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July 14, 2009

Avalon to Top Clarett in Downtown Brooklyn

avalon-willoughby-0709.jpg
Back in January, we wrote a post putting together the mounting evidence for the case that Avalon Bay was preparing to buy the cluster of lots at the corner of Willoughby and Bridge Streets in Downtown Brooklyn to put up a large residential tower; we even unearthed some early renderings and references in SEC filings to an entity called Avalon Willoughby LLC. Today, the Brooklyn Eagle reports that Avalon has filed plans with the Department of Buildings for a 58-story rental building which, if built, would top the Brooklyner, the soon-to-be-completed project by the Clarett Group at 111 Lawrence Street. The Avalon development would have 860 units. “We see a big demand for apartments,” Stephanie Cuba, project manager for AvalonBay.
Downtown Brooklyn’s Newest ‘Tallest’ To Rise Downtown [Brooklyn Eagle]
More Evidence that Avalon is Planning Downtown Tower [Brownstoner]
Avalon Buys More Bridge Street Props from United Land [Brownstoner] GMAP
United Land Unloading Bridge Street Site to Avalon? [Brownstoner]




Posted by Brownstoner at 9:00 AM | Comments (16)
Categories: Development, Downtown Brooklyn

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Comments

Where are they seeing this "big demand" for cookie cutter rental units in high rise construction?

Posted by: wasder at July 14, 2009 9:13 AM

homeless shelters have swelled by 40 % in nyc in the last year alone and yet stuff like this is still being planned and built. what is wrong with this picture?

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at July 14, 2009 9:19 AM

Actually they said it'd be finished in 2 years or so. There was a story on here the other day where someone was saying that there would again be another shortage of apartments in NYC in 2-3 years so I'd say this is probably well planned. Maybe.

Let's hear from Team Bear on that one. Is NYC in a forever 20-40 year downward spiral?? Are you going to look foolish in your long term bearishness of the Capital of The World???

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 14, 2009 9:32 AM

while there is a flood of rental apts. in nyc it is by NYC standards of the past 10 years of a very tight market. So a national company like Avalon can still make a good amount of money by building and charging low rents.

Posted by: brickoven at July 14, 2009 9:52 AM

I think that there is still considerable demand for moderately nice apartments without the crazy designer finishes of the condos. This location has good access to a park, subways, restaurants, highways, and the bridge.

It is also close to a lot of offices and muncipal buildings.

Lots of people want to live close to manhattan, and because of snob zoning in brooklyn heights, dobro is getting the brunt of the development.

As an FYI: by building 1500 units within a few blocks of each other, AB will be able to get significant economies of scale in running the buildings.

Posted by: thwackamole1 at July 14, 2009 9:52 AM

Re: "snob zoning in Brooklyn Heights"
What do you propose, tearing down the brownstones to add some highrises?
The sites that are amenable to development in the neighborhood are being developed. 166 Montague, Love Lane Mews, 20 Henry, 72 Poplar. (I'd argue that any delays in those projects are not because of NIMBYism or whatever you want to call it but more likely unrealistic developer expectations in each case.) 1 BBP if you want to include that. Plus 180 Montague a few years back right outside the historic district.

Posted by: NorthHeights at July 14, 2009 10:16 AM

I'm not quite sure what thwack meant by "snob" zoning, but I think he is right regarding demand for nice apartments in that area. Its a great location, close to everything. And it's actually refreshing to see rentals going up- if there was ever a term to be sick of its "luxury condo". There are plenty of us hardworking peons out here who didn't want or couldn't afford an overpriced, overdone place and for the last 15 or so years, that's pretty much all that was being built.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 14, 2009 10:31 AM

If you can afford to build during a down cycle you get a lot of advantages out of it. Lower construction costs, job creation tax breaks, better margin of safety on a buildings financial plans are all things developers can take advantage of during a time like this. Its actually somewhat of a bullish view of NY real estate if you think that the only way for developers to make money is in an upswing. There is a whole lot of room for developers to make money at price points lower than then peaks.

Posted by: Ledbury at July 14, 2009 10:43 AM

Keep bulding those rental units. Lets get the citywide vacancy rate up high enough so that the rent control rules die!

Posted by: crank at July 14, 2009 10:55 AM

bxgrl - in the end dont you think the only difference between "luxury condos" and these types of rentals is the ownership structure - I mean unless you are in the market to rent or buy, what difference to the general public is it that this building is rental vs. condo - it will be marketed to more or less the same demographic (professional singles & couples), and outwardly it has nothing to distinguish it as a rental - so why is it "refreshing" - I dont get it.

Posted by: fsrg at July 14, 2009 11:19 AM

Hey Brownstoner,

That's the wrong picture (obviously, Brooklyn Eagle has the wrong picture as well). The rendering above is for 388 Bridge across the street:

http://www.slcearch.com/residential/388-bridge-street/

Posted by: FtGreeneCorey at July 14, 2009 11:43 AM

fsrg- I guess because of all the "bitter renter" comments and such where those of us who rent were called losers, financial morons, etc. Now it just seems renting is once again a realistic, even desirable option for a lot of people. It was mostly a comment on the perception.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 14, 2009 1:14 PM

"Let's hear from Team Bear..."

Growl!

For the last 5 years, everything was for sale. Now, everything's for rent (welcome to the rental boom). 101's gonna MURDER rental rates.

10x annual rent is gonna fucking NOSEDIVE.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at July 14, 2009 5:12 PM

There's nothing wrong with renting an apartment and ownership has it's drawbacks, too.

That said, I don't know that we need yet another half-filled high rise. We can't seem to fill the ones we've got!

Posted by: glenwoodnyc at July 23, 2009 1:25 PM

111 Lawrence Street put up a new sign today featuring a colossal black shadow of a woman standing in a provocative contrapposto pose. . . not entirely sure what they intend to market with that. Anyways, I checked out their website, and they claim that they are located in "the core of Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens." Since when did being situated at least a mile from a neighborhood put you in the core of that neighborhood? Fort Greene, maybe, but DUMBO? False advertisement. They are more like MetroTech. After 5pm, I'd be afraid to walk there at night.

Posted by: ericross20 at September 1, 2009 6:42 PM

111 Lawrence Street put up a new sign today featuring a colossal black shadow of a woman standing in a provocative contrapposto pose. . . not entirely sure what they intend to market with that. Anyways, I checked out their website, and they claim that they are located in "the core of Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens." Since when did being situated at least a mile from a neighborhood put you in the core of that neighborhood? Fort Greene, maybe, but DUMBO? False advertisement. They are more like MetroTech. After 5pm, I'd be afraid to walk there at night.

Posted by: ericross20 at September 1, 2009 7:55 PM

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