Gowanus Bay Power Plant Coming Down
The Department of Buildings Thursday issued a demolition permit for a power plant overlooking Gowanus Bay just south of Red Hook between 31st and 32nd streets. We couldn’t find a lot of information about the building, which is next to a prison, but it appears to be owned by the city, or more specifically the New York Economic Development Corporation. The architect is Zambrano Architectural Design. Industry City, or Bush Terminal, which recently acquired a new co-owner, Jamestown Properties, and is slated for more development, is located just down the road. The NYEDC is working on several projects in the area, including developing the Sunset Park waterfront for public use and making a nearby vacant warehouse, known as Federal Building No. 2, into a “a state-of-the-art industrial center.” Anyone know more about this property?
More Than Half of Dorms-Turned-Luxury-Condos at 184 Joralemon Street Rented
A luxury development at 184 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights, which hit the market in May, is over 50 percent rented, according to agents Ideal Properties. The former Brooklyn Law School dorm sold in 2011 for $10,576,000, according to Streeteasy, and was converted into 24 two-bedroom rental units. They’re priced between $4,250 and $6,200, renting for an average price of $5,187. GMAP
184 Joralemon [Ideal Properties]
Dorms-Turned-Luxury-Rentals Now on the Market [Brownstoner]
184 Joralemon Conversion Coming Soon [Brownstoner]
184 Joralemon Going Condo [Brownstoner]
Developer Receives $5 Million to Complete Restoration of Williamsburgh Savings Bank
Developer Juan Figueroa has secured an additional $5 million loan to restore the landmarked Williamsburgh Savings Bank on Broadway in South Williamsburg, Free Williamsburg reported. The blog spied a press release about the loan from Emerald Creek Capital late last month. The restoration of the iconic 1875 building with a gold dome has been in the works for years. Figuero, who also owns a hostel in the area, plans to turn the property into an event space and museum. Next door he is planning a 40-story hotel but has yet to secure financing for the project.
Williamsburg Savings Bank Secures $5 Million to Complete Restoration [Free Williamsburg]
Giant Hotel Going in Next to Williamsburgh Savings Bank [Brownstoner]
Checking in on the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Reno [Brownstoner] GMAP
Photo by Christopher Bride for PropertyShark
Roof Gone at 193 Berry Street
The roof is gone from what appears to be the remaining skeleton of a building at 193 Berry Street, part of a block-through development known as 238 Bedford Avenue, according to signs and permits posted at the construction site — although the DOB files it all under 118 North 4th Street. Otherwise not much seems to have happened at this site for years, except for painting over some graffiti on the construction fence.
An application to convert the existing building at 118 North 4th Street from manufacturing to residential was approved in 2005, but a note at the top of the file says the job is on hold. A proposal to add two stories was disapproved in 2007. Unspecified modifications to the existing plan were approved in October, and it looks like the architect may have changed to Berzak Associates Architects. According to a sign posted at the construction site, the address PropertyShark calls 193 Berry Street, pictured above, will be a new two-story building given over to retail. It is supposed to be completed in winter 2014. GMAP
Condos Break Ground at 172 Montague Street
Construction of the 19-story apartment complex at 172 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights has begun. The renderings for the 66-unit complex, designed by Daniel Goldner Architects, emerged in June. Then DOB approved permits in July for a 148,305-square-foot mixed-use residential and commercial building, 134,632 feet of which will be residential. And as we noted previously, CPEX is already advertising the retail space for lease, expecting that it will be ready early next year.
The site of a former Hallmark store and Eammon’s Restaurant sold for $12,000,000 in 2012 to a developer, who tore down the two-story, 8,150-square-foot property earlier this year. GMAP
Update: AptsandLofts.com, which helped with the pre-development consulting, tells us this building will be a rental development.
172-174 Montague Street Sells for $12 Million [Commercial Observer]
19-Story Build Coming Soon to Former Hallmark Site? [Brownstoner]
Design for 19-Story Heights Building Revealed [Brownstoner]
Last-Minute Push for Approval of Domino Design Before Mayor Leaves Office
Two Trees is seeking approval for SHoP’s unexpected design for the Domino complex from city planning before Amanda Burden steps down and Bloomberg leaves office. Approvals after that will have to wait at least a year while the new mayor appoints commissions, according to a story in Crain’s. While the design has been met with much more critical and public acclaim than the previous plan, Burden’s approval is by no means certain, said the story.
The scheme deviates considerably from what Ms. Burden spent years crafting up and down the East River waterfront, and Two Trees is struggling to bring her around to its proposal, according to sources. Two Trees had hoped its 2,200 apartments on the site would have been certified by June—the first step in the six-month review process. Now, with negotiations ongoing, the developer hopes for a September certification. That would still leave enough time for Ms. Burden and the planning commission to approve the project, but it would fall to local Councilman Stephen Levin to shepherd Domino through the City Council next year.
The new plan calls for much higher towers than the old one — 60 stories instead of 30- and 40-story towers — but allows more open space and light, with more public access to the waterfront. The new design is more playful and imaginative than the old one, with towers with cutouts in the middle.
Developers Push for Approvals Before Bloomberg Leaves [Crain’s]
Rendering by SHoP
Burg’s Sagging Wood Frame Building Fixed, Now Renting Retail Space
When we passed by 107 North 5th Street recently we were amazed to see the building had undergone a brick and stucco facelift that obscures its wood frame origins but corrected its previously very noticeable severe sag in its rear third. We’re sad the owners chose to cover over the wood frame exterior rather than restoring it but happy they seem to have fixed a big structural problem. The lower portion of the building, presumably a store in a previous incarnation, has gained big windows. A sign in front advertised the retail space is now for rent. Click through to the jump for three “before” photos. What do you think of the re-do?
We Hear “Beserk-Eclectic” But Imperiled 111 Clarkson Has Closed
Neighbors of 111 Clarkson, an exceptional but unfortunately not landmarked late Victorian (1902) masterpiece of “beserk eclecticism,” as the AIA Guide puts it, are hearing the building has been sold, but nothing has hit public records yet. The buyer is rumored to be a “corporation” who “at least gave lip service to restoring the house,” a tipster told us. That could mean the buyer intends to divide the lot and sell or develop the land in back and not razing the house. That would be welcome news. If that is the case, we hope the buyer will leave the house’s reportedly well-preserved interior alone and restore the porch and its onion dome to its original appearance. The interior was unusually lavish and grand even by standards of the time; pictures of the interior and original exterior can be seen in a Building of the Day post.
Berserk Eclectic Masterpiece on Market Again [Brownstoner]
Building of the Day: 111 Clarkson Avenue [Brownstoner]
“Berserk Eclecticism” on Clarkson Avenue [Brownstoner]
Photo by Nicholas Strini for PropertyShark
Rendering Appears for Development Planned for 333 Atlantic Avenue
We spotted this rendering of a planned apartment building tacked to a construction fence at 333 Atlantic Avenue near Hoyt Street. The DOB granted a demolition permit in January, but it appears the developer hasn’t finished knocking down the previous building on this lot. The developer plans to build a seven-story building with 22 units, zoned for 3,485 square feet of commercial space and 17,975 sq. feet of residential space, according to DOB permits. Photos on Property Shark reveal that the former building was home to St. Vincent’s Mental Health Services.
Check out a picture of the lot after the jump.
Office Space Hot on Heels of Housing
As Brooklyn becomes the hottest place to live, it’s also becoming a desirable place to work, according to two reports. As developers refurbish old industrial space to make way for 21st century companies, there is still 20 million square feet of property available for conversion, said Downtown Brooklyn Partnership President Tucker Reed in a story in Bloomberg. Above, NYU Polytechnic City Tech’s Klitgord building under construction at Jay and Tillary streets.
The owner of the 100,000-square-foot 19th century warehouse at 1 Carlton Avenue across from the Navy Yard is exploring development options, including a “miniature version of Boston’s Quincy Market,” said Bloomberg.
Developers are beginning to see Brooklyn as an alternative office locale for New York’s technology and media firms, many of whose employees already live in the area. The industrial buildings evoke a feel similar to Manhattan’s midtown south, where demand has driven rents out of reach for some tenants in those fields, while the borough is experiencing a broader renaissance as retail districts flourish and home prices surge.
Brooklyn office inventory dropped to 7.8 percent in June, down from 13.4 percent 15 months earlier, according to real estate firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. Average square foot prices were $32.13, up from $19.04 from a decade earlier. In Manhattan, in midtown south, average rents are $47.49 a square foot.
Downtown Brooklyn is the next hottest area for commercial real estate, according to a survey of more than 100 people in the business conducted by accounting firm Marks Paneth & Shron, The New York Observer reported. Rents are likely to soar there, vs. other areas such as Hudson Yards, Hell’s Kitchen and the Garment District. “This could be another ‘prestige’ breakthrough for Brooklyn,” said William Jennings, partner-in-charge of Marks Paneth & Shron, in a prepared statement. “Many people already think it’s much cooler to live in Brooklyn than Manhattan. It may soon be the hot place to office.”
The tech boom across the river is also fueling Brooklyn’s residential boom. The buyers of all those $1 million plus properties in Bed Stuy? Google employees, according to Bloomberg.
Brooklyn Offices Catch Media-Tech Boom as Vacancies Drop [Bloomberg]
Downtown Brooklyn Is the Next Midtown South, Says Survey [NY Observer]
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