Chetrit Stitches Up Hospital Buy for $15 Million
Brooklyn Hospital may not have found a cure for its ailing finances, but it recently got a $15.6 million band-aid. That’s the price the Chetrit Group paid for the former Caledonian Hospital on Parkside Avenue, according to public records. The multi-building complex—which fronts Prospect Park—can support a residential development larger than 200,000 square feet. Caledonian…
Brooklyn Hospital may not have found a cure for its ailing finances, but it recently got a $15.6 million band-aid. That’s the price the Chetrit Group paid for the former Caledonian Hospital on Parkside Avenue, according to public records. The multi-building complex—which fronts Prospect Park—can support a residential development larger than 200,000 square feet. Caledonian was downgraded from a hospital to a health center a few years ago, according to Across the Park. (Non sequitur: We’re not sure exactly what neighborhood this is in, since it’s not exactly Prospect Park South or Prospect Lefferts Gardens, far as we can tell. This just plan ol’ Flatbush?) The property’s high-flying buyer, the Chetrit Group, owns more than 50 commercial and residential buildings across the U.S., including a stake in the Sears Tower. And the firm’s been making significant inroads into Brooklyn lately, with developments planned for two sites in Williamsburg. Given the prime location next to the park and the big footprint, seems like the smart money would be on Chetrit razing Caledonian and building a condo. But, then again, who knows where the smart money is nowadays. GMAP P*Shark
200,000 sft is the same size as On Prospect Park.
It is Prospect Park South according to the Department of City Planning….and to us, we live right around the corner.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/neighbor/neighl.shtml
I live literally around the corner from this site (Parade Place) – I’ve always wondered what neighborhood I live in and am glad to see it’s confusing to other people too!
Re: the pricing if it were to go condo – while it is very beautiful to be right next to the park, the neighborhood is a tiny bit sketchy. Parade Place itself is pretty safe and has great diversity – lots of Caribbean working-class, Hispanic families, lots of kids – but some of Parkside and the blocks behind it aren’t so safe. For example, at the end of August there was a shooting on Parkside (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/nyregion/30mbrfs-bang.html?_r=1&oref=slogin).
There also aren’t a lot of amenities. There’s an okayish grocery store, McDonald’s, Duane Reade, Popeye’s, and a bazillion dollar stores. You can walk to places like Cortelyou Road, Prospect Park Southwest (Louie G.’s, Lonelyville Cafe), Bartel-Pritchard Square/Circle, but those are all a pretty decent hike (if you have short legs like mine, anyway).
That being said, I like living there a lot – but I have doubts about its appeal to people looking to sink serious money into a condo, even if it’s at a low price for this region.
Ditto for K-Dog and Enduro up on Lincoln. The area around the Parkside stop has a ton of unrealized potential. There is room for jerk chicken AND lattes.
Very low 12:52 – but once the development costs are factored in, not so much. This developer has a decent record for picking good, under-appreciated spots though so I applaud him for another good choice. Now lets hope he doesn’t put up something too hideous looking. I agree with the other posters that whatever it looks like this will do wonders for the foot traffic and therefore (I hope), number of new amenities in the neighborhood. If the Farm and the Connecticut Muffin on Cortelyou are any indicator, this neighborhood is ready to jump on any new, decently run amenity. Both places are doing a bang up business.
by my math, $15.6M divided by 200,000 buildable feet is $78 psf. That seems like an amazingly low price for a location by an express Subway overlooking Prospect Park.
True, 12:36, they could incorporate the old building into the base of a highrise. They’d have to totally gut the place either way, because such funky things are done to building interiors when they’re made into medical offices. Lower ceilings with flourescent tube lighting. A zillion tiny rooms. Gazillion electric wires and outlets.
I think they could easily incorporate the hospital building into a larger design. This is a great location – you can’t beat being across from Prospect Park.
Sad memories for me, a relative died there, but I like the idea of an innovative building there. I hope they don’t tear down the oldest structures – the one in the photo. That would make great apartments.
They’ll build a highrise. The point of all these upcoming new condos on the park is to have a spectacular view. There are far more attractive and historic houses and buildings than this one on the streets behind the ones lining the park. Just like in Manhattan there will be newer tall buildings right on the park, and historic smaller buildings on the blocks behind. It’s a nice way to do it. That way there’s something for every taste and lifestyle. Larger new condo buildings would also be a great boost to the nearby amenities too, obviously. Better amenities are so desperately needed in that part of Brooklyn it’s not even funny.