Demo Starts at Tompkins Avenue Row Where Vasco Ventures Plans Controversial Building

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    Demolition has started on three buildings on Tompkins near near Hancock in Bed Stuy. They are coming down to make way for a 35-unit apartment building at 410 Tompkins Avenue whose unusual design caused a firestorm of controversy and prompted outreach from Community Board 3 to developers in the area.

    A reader sent us these photos, which show a building at 414 and 416 Tompkins Avenue being demolished. The building on the corner, No. 410, is also slated to be razed.

    The new, six-story building will be called Hancock Manor and will cover four lots. Vasco Ventures is the developer, and Charles Mallea is the architect.

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    Above, the controversial design for 410 Tompkins.

    Locals and preservationists had few kind words for the design of 410 Tompkins when it appeared in January and circulated on private email lists and Facebook groups, as we reported at the time. The rendering’s depiction of black birds circling above a dark gray facade with mirrored cracks prompted Brownstoner commenters to dub the building the Bulgarian Neo-Goth Supervillian Crack Lair.

    One door away at 420 Tompkins another large modern apartment building is going up, replacing longtime neighborhood hardware store Weinstein’s. It is also designed by Charles Mallea but looks very different. It mixes rusted steel with glass.

    In the last few months, representatives from CB3 have been meeting with developers in the area, such as Brookland Capital, to request traditional masonry designs with traditional windows and cornices, to blend in with the existing architecture in the area, which is famous for its rows of 19th century brownstones.

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    Vasco Ventures is a private real estate investment group based in Midwood. It specializes in acquiring distressed property and estate sales. Its founder and principal is Isay (Izzy) Ildatov.

    Architect Charles Mallea has at least a dozen mid-size apartment buildings under construction in areas such as Bed Stuy, Bushwick, Greenpoint and Flatbush. Most are traditional masonry buildings.

    410 Tompkins Avenue Coverage [Brownstoner]
    Charles Mallea Coverage [Brownstoner]
    Renderings by Charles Mallea

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    Just down the street at 420 Tompkins, developer CS Management is planning this modern looking building with rusted steel and glass, also designed by architect Charles Mallea.

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