Sunset Park's Federal #2 a Potential Lifeboat for Creatives

Work on one of Brooklyn’s biggest redevelopment projects probably won’t begin for about another year. Back in May, the the city's EDC announced that a joint venture between Time Equities and the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation had been selected to redevelop a 1.1-million-square-foot Sunset Park warehouse called Federal Building #2 into a mixed-use light manufacturing and retail complex. The 8-story building, next to the Gowanus Expressway on 3rd Avenue between 30th and 32nd streets, will be gut renovated. Two major hurdles need to be cleared before the rehab begins, however: The property still needs to be transferred from the federal government to the city (which will in turn transfer it to the developers), and the proposal has to go through ULURP. According to Margaret Nelson, director of real estate programs for the BEDC, the federal government will likely transfer the property to the city within the next few months. The proposal is also expected to enter ULURP very soon, said Nelson, and the review process is expected to take between six months and a year. The project will cost more than $200 million and eventually create more than 1,285 full-time jobs, according to the EDC. From what we hear, at least one of the end-uses for the space will be to provide artists and creative professionals with affordable, loft-like space for under $20 a foot. Given the rate at which these folks are being priced out of Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Dumbo, this sounds like welcome news to us.
Press Release on Federal Building #2 [NYCEDC] GMAP P*Shark

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Where's the information about the affordable loft spaces for creative professionals? Is it word of mouth, or written up anywhere? I'm missing it and would love to find a link for that information. Thanks.

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 11:12 AM

Sunset park is the final frontier for artists. Last spot with big old buildings that are underutilized. This plan makes perfect sense to me.

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 11:13 AM

The industrial loft spaces are in Sunset Park and that's key.

All the people we know in PLG's LM are in art/music/media/design/architecture, and we know at least 20 people from our block and immediate area. But there aren't the industrial loft spaces. However if there could be some proactive efforts to bring new development to Empire Blvd, perhaps we could get cool projects like this. There's a great historic building that houses the Phat Albert Warehouse (don't laugh!) on Flatbush and Empire that could be redeveloped and built upon.

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 11:23 AM

word of mouth at this point

Posted by: brownstoner at January 15, 2008 11:47 AM

I thought BEDC was involved in this project from a job retention/creation perspective. Even a successful artist with assistants does not generate many jobs.

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 12:07 PM

artist studios = next hip neighborhood.

Too bad that highway seperates sunset park, between the residential and warehouses.

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 12:24 PM

I already know artists moving to sunset park because its cheap, pretty safe, has awesome food and the D train. Its a pretty nice area...

now all I have to do is convince my gf to move.

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 12:44 PM

I hope this works out. Affordable artist and light manufacturing space would be great.

Small business like upholsterers, furniture makers, framers, carpenters, boutique clothing companies, etc need spaces that have light and air and room to work. Those spaces are few and far between, nowadays.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at January 15, 2008 1:03 PM

People are being priced out of williamsburg? Say it isn't so!

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 1:15 PM

$20 a foot isn't affordable for any of the artists I know, although I'm sure it's great for small crafts and artisans. An informal survey of everybody I knew living in illegal live/work spaces in Bushwick would suggest $10-$14 as the range that all the weird painters I know could handle.

It depends on improvements (a lot of these lofts were totally bare and needed drywall, stoves, DIY plumbing attachments, space heaters), but typically it's not a "cheap" loft in 2006 unless the monthly rent in dollars is about the same as the square footage. Shame they're not building more spaces like this.

Live/work is the key component for people who are just starting out. When I lived in a crud neighborhood to save cash (not in a live/work space), I was paying $11/sqft/yr. Loft space came at a premium over that, but if you deduct the cost of housing, it was very cheap for studio space. But this becomes less true every day.

Posted by: Zach at January 15, 2008 1:27 PM

The building is right beside the Metropolitan Detention Centre, a federal prison housing over 2500 inmates. Wonder whether this will have an effect on the sale/rent of the condos and day care spots?

Posted by: guest at January 15, 2008 2:40 PM

the house of detention on Atlantic Ave didn't stop the hip-ness swell in Boerum Hill

Posted by: guest at March 15, 2008 11:38 AM

« Hotel Le Bleu Rates: A Brief History Before 4th Ave. Was ‘The Next Park Avenue’ »

January 15, 2008

Sunset Park's Federal #2 a Potential Lifeboat for Creatives

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