From left: 80 Dekalb Avenue, BKLYN Gold, Beekman Tower and Cliff Finn of Citi Habitats

Citi Habitats’ managing director of new development marketing, Clifford Finn, gave The Real Deal the scoop on several new development rentals the company will be marketing this spring.

In early April, Citi Habitats will begin leasing units at the Ashley, a 209-unit luxury rental building developed by Extell Development. Located on 63rd Street between West End and Riverside, the Ashley is the sister rental tower to new condo the Aldyn. Starting in mid-May, Citi Habitats will be handling rentals at the Addison, a 270-unit project on Schermerhorn Street in Downtown Brooklyn from Broadway Management Company, the developer of new Manhattan condominium Sutton57. Rentals of the Addison’s studios and one- and two-bedroom units will start in mid-May for summer occupancy, Finn said.

Downtown Brooklyn has exploded with new rentals recently, including another project Citi Habitats is marketing, Forest City Ratner’s 354-unit 80 DeKalb Avenue. Also in May, Citi Habitats will start leasing at Lalezarian Properties’ new rental project at 350 West 37th Street at Ninth Avenue. The 80/20 project is tentatively being called “Townsend,” though that could change. [more]

The pedestrian plaza at the corner of Hoyt and Schermerhorn streets in Downtown Brooklyn is nearing completion. The 17 by 70-foot plaza, which includes a pedestrian area secluded from traffic, along with bike paths and plantings, took just a $5,000 investment from the city to complete. Even so, the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, is saying that the small investment is making a big difference in the neighborhood. “It’s some much-needed room to breathe on a very crowded sidewalk,” Wiley Norvell, a group spokesperson, said. “Previously, this is space that was sitting under parked cars the entire day while pedestrians squeezed onto a few feet of sidewalk.” The project will be completed and opened to the public ahead of schedule, according to the Department of Transportation.

While some projects on the stretch of Schermerhorn Street between Bond
and Smith streets in Downtown Brooklyn have stalled amid the downturn,
development has stayed strong in much of the area. New buildings
include the Smith, a 50-unit condominium that has sold out; 236
Livingston, a 278-unit project that will open in mid-2010; and
Schermerhorn House, a 217-unit affordable housing project. By the
middle of next year, there will be about 1,000 new residential units in
the neighborhood, according to Joe Chan, president of the Downtown
Brooklyn Partnership. One project, Be@Schermerhorn, has stalled. [more]