Affordable Housing in Pfizer Site's Future?
Pharma giant Pfizer announced yesterday that it would be shuttering the Flushing Avenue plant where the company commenced operations 156 years ago towards the end of next year. Along with concern about the closing’s impact on the location’s 600 workers came speculation about its real estate implications. In addition to the 660,000-square-foot plant betwen Marcy…
Pharma giant Pfizer announced yesterday that it would be shuttering the Flushing Avenue plant where the company commenced operations 156 years ago towards the end of next year. Along with concern about the closing’s impact on the location’s 600 workers came speculation about its real estate implications. In addition to the 660,000-square-foot plant betwen Marcy and Tompkins, the company own another 15 acres of land nearby, including the site of the charter school it launched recently. The availablity of a site this size provides Mayor Bloomberg with a rare opportunity to achieve his affordable housing goals. The area would have to be rezoned for residential, but the Mayor said yesterday that he planned to pursue that course of action. As for Pfizer? “We will look for a solution in keeping with the surrounding neighborhoods,” a spokesman said. What would you like to see done with the site?
Shutting Doors Where a Drug-Making Giant Began [NY Times]
Pfizer to Axe Brooklyn Plant [NY Post]
Pfizer Job Cuts May Mean Loss Of Tax Breaks [NY Sun]
Photo by hi-lo
ZoLofts. Priceless.
LOL 10:06
How about as the site of the New Police Academy? Plenty of parking, would help get more police on the streets of Brooklyn, and would serve as a catalyst for bringing businesses to an area that is pretty underserved.
This area should be rezoned to residential with an affordable housing quotient. That way, organic development will happen and there will be market-rate and affordable units.
Realistically, the city will probably negotiate a sweetheart deal for a “favored” developer and the whole project will be subsidized by taxpayer dollars.
this area is a bit of a bombed-out wasteland. it will take a special project indeed to unite and harmonize the marcy houses & the window grate-crazy hasids.
Mixed use with middle and low income cooperative housing!
Let’s see…convert each floor of the plant to affordable $3 mil. lofts. Then, build a huge gate around the lofts to keep the plebeians and “undesirable element” out. Oh, and the ground floor should be converted to a Starbucks. Just a suggestion.
how about the ZoLofts?
So would the loft conversions be marketed as The Drug Factory?