Near the Bridges, Huge Towers For Flatbush
We missed this Crain’s article last month about the condo boom along downtown Flatbush. Three of the biggest projects to emerge from last Summer’s rezoning efforts include: 1. 167 Johnson Place: 40-story and 35-story towers. 2. Flatbush and Tillary: Isaac Hager’s 400-foot-tall tower. 3. Myrtle East of Flatbush: Several 30-ish-story towers. Not surprisingly, in the…
We missed this Crain’s article last month about the condo boom along downtown Flatbush. Three of the biggest projects to emerge from last Summer’s rezoning efforts include:
1. 167 Johnson Place: 40-story and 35-story towers.
2. Flatbush and Tillary: Isaac Hager’s 400-foot-tall tower.
3. Myrtle East of Flatbush: Several 30-ish-story towers.
Not surprisingly, in the last three years, prices for a buildable square foot in this vicinity have gone from $75 to $150, according to Massey Knakal. Update: Turns Out Brooklyn Papers also covered the story recently. Check it out below.
Condo Builders on Flatbush [Crain’s via WiredNY]
Downtown Glitz Jumps Flatbush [Brooklyn Papers]
Well, unless someone plans on training and then hiring a sizable population of the people in those projects, and I mean training them for real, viable-in-today’s-marketplace-jobs, putting copper sheathing on the projects is the equivilent of gilding the birdcage. Looks pretty, but doesn’t do a damn thing for the bird.
There are rumors floating around that the Ingersoll and Whitman housing projects will be converted to coops. I called hpd almost 3 years ago to inquire if this was true. The person that I spoke to said yes. However, I spoke to a friend recently and he said that it’s all rumors. So, I’m not sure what’s what.
The building that’s going up across from duane reade is supposed to be a community center. I wish they would just get it over with. They’ve been building this community center for the last 3 years.
Incidentally, the housing projects are slated to get a make-over by Scarano Architects. They’re supposed to get what looks like new copper dome roofs (green tinted). Looks really cool.
To see what it will looks like:
go to http://www.scaranoarchitects.com/
click on ‘projects’, then roll your mouse over ‘affordable housing’.
I’m excited by this new look.
This might sound a bit naive to you design gurus out there but I actually like the work that Scarano is doing in Brooklyn. I’m not up on all the politics (e.g., maybe the firm is partially responsible for unsafe work sites) but it seems to me like he’s bringing a lot of cool looking buildings to brooklyn.
East of Flatbush, on the north side of Myrtle, there’s one narrow retail block, then four solid blocks of housing projects stretching to the east. How will the development on Myrtle east of Flatbush fit in (both literally and figuratively) with the Ingersoll and Whitman housing projects?
And does anyone have any idea what’s going up in front of the ingersol houses, across myrtle from the duane reade?
I, for one, am jealous of Isaac Hager. The biggest thing I’ve built is forty feet (four stories) tall. What does a developer aspire to if he’s building gargantuan buildings so young. Times Square 110? (It could be like Taipei 101, but be nine stories taller and look like a giant stilletto heel)
Developers shouldn’t be in such a hurry as young men. There is plenty of time for plowing through neighborhoods in the future. Just look at Bruce Ratner!
I actually like the design of metrotech. It’s a great space to walk around. Many of the metrotech bashers on this post probably would feel differently if they took the time to explore it. It’s really cool during christmastime. Plus, you have free entertainment in the summertime (concert series).
Sarah, you’re on the money. Take lots of photos and videos because that’s all that you’ll have left after those skyscrapers go up. The upside is that university towers won’t be as isolated as it now appears to be. You’ll be in the center of the mix (willoughby square); surrounded by luxury condominiums, additional park settings, etc. You’ll be able to roll out of bed and walk to the upscale fulton mall, plaza, etc. You’ll have your own downtown community, distinct from fort greene and clinton hills.
I have mixed feelings about the redevelopment. I live in University Towers and I have an awful feeling my skyline view will be gone very, very soon.
Phew, it’s really hard for me to imagine that people will rush to spend money here. It’s not Fort Greene, it’s not Brooklyn Heights or even DUMBO — it’s just crummy, ugly old downtown Brooklyn with the bullet-proof liquor store on Myrtle, the Metro Tech ghost town across the street, and the traffic, noise and pollution of Flatbush Ave. Yuck!
Hope when they build all of this new housing, they price it so that it sells/rents at prices that don’t rule out everyone except Wall Street brokers, or 6 recent college graduates rooming in a 2 bedroom apartment. If I see one more building touting “luxury lofts/apartments/condos/apartments”. Argh!! No one has ever been able to explain to me where all of these rich people are supposed to come from. Will everyone be spending 75% of their earnings on rent/mortgage? This city is in desperate need of affordable housing. All of the articles predicting population growth are not talking about hordes of Wharton grads descending on the city by the thousands, they are talking about immigrants, other Americans, as well as all of the middle to lower end of the economic spectrum people who flock to this city from all over the world. Where are they supposed to live?