Gowanus landlords bet on boost from Whole Foods

Gowanus landlords, hopeful that Brooklyn’s long-awaited first Whole Foods Market will boost their fortunes, are hedging their bets.

Six interconnected buildings at 529 Third Avenue and 13th Street, formerly home to a vacuum cleaner bag manufacturer, recently sold for $7.3 million.

“They see the neighborhood changing,” Robert Klein, the senior broker at Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates who negotiated the sale on behalf of the buyer, 304 LLC and seller, Dominick Terzuoli, told Crain’s. “The Third Avenue corridor has exploded with Whole Foods.”

The ground-floor retail space, which totals a sprawling 15,000 square feet, will have an asking rent of about $50 per square foot once ready for tenants. The upstairs office space, which spreads across 45,000 square feet, will go for $25 per square foot.

Retail rents in the neighborhood have climbed to as much as $35 per square foot as the Whole Foods opening nears, and Klein told Crain’s he expects it to grow even more once the supermarket opens its doors, likely in December.

“People in the area are excited about having a grocery offering so close to home — we’ve got some great buzz going,” a spokesman for the chain told Crain’s. [Crain’s] — Julie Strickland