City, Two Trees sign Dock Street school deal

Two Trees Management has signed a deal with the city’s School Construction Authority to build a 300-seat middle school within its planned Dock Street residential tower, moving ahead a project that’s drawn criticism from the likes of actress Helen Hunt, historian David McCullough and director Ken Burns. According to the Brooklyn Paper, Two Trees, which is run by father-and-son development team David and Jed Walentas, has agreed to pony up the construction costs for the middle school. The facility will be on the Dock Street side of their future 17-story building and is slated for completion in time for the 2014 school year. Because the project sits beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, it drew a rash of complaints from neighbors who said its size would block historic neighborhood views, and the Walentases’ offer to build the school was seen by critics as a way to politically maneuver around the city’s public review process. But several local politicians had praised the project’s promise of affordable housing units and retail, and added that District 13 is in need of additional education options. [Brooklyn Paper]