Why 80 acres of prime Brooklyn waterfront real estate could open up

Cuomo pitches idea to move Red Hook Container Terminal to Sunset Park

From top: South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park, Red Hook Container Terminal and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Credit: Getty Images)
From top: South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park, Red Hook Container Terminal and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Credit: Getty Images)

Start salivating, real estate players: the Red Hook Container Terminal might be on its way to Sunset Park, which could open up about 80 acres of waterfront real estate for development.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday he would consider moving the terminal from Red Hook to another spot on the Brooklyn waterfront, which could make the terminal site available for development, according to Crain’s.

Cuomo did not explicitly say the site should be used for development but said it should be put to “more productive community use.” He also said the MTA should look to improve subway access to Red Hook, and experts have previously suggested that money from large-scale developments on the terminal site could help pay for better public transportation to and from the neighborhood.

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In 2016, construction giant AECOM pitched a pie-in-the-sky idea that would see up to 45 million square feet of space and 45,000 new apartments in Red Hook. It would require development of the terminal site.

The governor has called on the Port Authority to study moving the terminal to the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park, an inactive location that the city has been trying to put to better use. However, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio told Crain’s it was “too early to say” whether the city was on board with the idea. [Crain’s]Eddie Small