonica may be the designer for this building. Does anyone have more concrete info on this? and I'm fiending for a rendering ...

This is the best thread in the history of all online forums, by the way, just needed to make that clear.

Hi BrooklynLove,

Welcome to the forum! We have lots of threads here that will give you a place to discuss Brooklyn projects. I actually think that an early rendering of the project is in this thread somewhere.

Just as an FYI, some Brooklyn Projects (like the Atlantic Yards) are in the Skyscrapers and Architecture forum. We also have Brooklyn threads (like Coney Island Renaissance) in the New York City for New Yorkers forum. Be sure to look around.

Feel free to share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out rules for posting. This is a place where everyone respects the rules of engagement and acts with courtesy, which does make it a wonderful place for discussion and a good source of latest news.

Again, welcome to WNY!

BR

[antinimby]

DOUBLE 'PARK'ING

B'KLYN TO GET REC SPACE WITH CAR GARAGE


http://www.nypost.com/seven/08152007/photos/news020.jpg
DOWNTOWN DELIGHT: The city is seeking
proposals to build this Willoughby Street
park surrounded by office buildings — a
Brooklyn version of Bryant Park.


August 15, 2007 (http://www.nypost.com/seven/08152007/news/regionalnews/double_parking_regionalnews_rich_calder.htm) -- Downtown Brooklyn is about to get its own version of Bryant Park - and some much-needed parking spaces, too.

The Economic Development Corp. yesterday began soliciting development proposals on a plan to convert 1.15 acres of city-owned property on Willoughby Street into a grand public plaza.

The project also calls for a multilevel parking garage underneath the site that would offer the bustling business district 694 spaces.

Called Willoughby Square Park, it is modeled after similar successful projects in Boston and Chicago where new green space and an underground parking garage were built on the same properties.

It is a centerpiece of the city's 2004 rezoning plan aimed at reviving Downtown Brooklyn, which included $100 million in capital funds for sidewalk and street improvements and adding open space.

"What we're trying to do is create a dynamic downtown, and this would be a miniature version of Bryant Park that, like Bryant Park, could offer concerts, films and displays of public art," said Joseph Chan, president of the city's Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.

"It's going to be at the center of a number of mixed-use developments going up and will be a gathering place for local residents, employees, shoppers and students."

Willoughby Square Park will border to the east the former Albee Square Mall property on Fulton Street, which is being transformed into new retail and office space with 800 to 900 apartments.

As The Post reported in May, the city is also investing $3 million to $4 million to create 10,000 square feet of green space at Albee Square.

City officials have dubbed that space Brooklyn's version of Herald Square.

Some $1.6 billion, mostly private funds, is being invested on projects in the Willoughby Corridor, including $750 million at the former mall site.

Willoughby Square Park is expected to be a "passive" park, meaning no ball fields or major recreation. It will be fully landscaped and feature plenty of seating.

The winning bidder will operate the garage under a long-term city lease and develop the park off sketches from a city-commissioned architect. The city is taking proposals until Oct. 12.

Copyright 2007 NYP Holdings, Inc.

[NewYorkDoc]

I really like this idea! Parking in NY can be good two ways, one is underground with anything on top. (Retail, Parks, Residences, etc) The second is a garage with street level retail. This is good planning IMO.

[BrooklynRider]

Bryant Park is small. What exactly is a "mini" Bryant Park?

The creation of parking really flies in the face of the mayor's current pursuit to institute congestion pricing. Why build something that encourages automobile usage as opposed to mass transit? That money could be used to renovate the very busy Borough Hall Station that services the 2,3,4,M,R, trains or Jay Street that services the F,A,C lines.

[JCMAN320]

Why even go that tall?

The city should just put a freeze on all developments above two stories. Big tall skyscrapers are just bad for Brooklyn - destroys character.

Look how skyscrapers have turned Jersey City into the sewer that it is now while Hackensack prospers laying low.

Antinimby, Brooklyn needs to build up to compete with the likes of Jersey City. Also how are a sewer man? C'mon you don't need to insult.

Also great idea for the underground parking garage, good urban planning.

[BrooklynLove]

ditto on the positive sentiment re underground parking. from what i understand, avalon plans to put their parking spaces underground as well. definitely makes for a more asthetically pleasing environment.

[BrooklynLove]

guys - i sent this over to brownstoner.com this morning. figured it would have already been in this thread but i'm not finding it. please forgive me if i missed it.

a few posts back someone noted the demo sheds that are up around the buildings surrounding the big yellow storage facility north of tillary and east of mcdonalds just by the bqe on ramp.

well i found this rendering on karl fischer's website which looks meant for the spot. i'll leave it to those more technologically capable than i to post the pictures here.

go to www.kfarchitect.com (http://www.kfarchitect.com), select news, select upcoming projects, select Gold Street - taddow!!

[BrooklynRider]

I think you are right. The only rendering I ever saw if that was the tower elevation. The overhead perspective does indeed show Tillary/Flatbush in the background. This will be east of the Brooklyn "Flatiron." I do recall that this site was up for sale back in 2006, so that rendering could simply be for marketing purposes only.

[antinimby]

That design by Karl Fischer is probably not current and no longer valid. The latest proposal is several interconnected squat brick builldings in the 12-13 story range.

The new architect is Avinash Malhotra and if you know anything about them, then you know it will be ugly.

http://www.pbase.com/image/80991316.jpg

Every one of these buildings with the green sheds in front of them will be gone except for the two tallest ones seen in the photo above.

[BrooklynLove]

that would be a bummer.

well, i'm still holding out hope for the KF model becoming reality b/c thus far the only new building app among those 3 lots is on the parcel fronting tillary (not the plot with the tower structure in KF's rendering). KF's rendering does appear to include designs for both parcels however so i'll concede that my hope is a stretch here.

bizarrre coincidence that Malhotra did a Gold Street project in lower manhatter and now is doing one in bk.

[BrooklynLove]

show the downtown bk thread some love yall!! where's the posts at?

[antinimby]

We here love DTBK but it seems like the residents there don't, always looking to stifle/waterdown some development somewhere.

Keep the the photos coming, BrooklynLove.

[BrooklynLove]

me thinks (hopes) the naysayers are giving way as the wave of new developments build exponentially -

looks like karl fischer is redesigning his website -

go to www.kfarchitect.com (http://www.kfarchitect.com/)

Portfolio -> multifamily -> 168 nassau
(i'm pretty sure this should be nassau street, not avenue b/c there are KF permit apps on the plots at 168 nassau street and adjacent to it)

Portfolio -> commercial -> 237 duffield street

[Derek2k3]

Thanks.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06252007/photos/news017.jpg

So this is what #16 is...
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1356/1236079291_ddc2848e3b_o.jpg

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobDetailsServlet?requestid=4&allisn=0001149512&allboroughname=&allnumbhous=&allstrt=

[sfenn1117]

With the building permits applied for 2 1/2 years ago I wonder if it will ever get built. It would help block the Bridgeview tower so I'm in favor.

Plus this contradicts the current rendering, so who knows.
http://mehandeseng.com/projects.asp?proid=7

[BrooklynLove]

sfenn - i had the some thought re old permit apps. however, this rendering seems to be a fresh addition to KF's site as far as i can tell, and unfortunately (sadness) the renderings for the gold street building over by the storage facilities that had previously been on KF's site now appear to be gone, which would jibe with the recent permit apps having been filed by malhotra instead of KF.

[posterboy]

anyone know what's up with that triangular site to the left of #16? it's been boarded up for a while now ... another flatiron perchance?

[BrooklynRider]

Plywood around the "Brooklyn Flatiron" site is slowly giving way to chain link. It was supposed to start in May, then June, the July. This one might not make it.

[BrooklynLove]

nah, this one is happenin - DOB records show that the developers are still in the midst of getting approval for foundation work - latest action is 8/21 disapproval on permit app.

half glass full, homie!

[muziqgod]

Here's some construction pics of site 15 on that NY Post map (96 Rockwell Place). It's a 6 story Piano Factory from around 1900 being converted with a 6 story additon.

With Forte poking out behind - Flatbush/Lafayette:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1419/1252881918_b0bd5375e8.jpg

View of Rockwell side:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1392/1252029667_b6559dd5b8.jpg

View from below the building on Flatbush:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1080/1252044257_bcc6a68d97.jpg

rendering:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1019/1252877670_641cdb4b2b.jpg

[antinimby]

This Karl Fischer will be across the street from Gene Kaufman's ugly dud (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=160069&postcount=382).

Too bad it's the dud that will be bigger but oh well, that's usually how things work out for this city anyway.

I wouldn't be surprised if this nice Karl Fischer gets scrapped while the Kaufman gets fast-tracked.

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/2563/duffieldhotelrq7.jpg http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/1087/duffieldhotel1cq3.jpg

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/5475/duffieldhotel2jw2.jpg

[sfenn1117]

388 Bridge St, 49 floors/528', SLCE
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobDetailsServlet?allisn=0001391822&requestid=1


http://www.dearchny.com/

Projects --> Exterior --> 388 Bridge st

http://i7.tinypic.com/53pd5sh.jpg

I love making random discoveries. This would be Brooklyn's tallest for a while...it has a nice tapered top and would add nicely to the skyline.

[BrooklynRider]

Did you check out that Manhattan tower too?

[BrooklynRider]

Atlantic Terminal Atrium - anticipated completion: 2019
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/AtlanticTerminal-AtriumEntrance2200.jpg

200 Livingston - a presence on the skyline from the south / southeast

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/LivingstonStreetDevelopment-getting.jpg

Forte in Fort Greene - this is the elevation you won't see in advertisements or renderings

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/Forte-Ft.Greenethesidetheydontwantyoutosee20070916.jpg

Myrtle & Flatbush finally rising...

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd121/BrooklynRiderRob/MyrtleAveatFlatbush-steelriusing-20.jpg