As the Daily News noted yesterday, Wednesday’s announcement of the preservation of the Navy Yard’s Building 92 in conjunction with the creation of its $15 million Historical Center was bittersweet news for preservationists in light of the seemingly inevitable demolition of Officers Row just a few hundred feet down Flushing Avenue after the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. takes possession of the dilapidated buildings from the Army Corps of Engineeers in, all likelihood, the next few weeks. “The clear difference between this building and those is simple: This building is preservable,” said BNYDC head Andrew Kimball, defending the decision. “Those buildings essentially would have to be rebuilt from the ground up.” Some preservationists aren’t buying it: “It’s ironic for an investment to be made in presenting photographs of Admiral’s Row when no efforts have been made to live up to the opportunity to actually restore the buildings themselves,” said Gary Hattem of the Historic Wallabout Association. (For an emotional but calm take on the situation, check out this post from Calla Lillie, who has been involved with try to save Officer’s Row.) The real issue, it seems to us, is not whether the buildings can be rebuilt, it’s whether it’s worth it to spend the $30 to $40 million to do so. The BNYDC thinks the money is better spent on other things: As has been public for some time, the development corporation plans to build a supermarket on the site. The local population, which consists largely of residents of the Farragut, Whitman and Ingersoll housing projects, has been underserved (to put it mildly) in this department for years. In addition, the supermarket would most likely have 200 to 300 parking spots, making it a driving destination for those in surrounding neighborhoods. The BNYDC plans to put out an RFP in early 2008 after holding a design charrette with the community; the supermarket would go in the “retail” space above and share a parking lot with up to 50,000 square feet of retail space and 150,000 square feet of industrial and/or studio space in Building B. The two buildings together could generate as many as 500 jobs, according to BNYDC. As for the ultimate tenant? We hear it could end up being a lot “higher-end” than many have assumed. Something like Fairway is a real possibility for the location. It turns out the chain’s store on Van Brunt, for example, has been a bit hit with the residents of the Red Hook Houses. What do you think the odds are of Fairway doubling down in Brooklyn?
Navy Yard Museum Approved but ‘Admiral’s Row’ Gotta Go [NY Daily News] GMAP
About Officer’s Row [OfficersRow.org]