An industrial site for sale on Dean Street across from the planned arena parking lot promises change

An industrial building on the south side of Dean Street a bit east of Carlton Avenue--across from the future surface parking lot for the Atlantic Yards arena--is for sale, and the broker suggests it could be high-density residential, while offering a rendering (below left) that suggests, at minimum, ground floor retail serving arena-goers.

The site offers a substantial 65,000 square feet, which would support not just a restaurant but a small multi-store complex.

The 1951 building, which offers two stories above ground and one story below ground, is zoned M-1, aimed for light manufacturing, but in which "[o]ffices, hotels and most retail uses are also permitted." Residential is more iffy. (Photo above and below right are from Google Street View)

It offers a 140-foot frontage and a significant potential footprint, according to the advertisement from Winick Realty Group:

16,500 Square Feet Ground Floor (ceiling 11½ -12 feet)
21,370 Square Feet Second Floor (ceiling 11½ –12 Feet)
26,722 Square Feet Lower Level (12-14 Feet Lower Level)

No price is listed, but a previous sales effort, via another broker, priced the building at $5 million.

Winick also promotes an "all glass front," parking for 90 cars, and cites, as neighbors, "Nets Arena, Barclays Arena, Atlantic Terminal, Atlantic Yards, Atlantic Center."

An industrial facility, a residential block

Actually, the neighbors are more residential, with some manufacturing. For more than a decade, the building has been home to a facility operated by the Ulano Corporation, which has its headquarters on Third Avenue in the Gowanus district and, according to its website, "specializes in the manufacture of stencil-making products and chemicals for screen process printing."

Unlike some industrial facilities across the street, which were fallow, there have been industrial operations there until recently, one neighbor told me, and they may even be ongoing. (I'll update this when I learn more.)

It has co-existed on a block with both residential and industrial spaces. (Here's a photo by Tracy Collins of some ball playing outside.) As the top photo indicates, to the west, closer to Carlton, there are more residences. The Prospect Heights Historic District, as this zoning map indicates, is just a few doors away.

And, as the photo at right indicates, to the east, there's an industrial facility--a laundry operated by Primo Uniform Services--and another building, with a seemingly industrial lower level and residences above. That building--behind the "No Parking" sign--is occupied by artists' workspaces and live/work lofts, and is also owned by Ulano.

Beyond that, there are several residences that have been converted from manufacturing spaces, including one that graced a recent Corcoran mailing.

The AY connection

The south side of Dean Street is not part of the Atlantic Yards footprint. But Atlantic Yards is clearly part of the pitch,, as are the numerous new residential developments detailed on the map at left, prepared by Winick Realty Group.

This map emphasizes the retail potential of the site.

It also mistakenly delineates the Atlantic Yards site as "Barclays Center/Atlantic Yard," without acknowledging that Block 1129, bounded by Dean and Pacific streets and Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues, is also part of the project site.

Some documents

Below, the sales brochure from Winick, as well as some documents regarding the history of the site. They indicate a bond issue from the New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYC IDA) as of 1999, for Ulano to renovate, and the sale of the building by the NYC IDA in 2010 to Ulano, which had made advanced payments on the outstanding bonds.

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