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March 25, 2008
Development Watch: 1124 Bedford Ave
We received a tip that the former Bedford-Stuyvesant Community Mental Health Center, a brownstone building on the corner of Bedford and Gates Avenues in Bed-Stuy, is being demolished. A recent city document indicates a much larger development could replace the four-story corner building, in an area zoned for medium-density residential with mixed uses. Owner Afshin Dilmanian combined the property with four others to create a single, oddly-shaped lot that has additional frontage on Quincy Street, totaling roughly 25,000 square feet, or a half acre. The demolition permit was filed last month and already there's a Stop Work Order for failure to remove glass prior to demolition. Anyone know any details about the plans? GMAP P*Shark DOB
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Comments
The exterior architecture details on this building are so nice.. I really wish that they would not demolish this historic building. this building would make nice condos in the future.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 12:13 PM
that sucks the building looks so nice.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 12:14 PM
Too bad, looks like an interesting building that could have been restored. Hopefully whatever they build won't end up looking like that bizarre eyesore at Classon & Fulton.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 12:16 PM
too bad it's going. could make a nice conversion. yes it's going to cost more to do the construction, but sometimes i wish developers would consider the benefits - you can market having something that other bland developments don't. in the long run it could even bring in more revenue. i personally would rather spend a little more for a nice conversion (assuming i could afford it) rather than a cheaper comparable apartment that's all new. but that's just me.
Posted by: janelle at March 25, 2008 12:17 PM
I walk past this building frequently and figured it would eventually be rehabbed and become condos. There could be some retail on the Ground Floor. It's really a shame that at least the exterior facade will not be saved. Hopefully the new building will at least respect the context of those around it even if it is larger.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 12:20 PM
I walk past this building frequently and figured it would eventually be rehabbed and become condos. There could be some retail on the Ground Floor. It's really a shame that at least the exterior facade will not be saved. Hopefully the new building will at least respect the context of those around it even if it is larger.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 12:21 PM
I echo what everyone else said. Bedford is such a great wide avenue, and could certainly handle some new architecture and new buildings. Unfortunately, most of what we've gotten is schlock, especially past Lafayette.
That said, this one was saveable and could have just been rehabbed. It would have been quite beautiful. It is a great looking anchor to the corner. I passed there the other day, and it is gutted.
Posted by: Montrose Morris at March 25, 2008 12:41 PM
Some buildings in this area really need to be landmarked. Bedford Stuyvesant is so rich with architectural beauty that many people are not aware of. This is truly sad to see this building go. Stuyvesant Heights is such a small area that is landmarked but there are so many blocks in this area that truly need to be landmarked...
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 12:48 PM
I'm generally not for saving everything just because it's old, but this building really does have particularly unique details. Normally when we see Richardsonian Romanesque or Renaissance Revival details on brownstones it's on private houses. Not so much on the larger apartment buildings. Right?
Another example of how you have to landmark before the developer arrives. Not after. If it's never happened on a block or in a neighborhood it's because not enough of the property owners support landmarking. In these neighborhoods more recently improving, the non-millionaire property owners are concerned about the nightmarish approval processes and how much more expensive it is to make improvements on a building when it's landmarked. It would help if there was something in between being totally unprotected and being landmarked.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 1:02 PM
I also agree with everyone thus far. Every time I walked past this building I couldn't help but think what a great opportunity the owner had for renovating it. Those units would sell in record time (assuming they were priced correctly). Look at those loft conversions on Lexington that just came onto the market. Even though they are probably overpriced, the renovation in that building is fantastic.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 1:10 PM
If it has to come down, I hope he sells the salvage rights to what is inside (whatever that is). I put in a call to his office regarding that and hopefully it won't end up in a landfill and could end up at Brooklyn Flea. Fred from Silver Fox Architectural Salvage
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 1:18 PM
ditto. its a beautiful building, nothing like it being built today. it will be a real loss.
Posted by: blowfish at March 25, 2008 2:11 PM
Even the bricks are awesome. Ooooh and miles of cornice . Sorry to see it go : (
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 2:37 PM
all of you think that this is a "beautiful" building? why? it's disgusting. you are all high.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 2:39 PM
all of you think that this is a "beautiful" building? why? it's disgusting. you are all high.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 2:47 PM
that corner looks horrfying.
is that what all of bed stuy looks like???
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 2:50 PM
No, 2:50, this is not what all of Bed-Stuy looks like. A Bed-Stuy block won the "Greenest Block in Brooklyn" contest last year. It's a huge neighborhood with gorgeous blocks, horrible blocks, and everything in between.
People are responding to the fact that this is an attractive brick building with a nice cornice. 10 years ago the Elly's Market building on DeKalb was just as beat-up and blighted as this, and it received a gorgeous facade restoration and now really heightens the appearance of that street (despite the Elly's owners bizarre insistence on filling up their windows with racks of potato chips, viewed from the back).
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 3:19 PM
No, all of Bed Stuy does not look like this, assuming you are asking a serious question, 2:50. If so, I applaud the asking, in that you are not assuming anything, and not acting like some of these experts who couldn't find this corner with a map or a guidedog, but have an opinion.
The commercial streets of BS, Bedford, Nostrand, and others, have not received nearly as much attention as the beautiful residential side streets. Only in the last 5 years has much of anything happened at all, and not all of it good. Too many tear downs, like this, with horrible new construction. But on the good side, there are some new restaurants and shops on Bedford, near here, a new YMCA down the street, and some good non-profit organizations, and long time retail. Little by little, change is happening.
Posted by: Montrose Morris at March 25, 2008 3:20 PM
I know this building. In approximately 2000 it was for sale for $700,000. I remember seeing all these pebbles on the floor throughtout the building, I mean THOUSANDS. So I finally we get to the top level and there's a dead dog carcas. A full dog body!; I think it was a German shepard: exposed skeleton, matted hair, open mouth.
It turns out that the pebbles were years worth of dog poop. And I guess the dog was a long forgotten guard. True Story.
Oh Yeah, The interior was nothing to speak of. I don't remember any great architectural
details. The exterioi is fantastic and I hope they don't tear it down.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 3:30 PM
2:39, put YOUR crack pipe down.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 4:14 PM
"It turns out that the pebbles were years worth of dog poop. And I guess the dog was a long forgotten guard. True Story."
TMI
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 4:31 PM
Bedford is the longest and oldest street in Brooklyn and this is probably one of the oldest commercial building on that street. It really is sad that they want to demolish this. I really see Bedford becoming a strong commercial corridor. It is to me more pleasant than Fulton St. right now even with the high traffic. It would be nice if this end of Fulton turns into nice stretch like the Williamsburg end.
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 4:36 PM
"It turns out that the pebbles were years worth of dog poop. And I guess the dog was a long forgotten guard. True Story."
TMI
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 5:07 PM
that's a damn shame. live around the corner and had heard the plan was to convert and build above. a mixed new-and-old could have been a real tribute to the past and present. instead, another historical building gets the ax for sitting east of franklin. do-or-die-bed-stuy, i guess, means death to creative development. personally, i spent the time & money (on a teacher's salary, no less) to restore, not renovate, our brownstone on greene and bedford and have made back my investment and some with the quality of tenants i've secured from the character of the rentals. does this approach just not work at a larger scale, or is it the failure of those with deeper pockets to take on more aesthetically ambitious projects?
Posted by: guest at March 25, 2008 9:52 PM
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