Affordable Housing Lottery Opens for Fort Greene Tower With $1,782 Units
On a site that long ago housed a candy factory, the Fulton Street high-rise features a dog park, yoga and dance studio, and parking garage.
Rendering via NYC Housing Connect
An affordable housing lottery has opened for 331 apartments in a new 40-story tower on Fulton Street in Fort Greene. Known as the Rocklyn, the 1,102-unit development has taken the place of a low-rise building that housed a dollar store.
The lottery for 12 Rockwell Place and 625 Fulton Street Apartments includes studio, one-, and two-bedroom units, all rent stabilized and income restricted. They are set aside for households earning 80 to 130 percent of the Area Median Income, or between $64,903 and $227,500 a year for households of one to five people, according to the listing.
There are 52 actually affordable apartments, all at 80 percent of AMI: 13 studios priced at $1,782 a month, 13 one-bedroom apartments for $1,904, and 26 two-bedroom apartments renting for $2,272 a month. At 130 percent of AMI, there are 279 units comprising studios at $3,385, one-beds at $3,595, and two-bedrooms at $4,244 a month.
Market-rate units started leasing in March, according to StreetEasy, and listings are live on the development’s website. The cheapest current listing is a studio for $3,183 and the most expensive is a two-bedroom for $7,232 a month.
Technically two buildings, the complex was designed by Fischer Rasmussen Whitefield Architects and developed by Rabsky Group. The Rocklyn comprises one 40-story tower at 625 Fulton Street with 1,050 apartments and a second five-story building with 52 apartments at 12 Rockwell Place.
The apartments are equipped with dishwashers and air conditioning, according to the listing. The development’s website adds they have white oak floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, and built-in speaker systems.
Tenants pay for electricity, which includes heating, hot water, and stoves at 625 Fulton Street and stoves at 12 Rockwell Place. The listing says tenants will get one month free rent on lease signing for the studio units at 130 percent of AMI.
The complex offers a yoga and dance studio, gym, spa, rooftop terrace, dog park, media room, dog washing station, bike lockers, and garage parking, but some amenities may require an additional fee. Pets up to 50 pounds are allowed, according to the listing.
Renderings on the development’s site show the apartments’ large windows, white finishes, light wood floors and cabinetry, and stainless steel appliances. Stores will fill the ground level, according to permits. The complex’s facade is done in copper and dark metal paneling and is covered in evenly spaced square windows. Many of the units appear to have glass-enclosed balconies, while setbacks on multiple floors offer landscaped outdoor space.
The property is in lis pendens, according to public records — a warning the lender could foreclose. One of the largest developers in Brooklyn, Rabksy Group has projects in Gowanus and recently acquired the historic Crown Heights Nassau Brewery.
Rabsky Group bought the property, which runs along Fulton Street between Rockwell Place and Hudson Avenue, for $158 million in 2015, city records show. The developer purchased it from Forest City Ratner, which acquired the lot in 1989 and converted it from a candy factory into an office building, according to The Real Deal.
Prior to selling, Forest City Ratner demolished the seven-story building that stood on most of the site in 2014. Google Maps images show Dollar Deal was operating out of a smaller commercial building on the site that was razed sometime in 2020.
The Rocklyn is within the Downtown Brooklyn rezoning area that requires a portion of affordable housing in new development. The project uses the city’s Inclusionary Housing Program and will likely get the 421-a tax break, according to the listing.
The 12 Rockwell Place and 625 Fulton Street Apartments lottery closes on September 15. To apply, visit the listing on New York City’s Housing Connect website.
Related Stories
- Brownsville Affordable Housing Lottery Opens With $1,197 Three-Bedrooms
- Affordable Housing Lottery Opens for Fort Greene Tower With $1,869 Units
- Affordable Housing Lottery in Fort Greene Opens With $2,004 Studios
Email tips@brownstoner.com with further comments, questions or tips. Follow Brownstoner on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
Some of the “affordable” studios ($3385 for those earning 130% of AMI) are more expensive than market rate studios ($3,183). Perhaps people who are wiser than me (and they are legion) can explain that to me. Seems to me we should focus on creating deeply affordable housing rather than futzing around with units for those making more than the median income. Or use a narrower geographic area to determine AMI. So bizarre…
Intuitively, the math looks a little strange. 130% of AMI is not double 80% of AMI, but the price jump is almost double (with variance depending on size).
But these formulas have to take in account of single people, couples, adult children with a parent, etc. My guess is that there is a lot of compromise in coming up with the income grids and asset caps.
As for the price differential between market rate and affordable units, I think the $3,183 “headline” price for market rate is taking into account the two months free offer.
If that is the case, then the true monthly rent is (3,183/10)x12 = $3,819 per month.
Continue to read — at 130%, 2 beds start at $4,244. Do you know how cheap that is in Brooklyn? It is extremely unfair for people who just miss 130% of AMI. These affordable 20% of the units increase the prices of the rest of the units and we need to pay 4500-5000 for a one bedroom and 6500-8500 for a two bedroom! On a side note, if you cannot pay at 80% nor at 130% rates, why don’t you look at other apartments rather than complaining?
This is a private, for-profit luxury development that is required to include a modest amount of income restricted, rent stabilized housing (what the city calls “affordable”) because it takes advantage of a rezoning. Separately, the city builds fully subsidized 100 percent genuinely affordable housing aimed at those making zero to 80 percent of the Area Median Income — but they don’t build very much of it because funding is limited. The city could build more if there were more funds (among other things). One way to create more funds without increasing taxes is to use the profits from a public bank, as they do in France. We have written a number of stories on this topic. Here is one: https://www.brownstoner.com/real-estate-market/affordable-housing-nyc-solutions/