For now, 38 Sixth corner retail space serves as a construction field office

An enduring challenge plaguing most of the extant Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project has been slow lease-up of available retail space.

I reported recently on enduring empty retail space at 461 Dean, the modular tower flanking the Barclays Center, which was the first tower to open.

The arena itself last year began a "Featured on Flatbush" pop-up to use otherwise empty retail space along Flatbush Avenue, though it long ago gave up having public-facing retail on Atlantic Avenue.

The 550 Vanderbilt tower retail space is fully leased, though only one of the three tenants (Van Leeuwen) is active, while 535 Carlton has its main retail space occupied by BKLYN Clay, with another space open.

That brings us to the ground floor retail at 38 Sixth, at the northwest corner of Dean Street and Sixth Avenue, which has at least two, maybe three spaces destined for street-level retail.

A construction field office

The space at the corner, as shown in the photos, is being used by Tishman Construction, part of AECOM Tishman.

The firm is building both B15 (664 Pacific, or 662 Pacific), across Sixth Avenue, containing a school, and also B4, the giant tower at the northeast corner of the arena block. The B15 site has been leased by Greenland Forest City Partners to The Brodsky Organization, and B4 is apparently a joint venture managed by Brodsky.

So they need space for a field office, as shown in the photo on the door (with smaller type than the "Please keep pet urination away from door" warning), that includes space for equipment and meetings.

Meanwhile, the windows of the corner retail space, at Dean and Sixth, both advertise retail space at 38 Sixth and also "Luxury living at affordable rents," with one- and two-bedroom units starting from $2,663.

Looking north to the corner of Dean Street and Sixth Avenue

The only availability on the 38 Sixth web site is a 582-square-foot studio for $2,152.81. That's actually a slight increase from the $2,121 listed on page linked from the web site, perhaps indicating a 2019 increase (screenshot below).

Either way, the minimum income for such a middle-income studio is now over $100,000--which means rent is 26% of income or less, not 30%--while the income range for a $2,663 one-bedroom is $107,760 to $123,255. See screenshot at bottom.

Looking slightly north along Sixth Avenue from Dean Street

Looking south toward the corner of Dean Street and Sixth Avenue

Available affordable units

The chart below only lists the middle-income units in the building that are in the top of two middle-income "bands." The lower of the middle-income bands, as well as the low-income bands and moderate-income band, aren't listed, apparently because they were much easier to lease up.

The original housing lottery ad, 2017