Dumbo: Past, Present, Future

This weekend’s cover story in The Times’ real estate section about Dumbo is notable not just because it might be the first article in the past couple of decades about the neighborhood that does not include the name “Walentas,” but also because it spotlights the continued evolution of one of Brooklyn’s most expensive and in-demand areas. Some highlights:

New Development: As has been covered here, there’s a development boomlet in the neighborhood, including Toll Brothers’ build at 205 Water Street; the conversion of 192 Water Street; and the condo at 37 Bridge Street. The newsy bit is that Toll says it expects to get $800 per square foot at its condo when it’s completed.

Dumbo’s Rep: “‘It was cool in the ’80s,’ said Doreen Gallo, the executive director of the Dumbo Neighborhood Alliance, a residents’ group. ‘It was very cool in the ’90s.’ Now, she said, ‘it’s different.’ Many of the artists who lent the neighborhood its character have been forced to move, she said, and historic buildings have been lost. On the other hand, the rezoning, which many preservationists opposed, has delivered residents, businesses and cultural institutions.”

Its Office Scene: Well-covered territory about how businesses like Etsy and Brooklyn Industries have their HQs in the ‘hood; fun you’ve-come-a-long-way-baby quote about how a digital marketing and design agency that launched in the neighborhood in ’99 used to have security guards walk female employees to the subway.

Future Development: There aren’t that many places left to build, but there are lingering questions on whether the two Watchtower-owned parking lots in Dumbo, one the rezoned property at 85 Jay, will ever be developed.
Bringing Up Dumbo [NY Times]