Checking In on 96 Rockwell Place

the location sucks and they have a view of NOTHING! i don't understand it.

Posted by: guest at August 13, 2007 1:14 PM

I think it's more that these conversions are more attractive to people as more and more new stuff hits the market.

Posted by: guest at August 13, 2007 1:44 PM

why?

Posted by: guest at August 13, 2007 2:10 PM

What's the construction site in the foreground?

Posted by: guest at August 13, 2007 3:33 PM

I purchased here for a number of reasons. We have a nice layout, terrace, decent ammenities and despite what above commenter said about views, there are actually nice ones! The north side of the building faces the school, nothing special, but top floors can see the manhattan skyline. On the south side, it's currently unobstructed views of downtown brooklyn, and any of the taller buildings towards bk heights. 4 subway lines within a block, and just a couple blocks more gets you to the rest. It's far enough away from AY that the constuction will likely not effect it and it's about 2-3 blocks from the prime part of ft greene. We've seen the BAM plans, and the north side of the building would possibly be effected more so (all of the 2 bdrms), even though the entrance is on that side.

Yes there are drawbacks, flatbush isn't the prettiest now & fulton mall is close by, but for us there were far more positives than negatives. Flatbush is busy at times, but we've gone plenty of times and it was surprisingly quiet. I lived by the lincoln tunnel entrance and my husband in the theater district with a damn double decker bus stop outside - the traffic was not even an issue. As far as the storage building goes, not the most attractive I know - not the end of the world.

Before they started the addition, we were allowed on the roof to see our view from our unit though we couldnt go maybe 4 ft from the edge and get the full western view. In case you want to see some pics from the flatbush side..

S/SW: http://tinyurl.com/yux5nr
http://tinyurl.com/yurhdu

South: http://tinyurl.com/25mfwa

South (and that is the statue of liberty...albeit tiny!): http://tinyurl.com/2xrx4l

east (somewhat boring, with williamsburg savings bank): http://tinyurl.com/2asttk

Eventually there will be a hotel across the street where the parking lot is, but not sure if that angle is the same lot.

Posted by: guest at August 13, 2007 7:21 PM

This is what is going to be in that parking lot. www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/hpd/downloads/pdf/BAM-Cultural-District-RFP-Addendum-1.pdf -

I hope that the sales staff did not tell you anything different, they would lose their Broker's (Halstead's) license.

Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 10:39 AM

nooo, you got it backwards. Mr. B's picture is from the back side of the building which is flatbush. The bam construction are the lots east and west of the front side of the building which is on rockwell. So those people who bought on the north side of the building, the front, which are all of the 2 bedrooms on Rockwell have that construction as views.

The lot in the picture is across flatbush.

Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 1:13 PM

I have gone into contract on a unit at rockwell place. this property blows away forte & one hanson. they have done a unique conversion & kept a boutique condo environment with only 37 units. the future of the bam district has an energy of its own that is very exciting. this is the heart of real brooklyn culture. This property will sell out by the end of the year. Buy Now & Enjoy the grit before the complete gentrification takes place. Flatbush is no busier than a main street in manhattan where there are 1000s of condos.

Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 2:51 PM

I have considered buying in this building. It has great finishes (superior to Forte for sure) and is convenient to BAM, transport and...yes, noisy Flatbush Ave. One thing that no one has mentioned to me, but i was able to find out by reading public documents, RFP's and press releases listed on the Downtown Brooklyn Development site and searching on "BAM Cultural District," is that directly opposite the apartments on the Rockwell Place side, a 200 unit building will be built in the next year or two. This will rise (higher than 96 Rockwell Place one would have to assume) behind the Mark Morris building and will block views/light for apartments on this side. It will be built on top of a "multi-use arts" space. This development will be joined by a large apartment (with Danspace as the ground floor tenant) going up opposite Forte, as well as an outdoor sculpture terrace and the Theater for a New Audience. I find it pretty amazing that no one else has mentioned this or perhaps I've just missed it.

This area will be a great cultural site in a few years, but before then, it will host the building of 3 major buildings and underground parking.

Are buyers unaware of this or are they just not bothered? Interested to know.

Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 4:24 PM

The early bird concept & one of the few small developments in the district. come on join our home at rockwell place

Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 4:59 PM

the document that guest posted at 10:39 AM wasn't exactly explained in detail to us when we went to the sales office, but i do the Halstead agents did tell us those lots were BAMs and that they were developing (which i knew some of). I did further research on the projects as one should and none of the plans negatively affected our decision since we are the flatbush side. They also did tell us about the proposed hotel directly across flatbush that would have impact on our views, but we still felt comfortable seeing how much would be lost.

Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 7:23 PM

I looked at a 2 bedroom unit there in November and was pretty impressed with the finishes, but thought that the common charges were unreasonably high (over $1/sq ft) for a building with few amentities. Also considering the amount of luxury condo supply coming onto the market in Downtown Brooklyn the price per sq ft also seemed too high for a building without a full time doorman and no views. I'd be interested in knowing what others think of the building now in light of what now seems like a slight slowdown in the Downtown Brooklyn market.

Posted by: guest at January 3, 2008 8:37 AM

Anyone know what's up with the stop-work order that has been on this property for almost three months?

Posted by: guest at January 3, 2008 7:35 PM

hoping to get some answers! are you a buyer or prospective?

Posted by: guest at January 14, 2008 3:35 PM

if any buyers would like to join, we've set up a yahoo group to discuss the building and meet our neighbors: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rockwell_Place

Posted by: guest at March 14, 2008 3:58 PM