Rent gap narrows: market-rate 1BR at 670 Pacific now 4% more than "affordable" 1BR at 535 Carlton

670 Pacific, as it was being finished

In July, I compared posted rents at the new 670 Pacific Street apartment building adjacent to the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park site, and observed that the posted rents were not far off the announced most expensive affordable units at nearby 461 Dean, a 50% affordable building in the project:

• studio: $2,399 vs. $1,996 at 461 Dean
• 1 BR: $2.999, vs. $2,504 at 461 Dean
• 2 BR: $3,999, vs. $3,012 at 461 Dean

Another look: rent gap narrows

Actually, that deserves another look, comparing the current rental prices at 670 Pacific--a net effective rent that includes one month free--with rents at 535 Carlton, a "100% affordable" building with slightly higher rents than 461 Dean:

• studio: $2,338 vs. $2,137 at 535 Carlton, an 8.6% discount off market
• 1 BR: $2,784, vs. $2,680 at 535 Carlton, a 3.7% discount off market
• 2 BR: $3,919, vs. $3,223 at 535 Carlton, a 17.8% discount off market

That discount won't last, since a lease renewal will eliminate that free month. 

The discount may stay relatively narrow as new units in the area get absorbed, but likely will expand over time, as the rent-stabilized affordable units nudge up only via annual decisions from the Rent Guidelines Board. So 535 Carlton may be more of a bargain than the rent gap suggests.

Still, when a large chunk of one-bedrooms--61 of 129 units at 535 Carlton--are less than 4% below market, that's hardly making a dent in the affordability problems plaguing the Prospect Heights area and Brooklyn at large.

535 Carlton rents