Broker Dreams Of Outlet Shopping At Revere Site
Good brokers don’t just sell property, they sell a vision, especially when dealing with raw land or an area on the cusp of change. Red Hook might have missed this past gentrification wave but the sleepy neighborhood of 11,000 will no doubt be flooded with shoppers once IKEA opens June 18. Change is inevitable, considering…
Good brokers don’t just sell property, they sell a vision, especially when dealing with raw land or an area on the cusp of change. Red Hook might have missed this past gentrification wave but the sleepy neighborhood of 11,000 will no doubt be flooded with shoppers once IKEA opens June 18. Change is inevitable, considering IKEA openings in far less dense cities have caused deadly stampedes, rendered stoplights useless and clogged expressways so badly desperate shoppers simply parked and hopped the fence (things calmed down after awhile). Some people try to push back the tides of change, others surf on them. Massey Knakal director of sales Landon McGaw told us he thinks the neighborhood is ripe for an outlet mall and said Thor Equities’ Revere Sugar Refinery site would be the perfect location. The refinery has been demolished, leaving a huge waterfront lot between Fairway Market and IKEA that allows 1.3 million square feet of development, according to Property Shark. “There’s no outlet shopping in all of New York City,” said McGaw, adding that he has a direct line to one of the nation’s most prolific outlet shopping mall owners and knows developers here who have been mulling the idea. “Vorando, Related [Companies], they all have their eye on Red Hook.” Just think, one day you could outfit your entire life for rock-bottom prices by visiting Red Hook’s waterfront: Nab your pre-fab dining room set and bold curtins at IKEA; last season’s J Crew khakis at Revere Outlet Mall; and gourmet fare at Fairway. See how Thor Equities responded after the jump…
Even if outlet shopping becomes a reality here, it would be several years off and we think it would run into considerable opposition. But like most suburban-style implants that offend many peoples’ most basic urban sensibilities, if an outlet mall actually opened it would probably be buh-nan-ahs. We asked Thor Equities spokesman Stefan Friedman if the retail magnate is considering McGaw’s idea (the above rendering, sans sign, was unearthed a while ago by Curbed and has a residential component). He responded with this statement: “280 Richards Street provides an enormous opportunity to develop something really special given Red Hook’s ongoing revitalization … We are therefore keeping all of our options open and look forward to hearing suggestions from the community about how to best develop this parcel.” So, what do you think?
StreetLevel: Hook IKEA Opening Soon [Brownstoner]
Revere Dome Comes Back to Life in Shipping Mall [Curbed]
IKEA Openings Everywhere Leave Path of Mayhem, Cars [Answers.com]
IMO the upside sown funnel-shaped reference in this rendering to the dome of the demolished structure is shameless–almost obscene!
“Transportation has absolutely nothing to do with it. A large portion of the upper east side by Gracie Mansion (some of the most expensive real estate in the city) is as far from any subway station as Red Hook.”
Yes, but most people who live in Red Hook are low income and most who live on the Upper East side are filthy rich and can afford either A. Taxis or B. Drivers
I don’t I’ve ever even seen a Taxi in Red Hook. They know they aren’t gonna get much business.
We ourselves don’t have a car but literally every house on our block has one. People totally drive to shop. Whether Bloomie likes it or not. Brooklyn doesn’t offer enough good amenities, that’s the problem. I don’t even like the groceries in Park Slope and Park Slope generally has the best stores in Brooklyn. So the city gives us no choice but to have to buy or rent cars to do our bulk shopping.
As long as each individual outlet store is under 10,000 square feet, this whole thing could happen as of right, without any public review at all. The NIMBYs would be totally frozen out. I love it!
That’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard. Even Bill DiBlasio admitted on Lehrer last week that IKEA was a mistake. And it’s one we don’t need to keep making.
Put Big Box stores off 4th Avenue. (I can’t wait to hear the hew and cry over that.) But Red Hook can be something special and this is a waste of valuable resources that could be developed in a more interesting and original fashion that also helps the residential part of the neighborhood rather than hurts it and appeals to people from other neighborhoods. (If you don’t think so then consider why we don’t put an outlet store on the piers at the end of Atlantic Avenue rather than the proposed Brooklyn Bridge park. That’s actually closer to major traffic arteries and those piers are also under utilized industrial relics.)
Why can’t we have the performance space that Joe Sitt floated at a CB6 meeting? (That was supposed to be one option for repurposing the Revere Dome, but then he simply tore it down.) Or considering the number of artists and arts oriented events in the neighborhood, a branch of a major museum. This could be done in conjunction with smaller scale, independent retail options, and maritime uses. Portside NY is looking for waterfront space to site their community sailing project. And they need a permanent home for the Mary Whalen.
Allowing the waterfront to go to Ikea was the biggest fucking development mistake this city ever made. It is absurd to even consider following that colossal Doctoroff brain fart with more of the same.
Transportation has absolutely nothing to do with it. A large portion of the upper east side by Gracie Mansion (some of the most expensive real estate in the city) is as far from any subway station as Red Hook. If the city decided to let Red Hook go residential, a Walentas type developer with long term vision could turn this neighborhood with some of the most beautiful views in all of New York City into something really special.
To allow this waterfront property to become a big box haven is absurd and this Massy Knucklehead broker should have an entire bag of frozen Ikea Swedish meatballs crammed down his throat.
I’m going to be sick.
Today: Red Hook.
Tomorrow: Wilmington, DE
Another reason to keep brokers from creating a “vision” – that thing is so but ugly it looks like it could be anywhere.
12:02 said ‘Retail is something people will be drawn to regardless of the lack of transportation. I think this is a GREAT idea.’
If there is NO transportation in Red Hook…how are people going to get to the retail????
Not everybody in Brooklyn has a car.
Before they start devoloping Red Hook as the outlet center of Brooklyn, they need to figure out how to get people there to shop.