Navy Yard Kicks Off Supermarket RFP Process
With the fate of Admirals Row all but set in stone, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. moved ahead yesterday with its plans to find a developer to build a 40,000-square-foot supermarket and an additional 60,000 square feet of additional retail and light industrial space on the six-acre plot of land at the southwest corner…
With the fate of Admirals Row all but set in stone, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. moved ahead yesterday with its plans to find a developer to build a 40,000-square-foot supermarket and an additional 60,000 square feet of additional retail and light industrial space on the six-acre plot of land at the southwest corner of the Navy Yard that is still controlled by the Federal Government but is expected to come under the BNYDC’s control in the near future. “We think this is a very unique opportunity for a developer to secure a long-term lease on a site where you can put a large supermarket, said Navy Yard chief Andrew Kimball. The winning developer would have to also finance and perform the rehabilitation of the Timber Shed and one of the Admirals Row houses, a task that could cost $25 million or more. The deadline for responses to the RFP is October 19. A complete press release is included on the jump.
Grocer to Edge Out Admirals in Navy Yard [Crain’s]
Proposals requested for Brooklyn Navy Yard [TRD]
RARE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP SUPERMARKET
& RETAIL CENTER AT BROOKLYN NAVY YARD
Proposals sought to transform six-acre site in underserved community
Brooklyn, NY (July 9, 2009) A rare opportunity to develop a neighborhood retail center anchored by a large format supermarket is now available at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) is seeking proposals to develop a six-acre site, known as Admiral’s Row, on the western edge of the Yard, in the midst of a densely populated part of the city that is underserved by large format supermarkets.
The request for proposals (RFP) seeks developers interested in building the retail center that will include a large format supermarket of no less than 40,000 square feet, as well as an additional 20,000 square feet of neighborhood retail space. According to the RFP, optimal development of the site also will include a minimum of 40,000 square feet on an upper floor to accommodate light industrial uses and could include additional upper floor commercial uses. The site is easily accessible by subway and bus, as well as by bridges and highways and will include significant on-site parking. The project requires the renovation of two historic structures on the site. A pre-submittal meeting and site visit will be held for interested developers on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 and responses are due by October 19, 2009. The RFP is available online at www.brooklynnavyyard.com.
In addition to the rapidly growing surrounding communities, nearly 40,000 residents live within a ten-minute walk of the site and 5,000 people work at the Navy Yard everyday providing a built in consumer base for the retail center, said Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, which manages the 300-acre industrial park on behalf of the City. Our goal is to put this property back to productive use by providing a unique opportunity for developers with the capacity and track record of establishing supermarkets and community-oriented retail that will serve the community and create local jobs.
The development of Admiral’s Row will continue the expansion underway at the Brooklyn Navy Yard — its largest growth since WWII adding over 1.5 million square feet of new space and 2,000 jobs over the next two years. BNYDC’s commitment to sustainable infrastructure investments and new green buildings has made it a national model for sustainable industrial parks. The development of Admiral’s Row will build on this track record of sustainability and success.
The Administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has made a significant commitment to improving and modernizing the Yard’s infrastructure by allocating $200 million in City capital funding. The Yard’s existing four million square feet of space — currently consisting of 40 rentable buildings with more than 240 tenants — is 99 percent occupied
About the Brooklyn Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard is owned by the City of New York and managed by the not-for-profit Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. BNYDC leases space in the Yard, promotes local economic development, develops underutilized areas and oversees modernization of the Yard’s infrastructure. The corporation’s board of directors is comprised of leaders of Brooklyn’s economic development community. Established in 1801, the Brooklyn Navy Yard served as one of America’s preeminent military facilities for more than 150 years. Closed by the federal government in 1966, the City of New York subsequently assumed ownership and re-opened the Yard as an industrial park.
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It isn’t poison ivy, it’s basil.
I think the wild dogs ate the squatters.
and squatters, sam – your forgot about the squatters. And the wild dogs.
This site has everyting any developer could dream of. proximity to low-income housing projects, vacant factories, empty lots, collapsing buildings deemed historically significant, Federal and city red tape, and lots and lots of poison ivy.
MM – I find it somewhat puzzling that you, who are often one of the more reasonable commenters on this site, are so often completely off base when it comes to this subject.
First, it’s unfair to claim that the Navy Yard should have fixed the site but instead, passed the buck. It was never their property, nor was it their responsibility. Should you be blamed if your neighbor’s roof leaks? The guilty party in this case is pretty clear – it was the feds. No sense in blaming the inncoent bystanders.
Second, are you seriously using this RFP as proof positive that the site is easily accesible? Anyone who knows anything about this part of brooklyn knows that, while the site has many positive attributes, easy access to transit is not one of them. This RFP is basically a marketing document meant to attract potential developers. Of course it’s gonna say that it’s got great transit. Do you also believe that Miller Light tastes great and is less filling?
It does now since Catasiminidis (sp?) tore down the only one in the area. One he promised to rebuild.
This area definitely needs a supermarket.
The admirals row parcel is definitely owned by the Federal Government. The Army National Guard has been made the agency in charge (lucky stiffs). They are very interested in unloading it, er, selling it, at market rate, to the City of NY, who will then, in turn, lease it or in someway convey it to the Navy Yard Corporation. Got that? Now, in order to “dispose” of this excess piece of Federal Property, there is a whole complicated bureaucratic process that needs to be undertaken including an environmental study. Part of that study identifies “historic resources”. The historic resources part of the study has its own process called the “Section 106 Review”. The whole thing is endless as is always the case with the Feds.
The City has first dibs on the property but is not sure it wants it after all if it has to pay to restore two of the buildings on the site identified by the Section 106 study as “significant”. It really just wants to get someone to build a supermarkets and extra leasable manufacturing space. So……..before the city commits to buying the land it is putting out an RFP to see if there are any developers out there, awash with money and financing, that would be willing to clear the jungle, restore the two houses, build the new buildings, and still make a profit.
I somehow doubt it. My guess is that five years from now, the site will look much the same with the exception that the vegetation will be just that much denser and the old buildings will be even more engulfed by vines and trees.
From the Navy Yard press release above – “The site is easily accessible by subway and bus, as well as by bridges and highways and will include significant on-site parking.”
Isn’t the supposed inaccessibility of the Row one of the reasons given by some of the opposition here to developing the Row as a tourist destination? I distinctly recall being called some kind of pollyanna-esque dreamer by more than one person for suggesting the development of a historic site museum complex could bring tourists to the Yard. “Oh no, it’s too far off the beaten track. There’s no transportation, blah, blah.” Gee, the Navy Yard doesn’t seen to think so……now.