News
November 20, 2009
Development Watch: 575 5th Avenue Coming Along
All the construction netting on the Fifth Avenue Committee's supportive housing project on 5th Avenue and 16th street has come down, and it's now possible to see progress on the corner of the structure. The rendering above shows how it's supposed to turn out.
Development Watch: 575 5th Avenue Gets Its Brick On [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 575 5th Avenue [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 575 5th Avenue [Brownstoner]
575 Fifth on a Roll [Brownstoner] GMAP P*SharkDOB
DOB Green-Lights 575 5th Avenue [Brownstoner]
City Planning Approves FAC Project at 575 5th Ave [Brownstoner]
Marty DK's Fifth Avenue Housing Project [Brownstoner]
City Planning Considers 5th Ave Housing Facility [Brownstoner]
FAC Development at 575 Fifth Avenue [Brownstoner]
StreetLevel: South, New 5th Avenue Bar, Opens
South, the new bar in the former Vin Rouge space on 5th Avenue between 17th and 18th streets, has opened. According to BlackBook, South is run by the same people who own the Brooklyn Ice House in Red Hook and has half a dozen beers on tap.
StreetLevel: New South Slope Bar on Tap [Brownstoner] GMAP
Plans for J.J. Byrne Park in the Slope Unveiled
The schematic plan above details the next round of renovations the city is planning for J.J. Byrne Park in the Slope. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) The revamps are the result of a couple years' worth of community listening sessions on how to improve the park, and they will result in more distinct play areas for kids of different ages and new, adult-themed spaces like a seating area with cafe tables. Funding is in place for the overhaul, and the Parks Dept. is aiming to break ground next fall and finish the work in about a year. Meanwhile, you can check out the plans in the flesh in the gallery of the Old Stone House on weekends.
City Planning Facelift for Slope's J.J. Byrne Park [Brownstoner] GMAP
Extreme Makeover Planned for J.J. Byrne Park [Brownstoner]
November 19, 2009
150 Bond Finally Sells—For a Loss
The sale of 150 Bond Street, which was a House of the Day a number of times, was recorded in public records yesterday. The price: $1,400,000. The property, which was pitched as a gutted blank slate that would allow its new owner to "build your dream house in Boerum Hill," first hit the market asking $2,495,000 in March '08. The price was cut several times until it was asking $1,595,000 this summer. The seller purchased it for $1,725,000 in September '07. This one seems like it was a victim of unrealistic pricing from the get-go and a down market in which fixer-uppers are a tough sell.
House of the Day: 150 Bond Street Revisited GMAP P*Shark
Open House Picks: Price Cut Edition [Brownstoner]
Houses of the Day: A Couple of Price Cuts [Brownstoner]
House of the Day: 150 Bond Street [Brownstoner]
150 Bond Price History [StreetEasy]
Commercial Klutch: November Edition
Another report from the trenches courtesy of our anonymous commercial real estate correspondent...
This year's biggest pure market disaster is arguably retail rents, off from thirty to fifty percent. Prime space in Dumbo once worth nearly $60 a foot goes for $37.
Smith Street from$80-plus down to $55 - or less. Back to reality is good news for tenants. Anybody with the chutzpah to open any type of store today deserves a break!
Liberal bank lending, which fueled the boom, now limits condo sales with absurdly tight underwriting standards. Old story - banks lend too much then they lend too little. When will they get it right? To be fair, the investment bankers, rating agencies and attorneys together killed the secondary market banks early on. Still, does water boarding borrowers help anyone?
Hard for tenants to resist when four large projects (Tillary, Myrtle, DeKalb, Lawrence) open at the same time. Great for DoBro, great for tenants, goodbye developer equity. Somehow living in high-rise full-service new construction doesn't seem like the Brooklyn thing to do.... Could be fun though.
Area office rents, after dropping thirty percent, have stabilized. DoBro vacancy rate according to the four monster commercial brokerages that survey us, is lower than Manhattan. Take that small island.
Flattery Vs. Rambo..... Some have called the area bounded by Tillary, Jay, Sands and Prince Street RAMBO (right After the Manhattan Bridge overpass) when owners there tried to call it Dumbo. Broker Paul Murphy coined FLATTERY. I like that better. Let's go with it. What do you think?
Prior Commercial Klutch Posts [Brownstoner]
November 18, 2009
Development Watch: 169 16th Street
More than three years after the BSA voted against granting a variance to developer Isaac Katan on 15th Street, the smaller building rising on the land in question—which fronts both 15th and 16th streets—is starting to show itself. The development was originally supposed to be the sister building of the Vue but was only allowed to be built to 5 stories. A resident of the block said that he's concerned about the influx of cars that he believes will descend upon 16th Street when the project's garage is complete: Between this and the Vue, he says 16th Street is primed to become a "traffic nightmare."
BSA Gives the Heisman to Katan [Brownstoner]
DOB Backs Community Opposition to 15th Street [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB
BSA Hearing on 182 15th Street [Brownstoner]
Coming to Bergen: Mid-Century Furniture Dealer
A poster has gone up in the window of the former Unameable Books space on Bergen Street saying the storefront will soon be home to a business called Grandma's Attic that specializes in "mid-century furniture." The store's website says the company is based in East Meadow and has been around for a couple decades. A taste of their wares is on this Flickr stream. GMAP
Atlantic Terminal Station: So Close!
After all these years of construction, the Atlantic Terminal Station is looking very, very near to finally being finished. Another milestone was reached a couple weeks ago, when the blue fence outside the station was replaced with a chain-link number that allows one to behold the exterior and some of the interior.
A Peek Inside the Atlantic Terminal Station [Brownstoner]
Atlantic Terminal Station May One Day Be Complete! [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Atlantic Terminal Station [Brownstoner] GMAP
Atlantic Terminal Station Gets Glassy [Brownstoner]
Atlantic Terminal Station Starting to Show its Face [Brownstoner]
Stimulus Funding for Flatbush Affordable Housing
Using money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Tax Credit Assistance Program, the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development earlier this week announced that ten affordable housing projects around the city would receive a total injection of more than $28 million; the ten projects would collectively add 600 units of housing. Just one of the projects is in Brooklyn, reports The Eagle. It's a 53-unit development planned for 97 Crooke Avenue in Flatbush. The $2,239,000 in government funding will go to construct 32 units of supportive housing and 21 units of affordable housing for those making 60 percent of the area median income.
B’klyn Housing Benefits From Stimulus Funding [Brooklyn Eagle] GMAP
A Few More Sales Trickle In at BellTel
It's not a lot for a building with 250 units, but it's something. A press release just went out yesterday trumpeting the fact that four units at the BellTel Lofts had sold recently; sales prices ranged from $559,000 to $900,000 and three of the four buyers took advantage of FHA loans. The building is now over 55 percent sold.
Belltel Joins the FHA Club [Brownstoner]
Targeted Price Cuts at Belltel Lofts [Brownstoner]
Checking In On The BellTel Lofts [Brownstoner]
Belltel Parking On Tap [Brownstoner]
Belltel Lofts: 50% Percent Sold [Brownstoner]
The Belltel Lofts: 40 Percent Sold [Brownstoner]
Shooting In Boerum Hill
A reader emailed us last night after arriving home at around 8 o'clock to find that her block of Warren Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues had been shut down following a shooting. There were a couple of dozen cops on hand, and they said that someone from the nearby Gowanus Houses had been shot; she inferred from there comments that it was a teenager. She also inferred that the shooter was still on the loose. Anyone else nearby pick up any other details?
BSA Smacks Down 580 Carroll Hardship Claim...For Now
Yesterday the Board of Standards and Appeals told the developers of 580 Carroll Street that they'd have to come up with a new rationale for why they should be allowed to build a denser structure than zoning allows. The board basically said it wasn't buying the developers' explanation for $2.85 million in cost overruns: That unexpected masonry chambers associated with the old substation on the land required them to drill rather than drive piles. "Why didn’t you do some better assessment of your own site?" asked one board member, referring to the fact that the 580 Carroll team based a lot of their cost analysis on the site conditions of other projects in the area, rather than their own. Meanwhile, a few people who live near the site and Councilman-elect Brad Lander spoke out against the BSA granting a variance. The opponents' arguments included statements about how the block's infrastructure isn't well-equipped for increased residential density and that the developers shouldn't be rewarded for incompetence. The BSA said it would give the developers until the end of December to come up with completely new arguments for a hardship variance and it would hold another hearing on the matter in mid-January.
580 Carroll Developers Cite Chambers of Horror [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 580 Carroll Gets Its Glass On [Brownstoner]
BSA Postpones Decision on Carroll St Norten Again [Brownstoner]
580 Carroll Decision Postponed [Brownstoner]
Slope Rallies Against 580 Carroll, Rags on the BSA [Brownstoner]
Battle Over Carroll St. Norten Build Heats Up This Week [Brownstoner]
CB6 Doesn't Buy Carroll Street Hardship Claim [Brownstoner]
580 Carroll Developer Trying to Supersize Norten Project [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 580 Carroll Street [Brownstoner] GMAP
Enrique Norten-Designed Project in Park Slope Revealed [Brownstoner]
Four Developments Coming to One Stretch of Carroll [Brownstoner]
November 17, 2009
Footage from 357 4th Street Condo Lawsuit
Holy crap! We were just sent the link to a video the plaintiffs in the Corcoran lawsuit made a couple of years ago to document the flooding problems in their newly purchased condo at 357 4th Street.
Corcoran Found Negligent in Park Slope Condo Sale [Brownstoner]
State Supreme Court Rules Corcoran "Negligent" [TRD]
E-mail Shows Couple's Suit vs. Corcoran Group Holds Water [NYDN]
Last Week's Biggest Sales
1. PARK SLOPE $1,650,000
113 Garfield Place GMAP (left)
When this 3-story brownstone was first a House of the Day in April, it was asking $1,800,000; by July it was asking $1,675,000 and the widget guess on it was $1,399,683. Entered into contract on 8/12/09; closed on 10/30/09; deed recorded on 11/12/09.
2. MILL BASIN $1,550,000
2285 East 66th Street GMAP (right)
According to StreetEasy, this 3,840-sf, waterfront house was originally asking $2,499,000 in May. Entered into contract on 9/2/09; closed on 10/15/09; deed recorded on 11/10/09.
3. PROSPECT HEIGHTS $1,549,000
574 Carlton Avenue GMAP
This 3,600-sf, 2-family house was listed for $1,549,000 in May, according to StreetEasy. Entered into contract on 7/30/09; closed on 11/5/09; deed recorded on 11/12/09.
4. SUNSET PARK $1,280,000
737 60th Street GMAP
This is a 3,200-sf, 4-family, according to Property Shark. Entered into contract on 6/9/09; closed on 8/20/09; deed recorded on 11/13/09.
5. BOERUM HILL $1,200,000
423 Atlantic Avenue, #2M GMAP
When this 3-bedroom loft was a Co-op of the Day last December, it was listed for $1,300,000. The price was reduced to $1,250,000 in May. Closed on 10/28/09; deed recorded on 11/13/09.
Garfield Place photo from Property Shark; East 66th Street pic from StreetEasy.
NV Now 85% Sold
Remember the upbeat news back in May that the NV had sold 17 out of its 40 units in the first four months of the year? Well, now the glassy new development at 101 North 5th Street has sold another 17 (according to the sales agent), bringing the percentage sold up to 85 percent. Ah, to be a condo development and be at least 50-percent sold.
Signs of Life for Williamsburg Condos? [Brownstoner] GMAP
Johnson Gourmet Deli Revealed
When we first saw the signage for the Johnson Gourmet Deli at 176 Johnson Street, we thought it might be the great culinary savior of this newly residential part of Downtown Brooklyn. Based on our pass-by last night, though, those hopes appear to have been somewhat misplaced, though we're sure the first wave of Oro residents will be happy to have a clean and convenient spot for deli food and essentials. It certainly beats the place across the street!
Streetlevel: Johnson Gourmet Deli [Brownstoner] GMAP
City Planning Targeting Curb Cuts
Better late than never! The Department of City Planning announced the start of the 60-day public comment period on the proposed Residential Streetscape Preservation text amendment. The effort addresses long-standing concerns by many people about the inconsistent standards and application of rules governing curb cuts in residential neighborhoods. (The recent dust-up over a proposed cut at 97 St. Marks Avenue leaps to mind.) We've cut-and-pasted the press release with all the details about curb cut restrictions below; the language also includes rules governing front-yard planting. "Many neighborhoods have been blemished as front yards have been turned into parking spaces, interrupting the pedestrian experience,” said Commissioner Burden. “This proposal will require planting in front yards, move parking to where it belongs and prohibit inappropriate curb cuts." Bravo.
November 16, 2009
Ditmas Park Gets the 'Living In' Treatment
'Tis the season to love on Victorian Flatbush, it seems, and the latest story in that vein comes from this weekend's "Living in..." article about Ditmas Park in the Times. The piece describes Cortelyou's retail and dining options as a neighborhood anchor and, increasingly, a big lure for new and old residents. There's also an interesting snapshot of Ditmas Park's real estate climate: Area broker Mary Kay Gallagher says that following the $1 million-mark being passed for houses in the area in the past decade, Victorians usually start at around $900,000. Another broker, however, says the down market is resulting in home prices as low as $800,000 and that "We haven’t seen these kinds of numbers in, I’d say, well over 10 years." Ditmas Park Blog'sreaction to the story notes that while its descriptions of the area's gorgeous housing stock and evolving dining scene are on the mark, it neglects to mention DP's team spirit: "We came for the space, but we stayed because we like our neighbors, the laid back feel of the place, and the fact that folks like to slow down and enjoy each others’ company."
Living in...Ditmas Park [NY Times]
Moved for the Space, Stayed For... [Ditmas Park Blog]
Photo by florence wang
November 13, 2009
Development Watch: Avalon All Glassed Up
Although the first move-ins were just pushed back by a couple of weeks, Avalon Fort Greene just reached an important milestone in its development history: At some point in the last couple of days, the last window was installed.
All Is Revealed at Avalon Fort Greene [Brownstoner]
Avalon Fort Greene Coverage [Brownstoner] GMAP
StreetLevel: Cortelyou Market, Wine Bar Coming Along
Work was humming along yesterday on two future adjoining Cortelyou Road spots, a Middle Eastern market and a wine bar. According to Ditmas Park Blog, the wine bar will be called Castello Plan. Both businesses are being opened by an owner of Mimi's Hummus, says the Voice. GMAP
Brooklyn Sales: Under a Million
Some of the sales recorded last week that went for $1 million or less:
$250K or under: FLATBUSH (?)
759 East 10th Street, #7J; Price=$175,000 GMAP
It seems like this co-op probably falls within Flatbush's boundaries, but its listing called it Midwood. The 2-bedroom was first asking $219,000. Closed on 10/23/09; deed recorded on 11/5/09.
$250-$500K Range: EAST NEW YORK
585 Sheffield Avenue; Price=$390,000 GMAP
This 3,300-sf house was listed for $455,000 in April, according to StreetEasy. Entered into contract on 8/28/09; closed on 10/27/09; deed recorded on 11/6/09.
$500-$750K Range: BEDFORD-STUYVESANT
747 Hancock Street; Price=$609,000 GMAP
When this property was an Open House Pick in June, it was listed for $699,000. Its listing described the 2,940-sf 2-family as in "mint condition." Entered into contract on 9/24/09; closed on 10/28/09; deed recorded on 11/5/09.
$750K-$1 Million Range: FORT GREENE
One Hanson Place, #12H; Price=$945,000 GMAP
According to StreetEasy, this 1475-sf, 2-bedroom was first listed for $1,222,431 in May '08. The price was reduced to what it sold for this August. Entered into contract on 9/17/09; closed on 10/30/09; deed recorded on 11/5/09.
Photos from Property Shark.
Stalled 4th Avenue Site Sold; Work Resuming?
Yesterday the sale of the stalled site on 4th Avenue and Carroll Street was recorded in public records for a hair over $9 million. The incomplete building, which has been a no-go for many months now—and, on occasion, scary as hell to behold—may yet be completed. A construction crew has come back to the site in the past week and appear to be doing remedial work, which is all the SWO on the property allows. There hasn't been any new permit activity in the past year, but hopefully all these signs are pointing to a future non-carcass on 4th Ave.
Horror Show Friday: Scary Winds on 4th Ave & Carroll [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 255 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]
255 4th Avenue on the Rise [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: 4th Avenue Twofer [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Unstable at 255 Fourth Avenue? [Brownstoner]
574 4th Avenue: The Full Monty
We took a look at progress on the big 4th Avenue rental near the expressway only a few weeks ago, but since then the construction netting on the project has all come off. And there...it is.
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue [Brownstoner] GMAP
Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue Gets Going [Brownstoner]
Brooklyn Gold Joins the Downtown Rental Party
Avalon Fort Greene, 80 Dekalb, the Brooklyner, and now Brooklyn Gold: There's definitely no shortage of new rentals available in Downtown Brooklyn at the moment! The leasing office for Brooklyn Gold, aka 257 and 277 Gold Street, opened a few weeks ago. The 510-unit development's website says asking rents are starting at $1,401 for studios and $1,532 for 1-bedrooms (that's "net," so the prices probably take into account concessions like a couple months' free rent). The first building that's leasing is 277 Gold Street, and at the Brooklyn Real Estate Roundtable on Tuesday one of its developers said it's probably going to take another four or five months for some of the buildings' amenities—which include an indoor swimming pool—to be finished. 277 Gold has 133 units and its big brother, 257, has 377.
Development Watch: 277 Gold Street [Brownstoner]
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
Big Turnout for 437 Waverly Auction
There was a big turnout and lots of bidding yesterday at the auction for the shell of a house at 437 Waverly Avenue in Clinton Hill. The first round of bidding was done privately on paper, with the highest bid coming in at $415,000. At that point, the public bidding started at $415,000 and quickly worked its way up to a winning bid of $540,000, well above what we thought it would go for (and far above the pricing widget average of $382,448. Surprised?
Waverly Shell Coming Up for Auction [Brownstoner]
437 Waverly Avenue [Brooklyn Properties] GMAP P*Shark
Latest Restaurant Additions
-
Le Barricou
added November 20, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Der Schwarze Kölner
added November 19, 2009 12:00 PM in Fort Greene -
Oak Wine Bar & Café
added November 18, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Mr. Wonton
added November 17, 2009 12:00 PM in Park Slope -
Casa Rosa
added November 16, 2009 12:00 PM in Carroll Gardens -
Cousin John's Café & Bakery
added November 13, 2009 12:00 PM in Park Slope -
Elote
added November 12, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Miracle Grill
added November 11, 2009 12:00 PM in Park Slope -
Phoebe's Cafe
added November 10, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Ruthie's
added November 9, 2009 12:00 PM in Clinton Hill, Downtown Brooklyn