Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood is experiencing a mini-boom as rezoning and a strong demand for housing take hold in the hotly-desired neighborhood. There are around 3,600 people currently living in the area, according to Alexandria Sica, executive director of the Dumbo Improvement District, but with new housing developments sprouting up across the area, she expects there to be 4,000 by the end of 2011.Toll Brothers is proceeding with a 65-unit condominium at 205 Water Street thanks to rezoning approved by the city in 2009, according to the Wall Street Journal. Construction is slated to finish in 2012 with apartment prices averaging about $800 per square foot. [more]

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Robert Toll, chairman of luxury home builder Toll Brothers, has proof that demand has rebounded in the national housing market. Appearing on Bloomberg TV’s “Street Smart” (click here for video), Toll said that fewer people are backing away from deposits on new houses. “The drop in deposit rate is about 3 or 4 percent, which is very low,” he said, “it appears as though we’re on a comeback trail.” That’s a stark contrast from the 5.7 percent rate Toll Brothers reported for the quarter ending Jan. 31, and 6.7 percent from the year prior. [more]

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers has formed a distressed real estate
investment group, according to Bloomberg news. Toll, the largest luxury
builder in the U.S., will use the new group, Gibraltar Capital and
Asset Management, to “pursue a broad range of real estate acquisition
and investment opportunities,” the company said. The company announced
the new venture today. Among the unit’s services will be the
acquisition of distressed loan and property portfolios, as well as
providing developers in the workout of troubled real estate. [Bloomberg]

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Yesterday’s report of a narrower quarterly loss for luxury home builder Toll Brothers has company Chairman Bob Toll optimistic that things are looking up for new home sales. In this MSNBC video, Toll, who recently stepped down as CEO, comments on the new figures. “Our second quarter was up 86 percent over last year,” Toll said. “We’re still running at half-speed… but we’re definitely no longer looking for light at the end of the tunnel — we’re out of the tunnel.”

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Bob Toll (l), Doug Yearley

Leading U.S. luxury home builder Toll Brothers reported a $40.4 million second-quarter loss today, representing a $0.24 loss per share. The report marks a narrower loss for Toll than seen in previous quarters — the company reported an $83.2 million loss in the same quarter a year earlier and a $40.8 million loss last quarter. While Toll isn’t necessarily on the upswing, newly-appointed CEO Doug Yearley said that there is reason to believe the company is stabilizing. “With demand increasing in many areas, we are very focused on growth,” Yearley said. “We believe we are well-positioned for future growth.” The quarterly fiscal report comes just days after 43-year CEO Robert Toll announced he was stepping down from the post, while staying on as chairman. TRD

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Robert Toll and a rendering of 205 Water Street

As expected, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved Toll Brothers’ proposed condo at 205 Water Street in Dumbo yesterday, giving the 67-unit project the final go-ahead. The rust-colored steel and concrete design by Greenberg Farrow is shorter than the maximum 12 stories allowed by current zoning at the site, and unlike the developers of other Brooklyn condos, Toll Brothers did not need to meet any requirement for affordable housing there. All units at the building and 86 underground parking spaces, will be sold at market rates. [Curbed]

Robert Toll and a rendering of 205 Water Street

Toll Brothers’ planned residential tower on Dumbo’s Water Street cleared the first phase of the public review process when a Community Board 2 committee approved the project’s design in an 8-3 vote last night. Toll Brothers’ plans call for 67 market-rate apartments and 86 underground parking spaces. Current zoning in the district allows for up to 12-story buildings and does not have the 20 percent affordable housing requirement that other areas of Brooklyn have, so the steel and gray concrete project at 205 Water Street glided through the vote easily. “We loved the gritty nature of this industrial area, and that was our inspiration,” said Navid Maqami of Greenberg Farrow, which designed the project. Toll Brothers, which recently abandoned its long-planned Gowanus Canal development after it garnered a Superfund designation from the Environmental Protection Agency, will now need to win approval from the full community board before an April 6 vote by the Landmarks Commission. [Brooklyn Paper] [more]

Robert Toll, CEO of Toll Brothers

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers’ most recent securities filing hints at a bit of modesty in response to the housing market’s woes. While CEO Robert Toll “performed exceedingly well during fiscal 2009,” his salary was slashed 11 percent and he didn’t get a bonus “due to overall economic conditions, both in our industry and the country as a whole,” the company’s compensation committee said. Recent Toll Brothers projects include Northside Piers in Williamsburg and 700 Grove in Jersey City. Salaries remained flat for Toll COO Zvi Barzilay and CFO Joel Rassman, each taking in $1 million in salary pay, plus bonuses of over $1 million. Even with the pay cut, Robert Toll reaped in $1.17 million for the year, down from $1.3 million in both 2007 and 2008. While Toll received less in the way of option awards this year, he got $1.34 million in stock. He now owns 11.22 percent of his company’s common stock, which bodes well for his personal finances because Toll Brothers shares rose almost 9 percent over the past year.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers announced its national fall sales event yesterday, offering savings and incentives in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens as well as other areas in the state. The event will offer buyer incentives as well as low mortgage rates through TBI Mortgage Company, a subsidiary of Toll Brothers, according to a press release sent today. Toll Brothers has reported positive fiscal news throughout the month, as CEO and Chairperson Robert Toll announced that he’s earned $50 million this year from the sale of Toll Brothers stock. But some are raising questions over whether this new sales push undercuts the home builder’s good news. TRD