Commercial Klutch: August Edition

Our masked correspondent is back with this month’s lowdown on the commercial real estate scene in Brooklyn.

Barclays Center continues to rile up, rise up and otherwise rouse its many neighbors. But what about area retail?  We are often asked why nothing much has changed yet. Here’s our take.

The Pintchik family, the largest owners in the area, are wisely taking their time, fielding mucho offers, weighing options and awaiting the fall opening of our arena. 604 Pacific Street, pictured above, is a fine property directly facing the plaza just off Flatbush. It may be in a deal, may not…. has had some handshakes. Owner both smart and picky. Should be. The famous sports triangle is to be developed for drinking and dining by a major name. 625 Atlantic is holding out for a sports bar, and will get one if the owner committee so desires.

Beyond the immediate arena area, the impact has yet to be felt. 470 Vanderbilt has a great space, yet probably will have to await deals for the spaces above to fall into place first. The first five blocks of 4th Avenue and Atlantic west of 4th are in the Barclays blast radius, but the explosion hasn’t happened yet.

One key factor in the slow evolution of retail is that tenants investing large sums in Brooklyn rarely find the space they really want, so much time and money is spent negotiating, dealing with quirky owners, and overcoming zoning and code issues to get to a lease. Apple is a case in point. The Barclays area may be best spot for them, but which space? These difficulties that better tenants, and for that matter all tenants, encounter getting Brooklyn space is the top reason we don’t see more rapid retail change IMO.

We know you’ll stay tuned, as always, to the street. Watch. Barclays will have a huge effect on Brooklyn, beyond what we imagine.

There is something else no one is talking about that will have a major major effect on the New York City performing arts scene and the Atlantic/Flatbush hub. When no one is talking much about something, that’s the thing to watch. Four new theaters are open or opening in and around BAM — BAM Fisher’s Fishman Space, Theatre for a New Audience, the BRIC house on Ashland and Roulette in the YWCA on Third Ave. The latter is already making noise on the new music scene. All this surely adds a great deal to the same area the Barclays “spaceship” landing impacts, right?