Developers Launch Battle Of Brooklyn

[M II A II R II K]

Developers Launch Battle Of Brooklyn


DECEMBER 12, 2011

By LAURA KUSISTO

Read More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...urban+planning

The battle to build Brooklyn's tallest tower is about to begin with two developers planning to break ground next year on residential buildings that will loom nearly 100 feet over any of their predecessors. At the beginning of next year, Stahl Real Estate, a company with 60-year roots in the borough, will break ground on a 590-foot tower at 388 Bridge St. That would make it the borough's new tallest tower. But its reign could be short-lived. By late next year AvalonBay Communities Inc. plans to begin building its new Willoughby West project just down the street, which will rise 57 stories and 596 feet, adding 861 new rental units to the market. The developments will continue a shift for brownstone-dotted Brooklyn, which has been seeing a steady growth in the number of luxury apartment towers.

- For more than 80 years the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower—37 stories and about 512 feet tall—presided over Brooklyn's skyline. In 2010, the Brooklyner, developed by Equity Residential and the Clarett Group, put the title back in play when it edged out the bank building by about 2 feet and more than 14 stories. The recession put a temporary halt to such ambitious projects, but now developers are dusting off their plans. Stahl's 388 Bridge St. "will become the tallest apartment house in New York City outside of Manhattan, rising approximately 600 feet, and 53 stories," says an early marketing document. The developer has spent years assembling air rights and designing the project. It recently cleared a final hurdle when it obtained a loan from a group led by M&T Bank, allowing the $265 million project to break ground in the first quarter of next year.

- But it remains to be seen if Brooklyn can support the current development boom, as it's poised to add hundreds of rental units in the next couple of years downtown and on the waterfront. The boom is thanks in part to a decision by the Bloomberg administration to rezone Downtown Brooklyn and the Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfronts in 2004 and 2005 respectively to allow for more high-rise development. Developers in rezoned areas of downtown can build essentially as high as they want, with certain setbacks and as long as they're able to acquire enough air rights from their neighbors. "You could literally build to the sky. The tower can literally go on forever and some of these guys are doing that," said William Ross, director of Development Marketing at Halstead Property. But some question whether the slabs of glass that have grown up recently have given Brooklyn a bland suburban skyline that fails to capture its avant garde identity.

.....

The Brooklyner stands to lose its title as the borough's tallest building.






Artist rendering of the proposed tower at 388 Bridge St.

[M II A II R II K]

District Plan Sparks Fight


DECEMBER 13, 2011

By JOSEPH DE AVILA And LAURA KUSISTO

Read More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...609362010.html

New York City's real-estate industry is stepping up efforts to halt plans for a new landmark district for downtown Brooklyn, claiming that such a designation will result in nearly $5 million in additional costs for property owners over the next few years. The plan would cover about 20 properties made up of mostly commercial buildings built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the proposed district in September, and the City Council will hold a hearing on the plan Wednesday. The council could vote to modify or disapprove the designation. If approved, the designation would mark the 12th district approved in the past two years.

Preservationists have hailed the role of districts in preserving the city's stock of historically significant architecture, which often results in higher property values. But in many cases, districts curb new development and add to bureaucratic red tape, said officials with the Real Estate Board of New York, an industry association. REBNY conducted an analysis of five commercial buildings within the proposed district and found that property owners will collectively have to pay an additional $4.7 million over about the next five years to comply with landmark regulations. Costs would rise because property owners would need to pay expediters, who help speed applications for building permits and other regulatory paperwork through the review process, and architects for additional hours worked. Retail tenants also would need to comply with new rules if they need to change their storefronts.

.....

[photoLith]

^
I thought that highrise historic district already was approved and is now established.