More Details on New Building at 816 Washington Ave.

Plans are coming together for a new building set to rise at 816 Washington Avenue; the original structure was destroyed in a three-alarm fire a year ago. Last Thursday the owner and developer petitioned Community Board 8 for a variance to rebuild. The developers are planning a five-story building with four three-bedroom apartments and four four-bedroom apartments. It will be 100 percent affordable, with rents roughly around $1,500 and $1,700 a month. All the tenants who were displaced due to the fire are guaranteed an apartment and the few apartments that aren’t inhabited by former tenants will be offered to renters via a lottery. The variance is needed because the former building was overbuilt, but the developer still wants to build eight units with the same square footage. CB8 approved the variance and the developer plans to go to the Board of Standards and Appeals in mid-September. The ground-floor retail will return, but the previous tenants will not and the commerical rent will be market rate. As for the design, there will be a red brick exterior but, as developer Larry Hirschfield says, “We’re not looking for an exact replica of the previous design.”
New Building To Rise From Ashes in Prospect Heights [Brownstoner]
Bulldozers for Fire-Damaged Building on Washington Ave. [Brownstoner] GMAP
Four-Alarm Fire Destroys Washington Ave Building [Brownstoner]