Pfizer Sells Plant but Not Other Parcels
Yesterday Crain’s reported on Pfizer’s “surprise agreement” to sell its manufacturing plant in Williamsburg to a Long Island City-based real estate investment firm called Acumen Capital Partners, which specializes “in buying empty buildings in the outer boroughs and converting them for light industrial and commercial use, as it now plans to do at the Pfizer…
Yesterday Crain’s reported on Pfizer’s “surprise agreement” to sell its manufacturing plant in Williamsburg to a Long Island City-based real estate investment firm called Acumen Capital Partners, which specializes “in buying empty buildings in the outer boroughs and converting them for light industrial and commercial use, as it now plans to do at the Pfizer site.” A couple years ago Pfizer announced that its plan to convert the plant and adjacent parcels into a huge mixed-use development with an emphasis on affordable housing wasn’t economically feasible, and before that happened, Vito Lopez did his best to try to control the site’s redevelopment. Anyhow, while the Crain’s article notes that Acumen’s “conversion should bring jobs back to the area” and the company “emphasizes environmental sustainability when redeveloping properties,” the deal does not include about five acres of land that Pfizer says could still potentially be turned into housing. Combined with the iffiness of the nearby Broadway Triangle redevelopment plans, though, it doesn’t seem like this section of Brooklyn is going to be seeing large-scale residential construction in the near future.
Sprawling Pfizer Plant in Brooklyn Sold [Crain’s]
Photo by robot glue.
I’m pretty sure the local Satmar community would want to live there. They have tons of new apartment houses adjacent to these lots. I’m sure they’re still having children and are coveting this land. And they’re not all that concerned with “locally grown,” “artisan,” or hipster bars.
Phizer didn’t ‘SELL’ the plant. Agreement to do so. Quite different.
grandpa’s right on…might I also propose some urban retail/commercial to support the ridiculous amounts of new resiential in the past 5-7 years. it is needed. if they go the manufacturer route without considering the above uses, it will be big mistake. this area is served excellently by the JMZ route. the M route can have 6-7 ave. manhattanites to some good retial commercial in no time flat. about 7-9 stops from 42nd without getting off.
and like grandpa says, its time to support some of the creative in the hood with maybe some combo retail/office space utilizing the hieghtht in the hood.
if the co. is smart, they’ll make a prime first-adopter move in the hood with above uses.
not sure who would want to live here – it’s at least a mile in any direction before you find anything “locally grown” or “artisan” pfffft.
Like I said, the consensus has always been that this site should be used for some sort of light manufacturing/industrial purpose, ideally with an incubator/jobs training component. Not sure if the latter will come to be, but the industrial part seems to be in the cards. I don’t know anyone who thought that the building should be used for residential.
BHS – There’s an RFP out now for a “kitchen incubator” – check EDC’s website.
Start up incubator seems like a great use for the building. Wasn’t there an RFP going around not long ago where some group was looking for a an incubator site in Brooklyn?
This site would be ideal for small high tech start ups, artists and light industry. Nice to see actual productive activity being encourage instead of the same old luxury condo retread. The city should push this building as a start-up incubator. Sure the neighborhood is a little rough around the edges, but it is only getting better.
As best I can tell, Pfizer only sold the building and an adjacent parking lot, which isn’t the property that Lopez (or anyone else) wanted for residential use. I believe Pfizer still holds the large vacant parcels north of Flushing that are what everyone is eyeing for affordable housing.