Albee Square Deal Closes, Fewer Apartments Planned
When the deal was announced back in February, the consortium of investors purchasing the groundlease for the Gallery at Fulton Mall from Thor Equities had big plans: 475,000 square feet of retail space, 125,000 square feet of Class A office space, and 1,000 rental apartments (with 20 percent set aside for tenants of moderate income)….
When the deal was announced back in February, the consortium of investors purchasing the groundlease for the Gallery at Fulton Mall from Thor Equities had big plans: 475,000 square feet of retail space, 125,000 square feet of Class A office space, and 1,000 rental apartments (with 20 percent set aside for tenants of moderate income). Since the deal closed last week for a reported $120 million, it’s come out that the housing component has been scaled back by about 35 percent. The 1.6-million-square-foot tower (which will be anywhere from 40 to 60 stories) will still have 650 apartments, but the switcheroo is expected to result in a loss of about 70 affordable housing units, something that has community groups pissed off. The new owners haven’t announced what they’re going to do with the extra square footage from the 350 axed apartments yet.
Developers Pare Housing Plan for Albee Square [NY Observer] GMAP
Expansion, Skyscraper Planned for Albee Square Mall [Brownstoner]
Albee Square [Acadia Realty]
To Sterling Silver and all the folks who have spoken out today, and who have made living in Brooklyn such a
pleasure all these many years, through good times, bad times, and the horror of 9.11… thank you, thank you… love you guys!
There’s still a strong heartbeat here in
Brooklyn afterall.
We all have to continue to work together in our various communities, as we always have, to insure that ALL folks have opportunities in this borough
to live, work, and prosper.
David, you ask very valid questions, and we ALL need to come up with some solid answers… thank you too for sharing your perspective.
There is no pure “free market” in our country. The government intervenes in commerce all of the time. The government makes decisions about housing everyday such as the greatest entitlement of all–mortgage interest deductions. This is a giveaway that has NOTHING to do with free market economics. Yet, because you benefit, there is no complaint.
There was a time when the NYS gov’t decided that middle class housing mattered. The Mitchell-Lama program was an example of that. The GI Bill was another non-free market example of the gov’t setting priorities. In this case, about education. But I guess you guys would find the GI Bill to be a handout for losers not smart enough to get out of low-paying soldier work.
Heartless. Shortsighted. Cruel.
There is no pure “free market” in our country. The government intervenes in commerce all of the time. The government makes decisions about housing everyday such as the greatest entitlement of all–mortgage interest deductions. This is a giveaway that has NOTHING to do with free market economics. Yet, because you benefit, there is no complaint.
There was a time when the NYS gov’t decided that middle class housing mattered. The Mitchell-Lama program was an example of that. The GI Bill was another non-free market example of the gov’t setting priorities. In this case, about education. But I guess you guys would find the GI Bill to be a handout for losers not smart enough to get out of low-paying soldier work.
Heartless. Shortsighted. Cruel.
There is no pure “free market” in our country. The government intervenes in commerce all of the time. The government makes decisions about housing everyday such as the greatest entitlement of all–mortgage interest deductions. This is a giveaway that has NOTHING to do with free market economics. Yet, because you benefit, there is no complaint.
There was a time when the NYS gov’t decided that middle class housing mattered. The Mitchell-Lama program was an example of that. The GI Bill was another non-free market example of the gov’t setting priorities. In this case, about education. But I guess you guys would find the GI Bill to be a handout for losers not smart enough to get out of low-paying soldier work.
Heartless. Shortsighted. Cruel.
I don’t always agree with David but his question is a very good one: what law would you make or change? Market forces cause developers to be driven by profit. The law tries to limit the market impact through zoning or to direct market forces toward socially beneficial behaviour through tax breaks and subsidies. What else can be done beside complaining? Make a proposal and we’ll debate it. I’ve been thinking hard and can’t come up with anything.
To paraphrase, it seems the current system is the worst, except for all the others.
If people are upset that evil gentrifiers are wising up to “what we’ve known all along” (to paraphrase an earlier poster), i.e. that brownstone brooklyn is a great area and good location, then they should have bought in the past when it was affordable on a blue collar salary, in which case they would now have a choice as to whether they were being “displaced”.
We are talking about renters here, not owners. People with means cannot simply buy property from homeowners (Ratner excluded for this conversation!). Homeowners have to decide to sell. Go and pressure all of the “sellouts” not to make any money or to reinvest it in the community.
And enough with the holier than thou speach about firefighters and police being the most valuable segment of our society. They chose that job and the public does expect them to do it because they pay for the services with their taxes. I think they should be paid more (should be the highest paid in the country frankly).
I don’t feel sorry for cops. While the rest of the world accumulates five- and six-figure debts to get an education, cops are paid to go to school. Once they get out, they enjoy excellent benefits, have plenty of opportunities for overtime, promotions, and raises, and get to retire with pension and lifetime health coverage after only 20 years of service. Yes, they risk getting hurt or killed, but so do cab drivers, bodega clerks, and construction workers. Last but not least, when they or their family members run red lights, park illegally, or drive drunk, all they have to do is flash a badge or business card and they are free to go.
Actually David, you pretty much blow off the jobs of cops, firefighters,etc. by comparing private sector jobs with public/service jobs which benefit and are necessary to all of us. The point being that the people who perform those jobs place themselves in harms’ way to protect us and your precious property. These are the ones you call when you need help (when was the last time you called your real estate agent to get you out of a burning building?). You expect them to be there, and you (and of course I don’t mean just you)expect them to do their job no matter what the cost to them. So why should they put themselves at risk for the rest of us and the best we can say is, well tough? It doesn’t matter that they choose to do the job- where would we be without them? All the pretty marble and wood and glass still looks like crap after a fire. Money won’t save it.
I have a really hard time understanding those who act like cops and firefighters are just doing a job- and they are. But a job most of the rest of us don’t have the guts to do but need. I might also point out that with the highest overall mortality rates in the history of firefighting in this country, NYC firefighters -and cops- earn some of the lowest pay. Most of them need that overtime, and while I am not sure what the percentage is, it’s a fact that many many of them have second jobs to make ends meet. So on top of not getting paid at the same levels as others in the same jobs around the country, they have to deal with the ingratitude of the public. You think we would have learned something in 2001, but no.
This is still city-owned land?