BAM cultural district takes shape

The redevelopment of the area surrounding the Brooklyn Academy of Music
has finally gained momentum. Harlem-based developer Carlton A. Brown is
leading the way with the district’s centerpiece, a mixed-use tower.
The building, at Ashland Place and Fulton Street, will have 187 units
of mixed-income housing, 4,000 square feet of retail and a
40,000-square-foot choreographic center. Construction is not expected
to begin until 2009, but the city has pledged $100 million through 2011
to the BAM cultural district, said Joe Chan, president of the Downtown
Brooklyn Partnership.