Developer Moves on Plans for Big Bushwick Complex

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    Developer Read Property has requested a zoning change from the Department of City Planning to allow its four-year-old plan for a huge residential and commercial complex at the Rheingold Brewery in Bushwick to go forward, the New York Post reported. “This is the very beginning of what will be a lengthy public-review process,” the Post quoted Mitchell Korbey, attorney for Read Property, as saying. “This is part of the ongoing revitalization and ongoing growth of Bushwick.” The 10 buildings will house 977 apartments and 54,000 square feet of retail space in what is mostly vacant property at Flushing and Evergreen avenues. The area is currently zoned for manufacturing. The buildings will have private courtyard gardens and rise as high as eight stories. Twenty percent will be “affordable.” It is not yet known if the units will be condos or rentals. The location is convenient to the Bushwick loft area, the projects at Flushing and Bushwick, and the L train. The first phase of the project resulted in the award-winning Rheingold Gardens apartments and townhouses along Bushwick Avenue, pictured above. It is also close to the controversial Broadway Triangle site for planned low-income housing. “Bushwick has the opportunity to be the next Williamsburg,” said Sarah Burke, executive vice president for Prudential Douglas Elliman, which is not affiliated with the project. Bushwick is experiencing the same real estate boom that occurred in Williamsburg six years ago, she said. Bushwick area councilwoman Diana Reyna supports the Rheingold project, particularly its affordable and low-income aspects, which she wants to see increased. North Brooklyn activist Phil DePaolo opposes the plan on the grounds that it is too dense and will overload the area with too many people. “It’s poor planning,” he said.
    Rheingold Homes in Second Round [NY Post]
    Beer City in Bushwick [Brownstoner] GMAP
    Community Groups Sue City over Broadway Triangle [Brownstoner]
    Photo of Rheingold Gardens townhouses by John Clancy Awards

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