Low retail rents bring change to South Slope

Driven by low rents, the South Slope neighborhood that was once considered part of Sunset Park is experiencing a revival.

Retail rents in the neighborhood, bounded by Prospect Expressway, Fourth Avenue and Green-Wood Cemetery, are between $30 and $35 per square foot. North of the expressway in Park Slope, they sit between $75 and $100 per foot.

Residential rents in the neighborhood are also low, bringing an influx of younger residents to the area. They are influencing the types of new businesses moving in to the bevy of 1920s-era buildings, mixed among a handful of new developments.

Freddy’s, the beloved bar forced out by Atlantic Yards construction, has relocated to the area, as has a second location of Carroll Gardens’ standby Lucali pizzeria. Locavore eatery Lot 2, and Ted Mann’s forthcoming 13,000-square-foot beer garden also exemplify the new character of the neighborhood.

Crain’s notes the one downside to the neighborhood is the lack of nearby public transit, meaning it will likely remain free of waves of customers from the city’s other areas. [Crain’s]