Residents and elected officials in Clinton Hill have organized a public hearing about a proposal to build a new charter school that’s stirring some controversy.

brooklyn real estate 32 lexington avenue clinton hill school
A rendering depicts the proposed building as out of context. Rendering via a tipster

Unity Preparatory Charter School wants to build a seven-story school building at 32 Lexington Avenue that would require a variance because its height exceeds zoning. The site is owned by IMPACCT Brooklyn, formerly the Pratt Area Community Council, a nonprofit advocate for affordable housing and economic development.

The rear of the site already has a six-story residential building with affordable housing at 15 Quincy, constructed in 2008 by PACC, Manatus Development Group LLC and BFC Partners.

brooklyn real estate 32 lexington avenue clinton hill 15 quincy
15 Quincy Street in 2012. Photo by Nicholas Strini for PropertyShark

It is down the street from the former Broken Angel building and across the street from the Salvation Army store at 22 Quincy Street, an architecturally significant 19th century building designed as the Frederick Loeser & Co. warehouse and stable by Francis Kimball.

The proposed school would be 75 feet tall, or 25 feet higher than what is currently allowed by R6B zoning, according to City Council Member Laurie Cumbo, who sent out an email Monday urging locals to attend the meeting. A proposed “extended gymnasium ceiling” would make the building actually 10 stories high, not just seven, she added.

“The variances that have been requested are nearly three times as large as those allowed under the as-of-right zoning,” she said in the email.

A rendering from an unknown source shows the building as 101 feet and 6 inches tall, or more than twice as high as current zoning allows.

The permits filed with the DOB call for a new building on an existing parking lot, with 17 enclosed parking spots.

The proposed school would be a high school for Unity’s 9th through 12th grade students. The school was founded in 2013 and also serves grades 6 to 8.

The architect of record with the DOB is Partners for Architecture of Stamford, Conn. Partners for Architecture was behind the building of another Brooklyn school, the 90,000 square foot Basis Independent Schools in Red Hook, which houses a K-12 facility.

The PACC bought the property for $4.9 million in 2006, public records show.

Community Board 2 will hold a public hearing on the proposed school tonight, Tuesday, April 18 at 6 p.m. at the National Grid Auditorium at 1 Metrotech Center.

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