Plank Road marketing ramps up: high rents, no 3-BR units (or, yet, affordable listings). Dubious claim of views thanks to "lack of competition for high-rise buildings"!

The rental launch for 27-story Plank Road, aka 662 Pacific St. (B15), began yesterday, with an expanded web site (and digital brochure), plus a promotional article in New York YIMBY headlined Leasing Launches For Plank Road At 662 Pacific Street In Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

The first set of units, in the lower half of the building, are for rent, with availability Oct. 1:

Plank Road at left. Behind it, 38 Sixth Ave.
At right, 18 Sixth Ave., Brooklyn Crossing.

• studio $3,430
• 1-BR = $3,575-$4,550 
• 2-BR = $5,725-$6,000 

The 30% affordable units have not been listed yet on the city's Housing Connect lottery list, but likely will be geared to households earning 130% of Area Median Income, which could mean rents of:

• studio = $2,263
• 1-BR = $2,838
• 2-BR = $3,397

Somtimes, though, developers don't seek the maximum.

No high-rises?

The Plank Road promotion emphasizes the building's copious amenities (fitness center, lounge, kids' playroom, rooftop grilling stations, and pool) and, astoundingly, claims: 

Another benefit of living in Prospect Heights is the lack of competition for high-rise buildings, affording Plank Road a unique position among the neighborhood’s historic properties to see above and beyond.

As shown in the photo at right, looking west toward Plank Road, that claim is ridiculous. Those looking directly north will see the larger 18 Sixth Ave., Brooklyn Crossing, directly in front, while those looking directly west, at least in a good chunk of the building, will see the 23-story 38 Sixth Ave.

From a Plank Road video

Yes, those looking south and southeast, at least from the sixth floor and up, should have unobstructed views, but views of Manhattan are hardly unobstructed. 

More importantly, the promotion ignores the plan for significant (and potentially disruptive) construction over the Vanderbilt Yard, which should create six towers blocking (some of the views) of those looking northeast.

Where's Pacific Park?

Perhaps the effrontery of claiming a "lack of competition" for high-rises is why the name Pacific Park Brooklyn, the project of which this is a part, does not appear on the web site.

After all, most of the "park"--publicly-available open space--requires the construction of those six towers, so it's far off, perhaps not until 2035, and might not ever be delivered. Perhaps that's why the 
promotion emphasizes another, more established park:

With Prospect Park just a hop, skip, and a jump from your door, you will undoubtedly come to appreciate the neighborhood as an intrinsic part of the Plank Road experience.

The rooftop pool (via YIMBY)

There was a Pacific Park mention on YIMBY. “We are excited to be a part of Pacific Park’s growth with our latest building, bringing new mixed-income housing and a public school to Prospect Heights,” said The Brodsky Organization principal Alexander Brodsky.

That said, the middle-school, in the lower five floors of the building (and below ground), is not due to open until 2024, and could raise various complications, given the flow of students and school personnel, along with nearby NYPD and FDNY stations.

Fewer family-sized units

It's notable that the building contains no units larger than two bedrooms, which suggests another failure to follow the initial pledges regarding Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park: that 50% of the affordable units would be two- and three-bedroom units, on a square foot basis, as shown in the Affordable Housing Memorandum of Understanding, excerpted at left.

That was non-binding, of course. The first tower with affordable units, 461 Dean St., contained no three-bedroom units, either, while the two "100% affordable" buildings, 535 Carlton Ave. and 38 Sixth Ave., did contain a significant percentage of family-sized units. 

About the neighborhood

According to the Plank Road web site:

Plank Road sits squarely at the intersection between two worlds. On the one side, classic Downtown Brooklyn [should be: Prospect Heights], with its National Register of Historic Places buildings and tree-lined streets; a preserved neighborhood rich with the flavors of community. On the other, bustling modern, cosmopolitan downtown, with its blend of restaurants, prime shopping outlets and boutiques humming with culture. Home to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) as well as the Brooklyn Nets (housed in the distinctive Barclays Center), the neighborhood is also within walking distance of Brooklyn’s own centerpiece, Prospect Park.

They're not unwisely playing it safe here, across the street from the arena block, no longer associating Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park with Downtown Brooklyn.

Some of the listings