Downtown Brooklyn
October 30, 2009
Checking In On Fulton Mall Arby's
Earlier this week Lost City stopped by the Arby's at 372 Fulton Street on the Fulton Mall in Downtown Brooklyn. Since finally gaining approval from LPC in June for the interior renovation, the franchisee has been working steadily on the space. Lost City was able to stick its head inside and learned that the fast food joint will be ready to open "in a few weeks." Curious, we decided to head over there yesterday afternoon and were able get take this photo from the doorway. You can't really see the build-out at the rear which is where most of the renovation action is happening but there's certainly plenty of activity going on.
Gage & Arby's Will Be Ready in a Few Weeks [Lost City]
LPC Gives Arby's Go-Ahead for Historic Fulton Mall Space [Brownstoner]
Fulton Mall Arby's Revealed [Brownstoner]
LPC Sends Arby's Back to the Prep Station [Brownstoner]
Arby's Planning to Take Gage & Tollner Space [Brownstoner]
Rumor: Fast Food for Gage & Tollner Space [Brownstoner]
October 28, 2009
Breaking Up the B61
Changes are in store for residents of Brooklyn who rely on the B61 bus line. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it is breaking up the route in hopes of cutting down on delays and improving service. The line, which currently serves 18,500 riders a day, will now run from Queens Plaza to Downtown Brooklyn. Riders will then have to hop on a new second line, the B62, to travel the rest of the way from Downtown Brooklyn to Red Hook. The agency hopes to have the plan in place by early next year. Update: The NY1 article had it wrong. This is from the MTA press release: "The southern B61 route will travel between the Ikea Terminal in Red Hook and Downtown Brooklyn (Smith Street and Livingston Street). The northern B62 route will travel between Downtown Brooklyn (Boerum Place and Livingston Street) and Queens Plaza and will be rerouted past the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal."
October 23, 2009
City Point Heads to Design Commission Next Week
The first phase of the City Point development project at the north end of the old Albee Square Mall site in Downtown Brooklyn goes before the Public Design Commission next week, according to an article from The Brooklyn Eagle; the news was delivered at last week's Community Board 2 meeting. The first phase of the project, which recently received $20 million from the federal stimulus program for stalled developments, is scheduled to get underway in March 2010. This portion is expected to consist of three or four stories of retail topped by 12 or 13 stories of residential, but a rendering won't be released until after the Public Design Commission sees it; about half of the residential units are expected to be market rate, with the balance spread between middle- and low-income units.
City Point Phase 1 Heads to Public Design Commission [Brooklyn Eagle]
October 20, 2009
Development Watch: 177 Concord Street Getting There
Other than most of the little balconies now being place, 177 Concord Street doesn't look that different on the outside than it did at the beginning of the summer; presumably the interiors at the 23-unit project have been proceeding by leaps and bounds.
Development Watch: 177 Concord All Glassed Up [Brownstoner]
Dev Watch: Windows for 177 Concord Street [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
Dev Watch: Karl Conversion at 177 Concord St. [Brownstoner] DOB
What Could Have Been on Flatbush
The music stopped too soon for this retail complex at the corner of Flatbush and Schermerhorn (62-64 Flatbush Avenue, to be exact) to become a reality, but it's still fun to look at. And if you've got $15 million burning a hole in your pocket, the site could still be yours. Actually, the rendering was put together as part of a larger development that W Hotels was thinking of doing on this lot and several other adjacent ones to the west on Schermerhorn. The entire package of properties, which includes about 500,000 buildable square feet, is currently on the market with CPEX for a cool $50 million. A drop in the bucket, right?
62-64 Flatbush Avenue [CPEX] GMAP
350 Livingston et al. [CPEX]
October 13, 2009
Ingersoll Center Finally Open (Sorta)
It's taken seven years, but the Ingersoll Community Center is finally open. Well, not really open yet in terms of the public being able to use the 18,000-square-foot facility, but it was used to host the Ingersoll Tenants Association meeting a couple of weeks ago (just in time, too: Tenants Association head Ed Brown told The Local in August that, “If it hasn’t opened by late September, we’re going to have to hold a major protest”) and, we hear, a ribbon cutting ceremony is not far away. In the meantime, we've noticed chairs, tables and exercise bikes being set up. Bureaucracy at its best!
Seven Years and Counting for Ingersoll Center [Brownstoner] GMAP
Ingersoll Community Center to Open as Soon as July [Brownstoner]
1,500 Rental Units for DoBro
It's hardly news for anyone who's been paying attention, but yesterday Crain's took the time to point out that three new rental developments in Downtown Brooklyn are all hitting the market at roughly the same time: Avalon Fort Greene (left, 650 units), 80 Dekalb (center, 365 units) and The Brooklyner (right, 490 units); studios at all three places are expected to start at about $1,700 a month. (Free rent concessions, though, bring the cost down close to $1,300, which starts to look pretty attractive.) While one of the developers involves admits that she we have preferred a little less competition at the start, we're not so sure the confluence of launches is such a bad thing. (The article also dangles the possibilities of the Forte and be@schermerhorn getting repositioned as rentals.) The biggest barrier to people deciding to rent in these new buildings in Downtown Brooklyn is the lack of a critical residential mass. With all three coming to market at the same time it's a potential game-changer for the area. Now if one of these places could just get a gourmet market or decent restaurant to sign on, they'd be all set.
Get Ready, Brooklyn: Flood of Luxe Rentals [Crain's]
October 7, 2009
Development Watch: Aloft on Duffield
Things continue to chug along at the hotel double-whammy on Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The Sheraton (at left) is almost done, and we hear it should be open by January. The Aloft, which still doesn't have its windows, is on schedule to open by early summer.
Development Watch: Aloft Topped Out [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Aloft/Sheraton in High Gear [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Aloft on Duffield [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Downtown Sheraton/Aloft [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Aloft Hotel Starts to Take Shape [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 222 Duffield Keeps on Chugging [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Sheraton Hotel Fully Aloft [Brownstoner] GMAP
Duffield Doubleshot Halfway There [Brownstoner] P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: Duffield St. Hotels [Brownstoner]
On Duffield Street, Two Stories Down, 23 to Go [Brownstoner]
Giddyup! Best Western Preps for New Downtown Location
There are no new building plans filed yet, but demolition has ramped up at the four small buildings at 55-63 Flatbush Avenue Extension where an 80-room Best Western is expected to rise. Frankly, we're surprised they're moving ahead right now but maybe this is what they call a greenshoot.
Two New Hotels Slated for Downtown Brooklyn [Brownstoner]
55 Flatbush Extension: GMAP DOB 57 Flatbush Extension: GMAP DOB
61 Flatbush Extension: GMAP DOB 63 Flatbush Extension: GMAP DOB
Prices Drop at the Oro Tower
The Oro, a condominium tower in Downtown that reached completion as the real estate boom went bust, is now cutting its prices by up to 25 percent to boost sales. Since the building's marketing campaign launched two years ago, only 90 out of the 374 units have closed, reports Crain's. The publication lists a studio's current price as $295,000, while another three-bedroom goes for over $1 million, and Street Easy has an active one-bedroom listed for $539,000; you can see all of the listings here. What's interesting is that in the Crain's article the developer says that he has no interest in converting the empty units to rentals, as other buildings have done to remain afloat. "Oro has always been a condo building and we intend to keep it that way," he said. Nevertheless, there are two active rental listings on Street Easy, a studio for $1,800 per month and a one-bedroom for $2,850, suggesting that a couple of the original buyers are feeling a little more open-minded on the rental question.
Condo Prices Slashed 25% at Big Brooklyn Tower [Crain's] GMAP
Work Resuming at Oro Part Deux? [Brownstoner]
Oro at 306 Gold Street [StreetEasy]
October 2, 2009
Streetlevel: Johnson Gourmet Deli
This may be old news since we hadn't been down Johnson Street in a while, but it appears that there's a new Gourmet Deli coming to the retail space in the Toy Factory Loft at 176 Johnson. Anyone know anything about it? GMAP
September 28, 2009
Work Resuming at Oro Part Deux?
In the spring of 2008 it was announced that the second Oro site on Gold Street in Downtown Brooklyn was going to be a Hilton hotel. After that announcement, however, the hole in the ground remained untouched for well over a year while the real estate market imploded around it. In recent days, however, there's finally been some action at the site. The pit in the ground has been filled in and smoothed over. We're assuming the work was just to clean up the site for long-term lay-away and no one we reached out to could tell us anything specific. There've been no new applications filed or approved in recent months either. Anyone know what the deal is? In related news, there's been a changing of the guard at the original Oro: Rose Associates has taken the reins from Elliman. Listings (and there are a lot of them) can now be found here.
Second Oro's Hotel To Be a (Nicky-less) Hilton Hybrid [Brownstoner]
Oro 2 Still Shooting for Hotel Component, Says Attorney [Brownstoner]
What's Up with Oro Part Deux? [Brownstoner] Development Watch: Son of Oro, All 40 Stories Of It [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB
Son of Oro, All 40 Stories Of It [Brownstoner]
September 24, 2009
New Website, Logo for 80 Dekalb
80 Dekalb is getting sooooooo close. With just about every window in place, the 36-story rental project from Forest City has put up its splash site. There's no pricing info yet, but you can check out the nifty new logo and motto. And how about that url! Nice 4-letter dotcom: dklb.com.
Development Watch: 80 Dekalb Getting Close [Brownstoner]
80 Dekalb Tops Out [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: 80 Dekalb Facade Spreading [Brownstoner]
A Touch of Glass for 80 Dekalb [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 80 Dekalb Reaches 25 Stories [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 80 Dekalb Avenue Halfway There [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 80 Dekalb Avenue [Brownstoner]
Taxpayers Paying Up for Downtown Rental [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 80 Dekalb Avenue [Brownstoner]
80 Dekalb Avenue: Get Ready for Take-Off [Brownstoner]
September 22, 2009
Condo of the Day: 189 Bridge Street, #13D
After a couple of years of anemic sales, 189 Bridge Street went largely rental last year, but now it looks like there's another push to sell some units. The priciest apartment currently on the market is a bi-level bachelor pad on the 13th floor. The one-bedroom has a private terrace with impressive views and lots of "luxury" finishes. Given that there's less than 1,300 square feet of interior space, the asking price of $1,321,905 seems a little wacky. After all, it's a far cry from Dumbo.
189 Bridge Street, #13D [Sotheby's] GMAP P*Shark
Bridgeview Tower Goes Rental [Brownstoner]
Sleepless on Livingston
According to the Livingston Street resident who sent in this video, it's been hard to get any sleep the past couple of nights. After watching, we can see why!
September 17, 2009
Parking at the BellTel
It was back in January when we mentioned that the BellTel condos in Downtown Brooklyn were about to provide parking for its residents. Here we are, over eight months later, and, via a tipster, we can finally say it's true: resident-only, $250 to $300 per spot, plus valet. They've offered tiny down payments and price cuts—let's see if parking can help the former telecom building unload any of its remaining units. GMAP
BellTel Parking on Tap [Brownstoner]
September 16, 2009
Closing Bell: Shopping for High-End Retail at 345 Adams
McBrooklyn has provided visual evidence, above, of the current campaign to get a classy retailer in the large commercial space at Downtown's 345 Adams Street, next door to the newish Morten's. The space, which Muss Development bought from the city more than a year ago, used to house Department of Finance offices. The firm marketing the space told the Eagle that they're looking for a tenant like Brooks Brothers. So far, though, it's been businesses like Staples and Duane Reade that have expressed interest in taking the lease.
Marketing Underway at 345 Adams Street [McBrooklyn] GMAP
Citypoint Recovery Bonds Approved
Despite some last-minute noise from critics, the city's Capital Resource Corporation yesterday approved $20 million in Recovery Zone Bond Financing for the City Point project that is slated to rise in stages on the site of the old Albee Square Mall in Downtown Brooklyn. The announcement included some specific info about the timeframe and staging of the mega development:
Phase 1A of the City Point development will commence in March 2010 and will be the first portion of the eventual 184,000 square-foot retail development. It will be completed March 2012. Phase 1B fills out the retail complex, will include at least 120 units of affordable housing, and will begin construction by March 2011, to be completed by March 2014. The financing approved today will serve to advance the entire 1.6-million-square-foot project which will eventually encompass retail space for local and national retailers, affordable as well as market rate housing, and possibly commercial office space.
Bombs away!
Sparks Fly over Bailout for Downtown Development [Brownstoner]
City Point Gets Financing Boost from The Feds [Brownstoner]
City Point: Half Now, Half Later [Brownstoner]
September 14, 2009
Sparks Fly over Bailout for Downtown Development
At a public hearing on Thursday, debate arose over the plan to grant CityPoint, the stalled Downtown development, $20 million in tax-exempt stimulus bonds. The proposed development, on the Fulton Mall, would include retail and office space as well as mixed-income housing, and supporters of the project, including Borough President Marty Markowitz, say that it will bring jobs to the area, boost the local economy, and promote further development in the area. Seth Pinsky, president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation and chair of its Capital Resource Corporation, the group that will decide on the stimulus request on Tuesday, told The Brooklyn Paper that the bonds will cost $308,000 in tax revenues over 30 years, but the project will generate $340,000 in construction-related tax revenues, $5.7 million in tax revenue from “ongoing operations,” and the creation of 100 construction jobs and about 70 permanent retail jobs in the portion of the development built from stimulus dollars. Opponents say that the developers don't deserve a bailout for a risk that bottomed out, and they question how much the project would actually benefit the neighborhood: the jobs created are of low quality; national retailers might displace local merchants; and the affordable housing will still be too expensive for some low-income families in the area. John Tyus, a member of Families United for Racial and Economic Equality, told the Paper, "Fundamentally, this project does nothing to benefit the Brooklyn community, and this is a straight-up Bloomberg bailout of developers who speculated and made poor financial decisions." GMAP
Foes and Supports Clash over $20-mil Fed Bailout [Brooklyn Paper]
City Point Gets Financing Boost from The Feds [Brownstoner]
September 9, 2009
Possible Perils of the Sands Street Bike Path
The Sands Street bike bath, the slick new route for bicyclists entering or exiting the Manhattan Bridge, only opened this summer, and already there are problems. Last week, Gothamist rreported that the raised portion of the bike bath between Navy and Gold has proven to be irresistible to illegal parkers; in addition, Transportation Alternatives notes bicyclists often make dangerous diagonal crossings when dealing with the double crosswalks at Sands and Jay where the bridge path lets out. The project isn't complete yet, and the DOT told Streetsblog that they are working on both of these issues. GMAP
Double Parkers Gravitate into Sands Street Bike Path [Streetsblog]
New Sands Street Bike Lane Perfect for Cable Guy Parking! [Gothamist]
Photo by Gothamist
September 4, 2009
Be@Schermerhorn Hits Another Snag
Bad news for the developer of be@schermerhorn, the too-late-too-the-party 246-unit project at 189 Schermerhorn Street on the intersection of Downtown Brooklyn and Boerum Hill. After a dismal initial effort to sell units at crazy-high prices, the sales effort was relaunched last spring with 10 to 20 percent price cuts. According to an article in yesterday's New York Post, sales were subsequently "strong" but it was too little too late. "We're in stalled mode right now," says Mario Procida of developer SDS Procida. "We had a time [limit] we had to sell out." As a result, those in contract are now able to get out. All hope is not lost, though. The developer stays he still may be able to reach an agreement with the bank that would let him move forward with the sales process.
Welcome to Downtown Brooklyn's Hottest Pocket [NY Post]
The Be@Schermerhorn Price Cuts We've Been Waiting For [Brownstoner]
What's Going On at Be@Schermerhorn? [Brownstoner]
Checking In On Be@Schermerhorn [Brownstoner] GMAP
Price Cuts at Be@Schermerhorn [Brownstoner]
Inside Be@Schermerhorn [Brownstoner]
September 1, 2009
Brownfield Investigation Begins at 388 Bridge Street
Remember back in the spring when we broke the news that the 450,000-square-foot residential development at 384-388 Bridge Street in Downtown Brooklyn was being held up not by market conditions but instead by a lawsuit surrounding potential contamination from a dry cleaners that had been on the site for more than four decades? Although we reported at the time that the site had been admitted into the state's brownfield program, the Department of Environmental Conservation just yesterday put out the formal announcement. Over the next two to three weeks there will be a "supplemental investigation" to determine whether full remediation is necessary; the most recent tests in November showed that the soil itself did not contain abnormal levels of contaminants but that the soil vapor did contain chlorinated vapor contamination. Following the supplemental review, the DEC will put together, and present for public review, a Remedial Work Plan.
Contamination Found at 384 Bridge Street, Lawsuit Filed [Brownstoner] GMAP
A Wrench in 388 Bridge Street's Plans? [Brownstoner]
August 31, 2009
Forte Officially Goes Back to the Bank
So it goes: The Clarett Group has officially ceded control of the Forte condo. A deed transfer recorded last week for $42.3 million to Eurohypo bank means the lender now has control of 72 units in the building. According to the deed document, Clarett and Eurohypo struck the deal way back in April, but it didn't close until a couple of weeks ago.
Clarett, Goldman Lose Control of Forté [Brownstoner] GMAP
230 Ashland Transfer [ACRIS]
August 25, 2009
Development Watch: 277 Gold Street
At this point, while its sibling at 257 Gold Street is a little further behind, 277 Gold Street must be about ready to open for business. Since we last checked, there's a banner proclaiming the existence of a website for the rental building at www.bklyngold.com, but it's just a placeholder where you can submit your contact info; nothing juicy like layouts and prices just yet.
Development Watch: 277 Gold Street [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 235 Gold Street [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 277 Gold Street [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 235 and 277 Gold Street [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 277 Gold All Topped Out [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 277 Gold Street [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
Development Watch: 235/277 Gold Street [Brownstoner] DOB
Mystery Downtown Development Going Affordable
The New York Post ran a story yesterday mentioning two luxury condo buildings in talks with the city to unload their unsold units as affordable housing. One building is in Harlem and the other in Downtown Brooklyn, according to the article, but officials cannot reveal where the properties are while negotiations are still occurring. Any guesses, readers? The article says that the city is in negotiations with "banks that have foreclosed on the properties," and that the Brooklyn development is in Downtown. The leading guesses in the Forum are Forte and be@schermerhorn (above). What do you think?
City Dealing to Make Luxe Condos Cheaper [NY Post]
Latest Restaurant Additions
-
Chickadee Chick
added November 6, 2009 12:00 PM in Park Slope -
Vutera
added November 5, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Park Cafe
added November 4, 2009 12:00 PM in Park Slope -
Bahia
added November 3, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Aqualis Grill
added November 2, 2009 12:00 PM in Fort Greene -
Wombat
added October 30, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Organic Heights
added October 29, 2009 12:00 PM in Park Slope -
Giardini Pizza
added October 28, 2009 12:00 PM in Carroll Gardens -
Rye
added October 27, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Bati
added October 26, 2009 12:00 PM in Fort Greene