Though new columns on Dean St. announce "Pacific Park", the three-acre open space, nearing completion with launch of two-tower 595 Dean, isn't quite ready.

According to the 595 Dean website from TF Cornerstone, the two-tower complex benefits from "A park at your doorstep."

Similarly, the developer's Rent-Stabilized Pacific Park Apartments page and the city's HousingConnect lottery page, both promoting "affordable" middle-income units, play up the open space, a total of three acres in multiple sections.

(That three acres builds on previous fractional open space outside the already-built 550 Vanderbilt and 535 Carlton.)

The rest of the promised 8 acres of open space--five more acres--depends on the construction of an expensive platform over the Vanderbilt Yard, which was announced to start last year but never actually launched.

For now, though 595 Dean opened last month to market-rate tenants, and last week I noticed handsome columns (example at left) along Dean Street--at the three entrances to the open space--announcing "Pacific Park," the open space remains very much unfinished, as shown in my photos and videos below.

The Central Plaza

Central Plaza Entrance

Consider, above right is a rendering of the Central Plaza Entrance, between the two 595 Dean Towers, from the Housing Connect page. (Note that the perspective is somewhat elevated.)

At left is the photo I took two nights ago.

The perspective is obviously not as wide, nor is it from above, but the future two glass-walled restaurants--bookends or gateways--are still raw spaces, months from being occupied.

The trees are modest, and there is dirt rather than turf or flowering plants.

In other words, this view is months, or years away.

So "Pacific Park," as one neighbor put it, might for now be called "Pacific Park-let." The space has potential--people were starting to use it--but it can't be fully assessed until it's completed, and being used.

After all, the four towers on that southeast block of the project site include a total of 1,374 apartments: 550 Vanderbilt (278), 595 Dean (798), and 535 Carlton (298).

At an average of 2.1 people per unit--as per previous state estimates--that's 2,885 people just upstairs who might use the space, at least if the buildings are fully occupied.

And that's not counting the hundreds of people who might linger there after visiting Chelsea Piers, or just walking down the block.

Interestingly enough, TF Cornerstone is also enthusiastically promoting the Vanderbilt Avenue open streets just down the block: "Relax, dine, and play in the city's only volunteer-run Open Street just half a block away." That's an unexpected bonus, an innovation thanks to the pandemic, that helps market the units.

Curiously, as shown in the photo at left, the address for the Pacific Park Conservancy--funded by the project's component buildings--is conservancy@pacificparkbrooklyn.nyc. That's a new (and nonfunctional) URL, since the official project website is pacificparkbrooklyn.com. The phone number, 347-292-6479, is a new one.

The East Plaza

The future East Plaza, with fountain

Above right is the rendering of the East Plaza, with Splash Pad & Fountain, from the HousingConnect page. It's located east of the East Tower (B12), between that and the 550 Vanderbilt condo tower.

At left is more truncated view, shot by reaching over a fence, of that future fountain plaza

As shown, the seating seems mostly finished, but the rest isn't yet ready.

Once it is ready, we'll see if there's an entrance for residents from the open space flanking the tower to the east.

As I wrote, it's perplexing that there does not seem to be a clear main entrance to that tower; developer TF Cornerstone has devoted two of three Dean Street canopied entrances to Chelsea Piers, for a separate fitness center and field house, while the 595 Dean canopy is attached to the West Tower (B13).

The West Plaza

At left is the rendering of the West Plaza, with Playground & Dog Run, from the HousingConnect page. It's located west of the West Tower, next to the 535 Carlton (B14) building.

It looks quite impressive, but it's not ready either.

I don't have a direct photo to compare, but the current state is visible in the video directly below.

I took short walk-throughs around each of the three separate plazas two nights ago, shortly before 8 pm.

Video: West Plaza