Expect Massive Retail Development All Over Brooklyn

Brooklyn retail is about to get a lot more interesting — think Chelsea Market — and there will be a lot more of it — not only in places such as Downtown but pretty much everywhere, including Bushwick, Bay Ridge, Coney Island and Mill Basin, according to a lengthy story in the New York Observer today. “The retailers are now coming in to support all of the new residential and hotel development and all of the high incomes that come with it, especially in Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg,” said Barry Fishbach, executive vice president at retail real estate firm Robert K. Futterman & Associates. “With nearly 2.6 million people in Brooklyn, it doesn’t make sense for them to have to go to Manhattan to shop. So these new retailers are coming in to service the local population, which keeps growing, as well as all of the tourists visiting these areas because it’s cool to go there.” Hot on the heels of success with residential developments, big banks are about to let loose a flood of financing for retail. “When you look at Brooklyn, especially, you see a lot of families moving in now with very significant salaries,” he continued. Don’t necessarily expect a bunch of big box stores, though. “I question if there are that many places to development big box, especially in North Brooklyn, and how many people in the community would want it,” said developer Jason Muss of Muss Development, which converted 345 Adams Street.  Above is pictured 82 Bogart Street, an old industrial building in Bushwick that North Development Corp. bought for $12.2 million. The firm plans to convert the building into a giant nightlife, retail and gallery space.
Brooklyn’s Retail Financing Redux: Hipper Shopping En Route [NY Observer]
Photo via PropertyShark