Long-in-the-Works Prospect Plaza Affordable Housing Complex in Ocean Hill Nears Completion

1845 Sterling Place

Development

Ocean Hill

Jul 10, 2018 • 10:00am

by Craig Hubert

The final phase of the massive affordable housing complex known as Prospect Plaza, located at 1845 Sterling Place in Ocean Hill, is getting close to the finish line.

All of the buildings in the complex have different names. This one is dubbed the Saratoga Site.

On a recent visit, the construction fences were down, the facade was complete and interior work was happening in the street level spaces, with what appears to be an office set up in one of the spaces.

The building’s Eastern Parkway entrance

When we last visited in August 2017, the building had almost topped out, and the facade was just starting to go up.

When complete, the building will stand five stories and house 123 apartments. It will have a parking garage, a ground-floor grocery store, and a two-story community center topped with a greenhouse on the roof.

To break up the brick facade, there are russet, light blue and apricot panels between some of the windows.

A window detail

The old Prospect Plaza complex was emptied in 2000 — 17 years ago — with the promise that families could move back in after renovations. But the renovations never happened, the complex was eventually demolished, and families never got a chance to return to their homes.

NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) are developing the complex, alongside Pennrose Properties, Blue Sea Development, Duvernay + Brooks and Rosenberg Housing Group.

Interior work at the Eastern Parkway entrance to 1845 Sterling Place

The architect is Dattner Architects, which has designed many 100 and 80/20 percent affordable housing complexes in Brooklyn, including Fort Greene’s Caesura and East Flatbush’s Camba Gardens Phase II.

The building’s Sterling Place facade

The first two phases of the complex are already complete, with certificates of occupancy issued for 1751, 1760 and 1765 Prospect Place, public records show.

An affordable housing lottery launched for 1760 Prospect Place in 2016, and another for 1845 Sterling Place in 2017.