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November 6, 2007
Developer and Plan Picked for BAM's Mixed-Use Tower
The RFP process for the mixed-use building on Site 4 in the BAM Cultural District has concluded with the selection of a plan by Harlem-based developer Full Spectrum over such big local names as David Walentas' Two Trees and Dermot Company of One Hanson fame; the architect for the plan is studioMDA. The decision comes just a couple of months after local outcry put Full Spectrum, whose head Carlton Brown has lived in Fort Greene and Bed Stuy for 25 years, back in contention after being eliminated in August. "Their level of affordability was great," said HPD spokesman Seth Donlin, explaining the pick. “And the design of the building architecturally was fantastic.” The new 30-story building, to be located at the southwest corner of Ashland Place and Fulton Street, will be known as Borough Gardens. The marquee tenant for the building will be DanceSpace, which will be housed in a 40,000-square-foot rehearsal and performance space. The tower will include 185 apartments, half of which will be set aside for low- and moderate-income residents; there will also be a retail and gallery component. Construction of the building, which will incorporate many green components (Full Spectrum has developed both the Solaire and 1400 on 5th in Manhattan), is expected to get underway in the first part of next year, with a target completion date of 2010.
Local Planner Gets the Big Job at BAM [Brooklyn Paper] GMAP
Unusual Building in Brooklyn’s BAM Cultural Center [Brooklyn Eagle]
Small Developer Beats Walentas & Dermot for BAM Tower [Curbed]
Downtown Update from Joe Chan at CB2 Meeting [Brownstoner]
BAM Cultural District: Alive If Not Exactly Kicking [Brownstoner]
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Comments
I see some nice voyeuristic possibilities between residents of Forte and Borough Gardens. Now that's what I call a cultural district.
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 9:51 AM
ew
yuk
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 9:52 AM
The forte will be going rental in 3..2...1...
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 9:55 AM
"...Seth Donlin, explaining the pick. 'And the design of the building architecturally was fantastic.'"
THAT is a fantasic design?!!!!!!!!
HHHhhhhhhhhhhh!
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 9:56 AM
low and moderate income:
moderate income in the area is over 60K annual income. sounds like average, working class people to me
build away!
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 10:14 AM
9:57 Affordable housing=projects? You're an ass.
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 10:16 AM
Maybe those unfortunate souls who've already bought into the forte can move into "Borough Gardens" after their "investment" in a boxed-in, overpriced (sale price and cc) apartment tanks
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 10:19 AM
Looks like Sao Paolo.
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 10:28 AM
10:19
Unfortunate? You mean savvy. When Forte' was first being built bloggers all over the web claimed the building too tall, out of place etc etc. Now an equally "out of place" building will spring up across the street.
Rockwell, Hanson and Forte' are buyers only chance to own a piece of BAM. The Borough Gardens are for the traveling performers, short term leases etc.
Creating a new "Lincoln Center" 2 blocks from every subway will make BAM more desire able. Not to mention what's going on with the Stadium and Fulton Mall.
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 10:33 AM
"uh, half of this place will be PROJECTS"
great.
I know huh. What is this world coming to? Can't we just put them (project people) all on a boat and ship them out to sea, anywhere else but FG Brooklyn. I know! Maybe Beacon Hill in Boston wants them.
Love is all around us! it's everywhere I go!
Hmmm.
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 10:45 AM
Is it just me, or is there really no evidence on their website of studioMDA ever having ever designed a job that actually got built?
Posted by: johnife at November 6, 2007 10:47 AM
10:33 - You must be kidding. Riddle me this. Why is it that the forte apartments are so hard to sell that the asking price has been dropping - to no avail - ever since they were first offered? Have you seen the five year plan for the area? Do you know that there are also other massive high rise projects to be built around the forte - obscuring natural light for most units? Can you imagine what the CC will be down the line, not to mention costs when the tax abatement is no more? What about the years-long construction noises that the "savvy" forte owners will endure with the aforementioned massive projects going on around them? Imagine the forte owners inabililty to resell at a profit - when they bought it was clear skies all around, in a couple years the story will be quite different. I could go on forever, and I will, if you continue trying to bait hardworking people into suckers' bets.
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 10:48 AM
10:14 and 10:16 said it all.
Sounds like an admirable project. Architecturally not my taste, but the dance space and significant affordable housing aspect trump looks in this case.
Congratulations also to Carlton Brown. We need more local architects, contracting companies and related trades building in the communities they live in and/or came from, especially when they can significantly add to the skyline and build needed affordable housing and cultural venues.
Posted by: Montrose Morris at November 6, 2007 11:03 AM
The Solaire was developed by the Albanese Organization. These guys aren't even listed on the Solaire's site and their site states they were a consultant on the project for the "high performance and green technologies..." Doesn't seem they've developed that much.
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 11:33 AM
10:48: As far as I can tell the Forte prices have remained reasonably constant.
Why do you believe the common charges will go up?
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 12:20 PM
curious as to why James raised such as "ruckus" for Brown.....has he made any donations to her campaigns?
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 12:36 PM
great news. keep building the boro.
Posted by: BrooklynLove at November 6, 2007 12:47 PM
12:20 - The Forte prices have dropped a couple hundred thousand dollars since they put it on the market. It's been a pretty steady drop since the inception. Within the last couple weeks the entry point dropped again. The 2br point dropped another $30k last month. The CC are already ridiculous. That's been documented on this site and others. The steam issue is another threat to CC stability. It all screams "let the buyer beware."
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 1:14 PM
1:14: The offering prices now -- at least the units I was looking at -- were the same as the ones in the original offering plan. Maybe some have gone down, but not all.
The CC+tax is about the same as One Hanson (when both are abated). After the abatements run out, One Hanson will be higher.
What is the "steam issue"?
I think some units at Forte, especially the lower floors, are probably overpriced. But not all of them. I do not have any affiliation with Forte except as someone who has seriously considered buying.
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 1:21 PM
Across the board, Forte's COMMON charges have gone down, not the actual units. Scattered unit price drops do not represent the entire building.
Forte is furthest north and east if compared to Atlantic yards and BAM. And the properties on those sides are brownstones and LIU.
It will probably be the only new condo to keep it's view of Manhattan. I attended the wine tasting on the roof of Forte' a few weeks back, so I know what I'm talking about.
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 2:59 PM
That IS a fantastic design. I love it.
I'm glad it offends the boring people who hate everything modern.
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 3:35 PM
I wonder what the other proposals looked like.
This reminds me of an incredibly ugly building in Boston -- Peabody Terrace: http://libraries.mit.edu/rvc/kidder/kjpegs/C2022-087.jpg
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 3:39 PM
Great Design!!!
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 3:42 PM
Shouldnt most of you be cheering the price declines at projects like forte? - I mean no one here would ever own in such a ugly, poorly build, sheetrock house of cards like that, so you arent losing any $ and of course Brownstones will not be effected by price declines (so your safe) and now since they cant sell it and hundreds more condos are coming these will have to be rented out at more affordable prices - seems like everyone here should be happy?
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 4:15 PM
4:15
Let go of the past, Brooklyn is evolving. The Brownstone community of BK is gorgeous and always desireable. But as times change young professionals want simple luxuries, level concrete flooring, big shiny windows and so on. Don't expect everyone to have the same opinion, especially when it is so narrowminded as yours.
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 4:52 PM
Peabody Terrace is in Cambridge not Boston. And I sorta like it. But then again my vantage point was a much uglier brutalist dorm next door...
Posted by: Putnamdenizen at November 6, 2007 6:35 PM
Tish goes for the black card
Posted by: guest at November 6, 2007 9:29 PM
3:35 - This design would have been modern in the early 1960s. Now it's just retro-ugly.
Posted by: guest at November 7, 2007 12:56 AM
Oh, you mean contemporary modern like the design for buildings at Ground Zero, 12:56? Or Gehry's buildings at AY? Yuck. We'll take early 60's, thank you.
Posted by: guest at November 7, 2007 8:43 AM
"Is it just me, or is there really no evidence on their website of studioMDA ever having ever designed a job that actually got built?"
This is only because as studioMDA, the built projects have been primarily interiors and the firm is young- further research reveals that the principal, Markus Douchantschi was in charge the American division of Zaha HAdid's office for many years and was director of many projects including the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinatti. The loft they built in soho was just in an issue of vogue living.
I have had the privilege to speak with the people at studioMDA and see the entire design narrative and my understanding of its architectural difference is now married to the wonderful things about it. For example, the fact that every single unit has natural light and ventilation, every single unit is no farther than 5-10 floors from outdoor shared greenspace (hence the interspersed roof gardens accessible to all.) In a situation where the city has asked for so many units of appordable housing, and a tower is the only option- I think the way in which they have intepreted "context" (Brooklyn of brownstone and stoops and mid-rise)is very sophisticated. Their scheme is an approach at making a stack of mid-rise buildings where a tower must and will go.
Considering this, I think the design is pretty great.
Posted by: guest at November 8, 2007 4:04 PM
4:04: "every single unit has natural light and ventilation" -- doesn't this just mean that they have windows? Or is there more to it?
Posted by: guest at November 8, 2007 6:14 PM
in sustainable architecture, natural light on two sides of a unit are not possible with double loaded corridors- (long dark hallways with apartment doors on both sides)- the only light would come in from one side of a unit- this makes energy costs much higher for lighting.
Natural Ventilation- I should be more specific- cross-ventilation- yet another benefit only possible from having openings on two sides of a unit- this is a "passive cooling" strategy that greatly reduces demand for AC.
Ventilation and Lighting in urban buildings are responsible for the greatest consumption of energy/
Posted by: guest at November 12, 2007 3:34 PM
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