Atlantic Terrace, across from arena site, seeks "new Brooklyn retailers"

A Wall Street Journal article today, headlined Project Puts Brooklyn First, concerns Atlantic Terrace, which is apparently also being marketed as 212 S. Oxford Street, a project at the corner of Atlantic Avenue just north of the arena site.

The good news, according to the sponsor Fifth Avenue Committee, is affordable housing (subsidized co-ops for households ranging from $34,970 to $115,380), LEED gold certification, locally-crafted finishings, and common amenities open to both subsidized and market-rate tenants.

Going local

The Journal reports:

Even more principled: the 11,400-square-foot ground-floor retail space is being marketed primarily to local tenants. "We've received some interest from some national chains," says Heather Gershen, the director of housing development for the Fifth Avenue Committee. "We think it's important for people to get fresh produce, milk, the morning paper. We would like to see some of the new Brooklyn retailers."

Or, as Ms. [Michelle] de la Uz puts it, "There's already a mall."

Yes, the site borders Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Center and Atlantic Terminal malls.

While the article mentions Atlantic Yards, unmentioned is that the expected size of the latter project scotched the Fifth Avenue Committee's plans for solar power on the Atlantic Terrace roof.

Arena impact

The article states:

The advent of the arena should make the retail space below even more desirable to potential tenants.

Well, perhaps, but therein lies a tension. It's quite possible that a "new Brooklyn retailer" might be an entertainment space driven by the arena.

Let's assume that the Atlantic Terrace sponsors know how to navigate that tension.