Chilly Reception for Variance Request on Adelphi
In 2006 a developer paid $1,550,000 for the 45-foot-wide lot at 74-76 Adelphi Street in Fort Greene with the intention of building a seven-story, 16-unit residential building. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get his act together fast enough and only managed to start construction two days before the area was officially rezoned to R5B in…
In 2006 a developer paid $1,550,000 for the 45-foot-wide lot at 74-76 Adelphi Street in Fort Greene with the intention of building a seven-story, 16-unit residential building. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get his act together fast enough and only managed to start construction two days before the area was officially rezoned to R5B in an effort to keep development more in line with the existing low-density architecture in the area. Needless to say, he didn’t get enough done in two days for DOB to consider the project vested under the old zoning and he was shut down.
Fast forward more than three years later to last week’s CB2 Land Use meeting: A representative of the developer appears to make the case for being allowed to proced with the original seven-story building, claiming economic hardship based upon the $133,000 “soft” costs already invested in the project way back when. Not surprisingly, the motion was not well received: Several neighbors, the Fort Greene Association, and Council Member Letitia James (who questioned the validity of the documents provided by the developer and said the request was “highly suspicious” after three years of site inactivity) all registered their opposition and the Land Use subcommittee voted to disapprove the variance. In the meantime, the construction site still has some open DOB and ECB violations. You can see how much work has been done at the site after the jump.
Whats the story with this area, it seems to be kind of a no mans land, wedged in between the bqe and navy yard?
Is it?
There’s no excuse for that kind of neglect. I live in the area and it’s littered with vacant lots near the BQE. The new condos all sit empty or in some state of construction limbo. It’s a developer hell and obviously not enough demand to fill these ugly and expensive buildings.
The developer was stupid to purchase the land to begin with, and even worse if it meant the demolition of an existing building. Although I’m not big on any kind of vacant lot, the land should be used for something community-based. Bravo to the subcommittee for keeping trash construction and developers out of Ft.Greene/Clinton Hill.