City reaches deal to buy CitiStorage site for $160M

After years of trying, City Hall finally reached a deal Monday to buy the former CitiStorage site on the Williamsburg waterfront from developer Norman Brodsky for $160 million.

The de Blasio administration had bid $100 million in June with plans to turn it into a public park, but Brodsky rejected the offer. “Good start but they need to get to fair value,” he told DNAinfo at the time.  Instead, he hired Cushman & Wakefield’s [TRDataCustom] Paul Massey to sell the 11-acre site to a developer.

It wasn’t immediately clear if any talks with potential buyers were held. Massey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Bloomberg administration designated the site at 11 North 5th Street as a public park over a decade ago, and its successor de Blasio has faced local pressure to follow up on the plan.

In January 2015, a fire destroyed one of two records-storage warehouses occupying the site. Shortly after, Brodsky announced plans to sell the site for as much as $500 million.

In August, community advocates called on the city to seize the site through eminent domain.

In a Tuesday statement, de Blasio lauded the deal as a success for his administration.

“When we commit to build a new park or a new school in a growing community, we deliver,” he said. “We look forward to working with local officials, activists and residents as we design and build a Bushwick Inlet Park we can all be proud of.” — Konrad Putzier