Using Meier to Sell Brooklyn to Manhattanites
Are Manhattanites ready to pay Manhattan prices for an apartment in Brooklyn, albeit one designed by arguably the biggest brand name architect in town, Richard Meier? It’s too early to tell, but Mario Procida, the developer behind On Prospect Park is betting a lot of money that the answer is yes. As his brother puts…
Are Manhattanites ready to pay Manhattan prices for an apartment in Brooklyn, albeit one designed by arguably the biggest brand name architect in town, Richard Meier? It’s too early to tell, but Mario Procida, the developer behind On Prospect Park is betting a lot of money that the answer is yes. As his brother puts it, “There are always 100 rich people who will pay for a piece of fine art…Mario’s got the only piece of fine art in Brooklyn.” Since opening for business in late October, somewhere north of 12 units (or about 10 percent of the inventory) have been sold. Asking prices are around $1,200 a foot, an untested milestone for the borough. Procida says his costs are well over $700 a foot and The Times estimates that he would have trouble breaking even at $850 a foot. Clearly sales haven’t been as fast as hoped, but, to be fair, the building is not complete yet and most people have a hard time with “the vision thing.” In his targeting of Manhattan buyers, the developer has gone so far as to locate the building’s sales office in Tribeca. Other developers question this strategy: “I think the Brooklyn buyer is a Brooklynite,” says a partner from the Clarett Group, which is building the Forte high-rise on Fulton Street in Fort Greene. Do you think OPP is going to sell out at or near the current asking prices? And to do so, will it have to be mostly Manhattanites doing the buying?
Betting on Star Power [NY Times]
Photo by Tracy Collins
I prefer houses and do not believe it is possible for any rational person to believe differently from me.
I concur 100%; The Bronx is the next modern Brooklyn…for the reasons Eryximachus said, however people think of Brooklyn (or the Bronx) being expensive areas as strange should really look at history. The aborration is the period of hyper (c1955-1985) suburbanization which decimated many part of NYC. Brooklyn and the Bronx coming back makes perfect sense given their histories.
tenements? MJ — when was the last time you walked down St. Johns Place?
i gave time warner as an example because of the proximity to the park as some were saying it didn’t justify the price being so far from the park.
it is not far. at all. it’s a few steps.
and in terms of any other comparison…it’s not all that off the mark. the direct correlation between the development that has occurred around the time warner center (which before it was built was not the greatest neighborhood in the world) has been quite extensive.
given the amount already invested in prospect heights and the continuing development that has been occurring, there are some similarities.
of course there is no retail component, and you are right, it is not a tourist destination (which in my mind makes on prospect park more desirable), but the location is a very nice one. and people will be paying for the chance to live in a meier building, with access to the park, museum, library, farmers market, etc. i don’t think the tenements you speak of would deter anyone anymore than the tenenments all over hells kitchen and the east village that are interspersed with high end condos.
I think the comparison to Time Warner is a bit odd- considering the TW center is a “destination” in itself in a way that One Prospect most certainly is not. Lets face it, you’d move to 1PP for the general neighborhood- museum, park, and library. But there is really nothing in that immidiate area on that side of the street that should command those prices. Also, I used to live on the back side on One Prospect and I can assure you, anon 10:19, that there are DEFINITELY tons of tenements. I dont mean directly on Eastern Parkway. But Linoln Place, etc, has tons, and so do the surrounding blocks. Im not knocking the building, I actually think it is lovely and adore that aesthetic, but very overpriced for location.
I hope this building does well, if only to encourage higher end development in the borough.
One of my fears is that if this project fails, Brooklyn will be left to the Scaranos and Boymelgreens that only build lower-end crap.
we went to the sales office and it was a little creepy, everything in white, the soft, soothing music. it reminded my wife of ‘the island’ (movie), like we were all being mind-warped. she also didn’t like the fact that everything in the kitchen was ‘hidden’ in cupboards and such – for example the exhaust fan is behind another set of white cupboards. anyway, we would probably have bought one except we need to move before oct 08
i don’t agree that this is far from the park. if you consider crossing a street, far, then perhaps.
it’s the exact same distance the time warner center is to central park, and that building seems to have done ok.
in terms of a walk to restaurants, it’s a very short walk over to 7th avenue in park slope, and even shorter walk to vanderbilt avenue with some nice places and maybe a 10-15 minute walk to 5th avenue in park slope.
once the weather gets warmer, i think this place will start doing a little better. spring draws the crowds out in park slope/prosepct heights like no other neighborhood i’ve seen. i really do think it’s a nice looking building.
I’ve thought of buying in the Meier building because I love running in Prospect Park, but friends in Brooklyn tell me the walking distance to restaurants/bars is too far and that’s probably my #1 concern. Also, the congestion/noise from that huge intersection bothers me.
I’d much rather buy a crappy brownstone and renovate/restore it myself for the same price or maybe less.