The New York City Human Resources Administration has inked a 20-year lease for 400,000 square feet at a 10-story building at 470 Vanderbilt Avenue in the Fort Greene area of Brooklyn, the New York Times reported, in what is, so far, the biggest real estate deal in Brooklyn in 2011 and brings the building to 85 percent occupancy.

“The building is huge — an entire city block — and it has basically sat vacant and derelict for years,” said Steven Hurwitz, the vice president of acquisitions and developments at GFI Development, the company that owns the ground lease. It was not immediately clear how this lease fits in with the administration’s previously reported plans to move into 4 World Trade Center. [more]

Ground has broken on Navy Green, a planned mixed-use development at
470 Vanderbilt Avenue in Fort Greene, according to Brownstoner. The
development, which will yield 460 residential units, along with retail
and commercial space, had gotten the go-ahead from Community Board 2.
Still, the Department of Buildings hadn’t signed off on the project
until the end of May, presumably slowing down the construction start.
No word yet on when developer L + M Development Partners plans to
finish the project. [Brownstoner]

[more]

The New York City Housing Authority has signed a 20-year lease for
62,400 square feet of office space in the Telecom building at 470
Vanderbilt Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn. According to GFI Development,
which purchased the building two years ago, NYCHA is consolidating a
number of its offices around the city into the new location. The lease
marks the first major tenant to come to the building, now less than 50
percent occupied, since GFI bought it two years ago. [more]