Fourth Avenue: Gentrification or Ghettoization?
In this month’s Real Deal, our own Gabby Warshawer checks in on what was supposed to be the “new Park Avenue,” a rezoned 4th Avenue whose up-to-12-story buildings and subsequent creative entrepreneurialism would transform the hood. Well…not so fast. “Because of the credit crunch, a number of buildings that were initially planned as condos will…
In this month’s Real Deal, our own Gabby Warshawer checks in on what was supposed to be the “new Park Avenue,” a rezoned 4th Avenue whose up-to-12-story buildings and subsequent creative entrepreneurialism would transform the hood. Well…not so fast. “Because of the credit crunch, a number of buildings that were initially planned as condos will now come to market as rentals. The frenzied pace of construction of new residential projects should also slow, due to a dearth of easily developable lots,” they write. “In fact, development sites on the strip that are actually selling are fetching far less now than they were just a few years ago.” Those creative entrepreneurs can’t very well open retail in buildings that don’t have retail space, as is the case with many of the new mammoth structures. (Northern 4th Avenue, though, where fewer buildings have been razed and replaced, has a couple of retail hits with Sheep Station and the Ethiopian restaurant Ghenet). Those buildings that finished before the financial meltdown fared pretty well, though. The Argyle (a former advertiser) is 70 percent sold, and the Crest and Novo reported healthy sales, too.
Fourth Avenue on Slippery Slope [The Real Deal]
I live off of 4th ave. It has certainly come a long ways and will continue to improve, but the poor quality of the new architecture is not helping. 4th ave needs its own aesthetic committee.
It will take another 15-20 years but it will get there. And that is not being pessimistic. Look at how far Boerum Place and Atlantic Avenue came in this market upturn. It all started 20 years ago, but stopped in the 90s and then kicked up even more in the last 5 years. The same thing will happen with 4th. These things just never complete in one real estate cycle. People who buy now and stay will do well.
A couple of points:
Agree with the other couple posters that using the word “gehttoization” is unimaginative, gratuitous, and inaccurate.
Polemicist is absolutely right, Fourth Avenue is pretty much a highway in practice, and as such will never be the most desirable place to live when compared with the blocks on either side of it. The building boom there is purely a function of the number of people wanting to live in Park Slope vs. the inability to build anywhere else. At the right price point, people will live there. Unless something changes, it’s not going going to be a prime shopping or residential location just because zoning was chnaged to allow the contruction of large buildings.
“Any place Minorities out number whites is now suddenly termed Ghetto on Brownstowner.”
Suddenly? Ha! Shamefully, that sort of coded language been liberally applied by too many posters on this site for as long as I can recall.
I’m no architect, but many of the residential buildings I see going up on 4th AV don’t appear to be particularly well constructed or designed. I’m just saying.
There’s no retail cuz the new buildings are zoned at street level for ‘community service’ uses.
P, I know you hate fast driving, but the speed limit is 30mph unless o/w posted
Park Avenue doesn’t have retail. The problem with Fourth Avenue is not the lack of retail.
The failure is due to city not zoning the entirety of the street from Atlantic Avenue to Prospect Avenue as residential. The tax depot will forever be an eyesore. The gas stations will never be replaced with housing.
There is also the issue that Fourth Avenue is a highway. Had they made a large park median, things could be different. Instead however, we have a 4-6 lane highway with lights that encourage grossly violating the citywide 25 mph speed limit.
Ghenet is delicious. I wish there were more reasons to head down to 4th ave, but it’s still pretty desolate. The stalled condo developments have, unfortunately, negatively contributed to its appearance instead of improving it, and there’s nothing to do there. Why are all of these buildings going up without retail space? How is 4th Ave supposed to cultivate the restaurants and shops that will make it appealing if there’s no space for them?
Well 4th Ave has a LOT potential – close to 5th Ave, 2 subway stations, some cultural interest, etc. But it will require a lot of effort both in the private and public sector to make it really shine. High rise on the 4th Ave side is good since the Ave is very wide. The city needs upgrade the center divide (trees, grass, etc).
4th Avenue…the hood? I’m sorry that’s the dumbest thing I’ve read in a long time. 4th Ave is desolate but its not hood at all. And the term Ghettoization…what the hell is that. I would enjoy a day that the term Ghetto and Brooklyn aren’t in the same sentence, especially when it comes to parts of Brooklyn. Its starting to become offensive. Any place Minorities out number whites is now suddenly termed Ghetto on Brownstowner.