185 Plymouth Street
One block north of its recently sold out condominium conversion of the Fancy Basket Company warehouse in Dumbo, Alloy Development is planning a similar conversion of a circa-1900 stable and storage building at 185 Plymouth Street, Brownstoner reported. The plans must be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in a meeting next Tuesday. [more]
The Brooklyn Navy Yard
Two new anchor tenants will head to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the area near Downtown Brooklyn where city officials have been working to establish a renewed manufacturing presence, the Wall Street Journal reported. The new industrial center, which is on land that the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. took control of in January, is focused on environmentally friendly tenants. [more]
70 Henry Street (credit: PropertyShark)
A renovation plan for the Brooklyn Heights Cinema that includes the addition of five stories of rental units was approved last night by Community Board 2′s Land Use Committee, Brownstoner reported. The building at 70 Henry Street, which was previously in the center of an investment fraud scandal, will include 17 units, cinema space on the first floor and part of the basement, as well as commercial space along Henry Street. [more]
Alain Azaria (top), Kenneth Mandelbaum (bottom) and 26 Garden Place
After close to 18 months on the market and two price cuts, Goldman Sachs managing director Daniel Shefter’s 22-foot-wide Brooklyn townhouse has finally found a buyer. Despite a slow start, and a short time off the market last year, the Brooklyn Heights home sold for $50,000 over the final asking price of $4.95 million, according to listing broker Alain Azaria of Dalazar Private Real Estate. [more]
The Bossert Hotel
Developer and landlord David Bistricer has filed plans to turn the Bossert Hotel in Brooklyn Heights back into a 302-unit hotel, according to Department of Buildings records cited by Brownstoner. Architect Gene Kaufman, who is behind the Hotel Chelsea’s restoration, is the architect of record to convert the building, which is used as a residence for Jehovah’s Witnesses volunteers. [more]
From left: 133, 205 and 220 Water Street
Though Dumbo long ago shook its “emerging” label and is considered an established residential neighborhood, the New York Times noted that a series of new developments are making their mark on the western section of the area. Now, developers are waiting for retail to follow. [more]
Washington Square President Paul Travis and a City Point rendering
Century 21 has agreed to open a store at the Fulton Mall in Downtown Brooklyn, the Wall Street Journal reported, expediting the groundbreaking of the long-awaited City Point development. The discount retailer is the first new traditional department store to open in Downtown Brooklyn since the 1970s and will serve as the anchor tenant for City Point, a planned development of 675,000 square feet of retail and commercial space and 690 housing units at Dekalb and Flatbush avenues. [more]
Jed Walentas, principal of Two Trees, and 125 Court Street
Prominent Brooklyn landlord Two Trees Management is the subject of a lawsuit filed by tenants who are also waging a rent strike, Curbed reported. The class action suit alleges that Two Trees maintains a 25-year tax abatement at 125 Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn, but unlawfully charge higher rents than permitted under its 421-a status. Additionally, the landlord increases rent at a faster rate than allowed by the Rent Guidelines Board, tenants say. [more]
One MetroTech
In a move that may foreshadow a long awaited change in the Downtown Brooklyn office leasing climate, the neighborhood just signed its first technology tenant, the Wall Street Journal reported. MakerBot, a startup that makes three-dimensional printers, has signed a lease for the entire 21st floor of One MetroTech. [more]
The point where Brooklyn Heights residents want to close off traffic
Some Brooklyn Heights residents can’t even appreciate a record donation if it has any affect on their quiet lifestyle. The New York Post reported that community activists said the 115,000-square-foot indoor athletic facility coming to Brooklyn Bridge Park thanks to a $40 million donation would be “devastating” to the neighborhood. The civic leaders are concerned that the planned Fieldhouse would bring crowds of pedestrians and new vehicular traffic to their quiet streets. [more]
