Now that Gowanus’ infamous calling card, the smell of raw sewage emanating from the canal, is gone, and developers are touting grand plans for the area, artists and manufacturers are fighting to preserve some of the unique aspects of the Brooklyn neighborhood.
Advocates for artists and manufacturers are pushing for a special zoning provision requiring ground-floor light manufacturing space in new residential projects. Without this change, critics say Gowanus will see its industrial and creative culture ebb, as some charge has happened in places like Soho, Dumbo and the Meatpacking District.
The Department of City Planning is considering rezoning 60 industrial blocks, 25 of which would allow housing to accommodate developers’ plans. The draft proposal is expected to be presented this month.
Developers have already staked their claim on many of the prime blocks. More than 2,500 waterfront apartments are proposed, most awaiting City Planning’s decision to rezone the area. Renderings envision a waterborne transportation system of water taxis and kayaks, a modern-day Venice, and a lush green promenade dotted with miniature parks instead of the muddied trash now lining the canal.
In addition, seven hotels have opened or are planned for the area. Lowe’s and Pathmark opened a few years ago, while Whole Foods, the yuppie Holy Grail, is still awaiting permits for a location along Third Avenue.
Time Equities executive Phillip Gesue, project manager of Sunset Market, a manufacturing, wholesale and big-box retail hub being built in Sunset Park, said Gowanus’ “neat industrial buildings and a really beautiful body of water” make it prime
for development, but its gritty aesthetic would have to be tweaked to appeal to the typical homebuyer. “Artists are 5 percent of the people who look for residential space,” he said. “The Meatpacking District was not heavily populated when it smelled
like beef blood.”
Artists and manufacturers, meanwhile, have joined forces lobbying the city to protect their space. “The Gowanus Canal is just sort of an amazing place,” said Sasha Chavchavadze, co-owner of the gallery Proteus Gowanus. “It’s still a neighborhood that hasn’t been transformed into something else the way Dumbo and other neighborhoods have, although I fear it may be headed in that direction.”
The neighborhood is full of old warehouses, trash heaps and industrial silos. According to AGAST, the group that holds the Annual Gowanus Artists Studio Tour, an estimated 500 artists work in neighborhood studios, including prominent artists Tom Otterness and Julian Schnabel. Also, a handful of nightspots, including offshoots of popular Park Slope haunts Union Hall and Bar Toto, have recently opened or are scheduled to open this summer along a canal where an increasing number of people are canoeing every year (see More places to see art, party in Gowanus). Funky shops have opened up, and a broker is marketing two large warehouses for a downsize Chelsea Market-style retail space with room for manufacturers.
Pratt Center for Community Development director Brad Lander said he is not optimistic that the city will be more responsive this time. He said, “We’ve been advocating stronger manufacturing protections and more mixed-use zoning for seven years, and they haven’t done it.” In addition to mandatory mixed-use, he’s pushing for a ban on hotels, big-box stores and large offices in industrial areas.
Brooklyn City Planning office director Purnima Kapur said those suggestions are not being considered.
“The way zoning works and planning works, it’s looking at areas that are appropriate for a set of uses in the long term,” she said. “The market will determine if and when those uses will change.”
Gesue said mandatory mixed-use “makes it tougher to finance in this environment, no doubt about it.” He said, “My guess is that residential on the ground floor is a little more profitable, but on the other hand, in the long term, light manufacturing is what’s going to create that flavor.”
Hudson Companies project manager David Kramer said Gowanus is an appealing place to live, “even with today’s status quo.”
His firm’s 44-unit townhouse-style condo project Third & Bond is under construction in an as-of-right location, and the city just awarded it the right to build 774 apartments at a 6-acre site. They may have the option to build 500 more by teaming up with an adjacent property owner.
Toll Brothers started the process this spring of applying for a spot zoning variance to build 447 apartments along the canal. David Von Spreckelsen, vice president, said the project is a favorite among company executives for its proximity to brownstone Brooklyn. He said, “They also see the great potential because, despite what many people in the community will say, there’s really underutilized property.”
Two other developers, the Katan Group and Bayside Fuel Oil Depot, are awaiting a decision on the neighborhood rezoning in hopes that they can build a combined 900 apartments.
Retail the first pioneer
Gesue said Gowanus is also ripe for more destination retail. “The destination retailers work very well in this area because it’s very quiet on the evenings and weekends, and that’s often the times these places will get peak traffic.” As a result, shoppers driving in won’t be stuck in traffic, he added.
Some small, artier shops like PictureBox, a Grammy-winning publisher operating at Third and Bond streets, have opened. Across the street, Massey Knakal’s Ken Freeman is marketing two buildings — one for $15 million and the other for $10 million — as home for a manufacturing and wholesale shopping venue similar to the Chelsea Market. “To me, you have to use the water,” he said. “If you have a little promenade on the water and a café over there, I think you’d be amazed at the amount of people who would sit and eat by the water, or take laptops and work there all day.”