Lightstone’s first Gowanus Canal rental building opens

What’s that smell? If you ask Lightstone Group CEO David Lichtenstein, he’ll tell you it isn’t just the canal — it’s money. The developer is finally ready to open the first building at its controversial rental project on the polluted waterway.

The developer’s 12-story, 323,000-square foot building at 365 Bond Street will start taking residents Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. Rents start at $2,000 for a studio and touch $3,000 for a one-bedroom unit.

The new building features amenities such as doormen, rooftop sundecks, valet parking, and a full size gym with a picturesque view of the canal.

It’s part of Lightstone’s $350 million, 700-unit residential project in the area, long known more for its pollution than its living spaces.

The second building in that project, at 363 Bond Street, is still a year from completion. Lightstone recently sold off a piece of that project to Atlantic Realty, who paid $75 million. Lightstone bought that parcel for $6.9 million in 2013.

The project has been contentious since the start. Toll Brothers, the site’s former owners, abandoned plans for a similar development at the site after the Gowanus Canal was designated a Superfund site in 2010. Large scale efforts to clean up the area are set to kick off next year.

In 2013, the city approved a spot rezoning of the area to allow for more residential construction at the site. Much of the surrounding area still doesn’t allow for apartments. [WSJ] – Ariel Stulberg