Bergen Tile is "just the spot," to be replaced by... ?

It's just a matter of time before the retail frontages on Flatbush Avenue change significantly, right? The owners of the building housing Bergen Tile at the southeast corner of Dean Street and Flatbush Avenue are advertising the space for rent as "directly across the street from the new Nets arena at Atlantic Yards." (The building was sold in 2006, according to ACRIS.)

Now that's the plan, though, in a best-case scenario, the arena likely wouldn't open for three years. Still, as the brochure attached to the listing posted by Ripco Realty (yes, that's their name) shows, there are nearly 600 new condo units coming in the area, on top of the 6860 units--actually 6430, and almost certainly fewer, given the changes planned for Miss Brooklyn--planned at Atlantic Yards. The housing could take decades.

Note that the site outline in red suggests that the Bergen Tile building extends all the way from Flatbush Avenue well opposite Building 3, near the corner of Sixth Avenue.
Actually, the triangular plot doesn't go nearly that far.

What's coming, high-end retail? It's a good bet that nothing as plebeian as Bergen Tile would take its place. Brooklyn is changing.

On the other side of Flatbush are several retail frontages devoted not to business that draw foot traffic but to medical clinics. Those were leased, I believe, in the 1980s, when owners were eager to have someone on the ground floor. Should the arena proceed, I'd imagine that sports-related businesses and bars would clamor for a spot.

Down the block

Bergen Tile, the listing tells us, "contains the largest
rooftop billboard in downtown Brooklyn." (Hey, that's the north side of Prospect Heights.)

(Photo by Tracy Collins)

Would a retail outlet remodel that Dean Street wall to create frontage across from the arena? Note that two row houses across the street were demolished in 2006 as "emergency demolitions."

Just up Dean Street bordering Bergen Tile is the yellow clapboard house at right. As noted by Lumi Rolley of NoLandGrab, the state would override city zoning that bans arenas from within 200 feet of residential districts.

(Photo by Tracy Collins)