Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Photo via TonyRomasNY Twitter account It's not the Hooters some feared, but Tony Roma's , a chain restaurant/bar known for ribs/seafood/steaks is indeed moving into the ground-floor retail space in the Atlantic Terrace building, catercorner to the arena block to the northeast. As DNAinfo reported , neighbors upstairs aren't happy about the move, expected in September. They say that the building manager/developer, the Fifth Avenue Committee, told them the restaurant would serve liquor only until 1 am, rather than the 2 am license for which it applied--and which the Community Board so far supports. It's understandable why they'd want to be open that late, on a major corridor across from the arena. But a building of similar size in a less advantageous location wouldn't be getting a national chain, either. This is but one of several major changes expected in the blocks closest to the arena. For example, a Shake Shack is coming to Flatbush Avenue on the ...

From an article to be published in the August 7 New York Times Real Estate section about Atlantic Terrace, catercorner to the northeast of the Atlantic Yards arena block, headlined In Brooklyn, Blurring the Wealth Boundary : Mike Leslie, a transplant from San Francisco who bought the original model penthouse unit with his partner, Michael Richardson, said the fact that there were low-income owners in Atlantic Terrace had not given them pause. The looming issue for the couple was the construction of the arena for the New Jersey Nets going on across the avenue at the Atlantic Yards site, but after determining that construction noise was minimal, they were won over by the 463-square-foot terrace with their penthouse, Mr. Richardson said.  Well, there sure might be construction noise if and when Forest City Ratner starts building directly across the street, as is the plan. Residents of this new building apparently are fortunate, since residents of Pacific and Dean streets bear...

A Wall Street Journal article today, headlined Project Puts Brooklyn First , concerns Atlantic Terrace , which is apparently also being marketed as 212 S. Oxford Street, a project at the corner of Atlantic Avenue just north of the arena site. The good news, according to the sponsor Fifth Avenue Committee, is affordable housing ( subsidized co-ops for households ranging from $34,970 to $115,380), LEED gold certification, locally-crafted finishings, and common amenities open to both subsidized and market-rate tenants. Going local The Journal reports: Even more principled: the 11,400-square-foot ground-floor retail space is being marketed primarily to local tenants. "We've received some interest from some national chains," says Heather Gershen, the director of housing development for the Fifth Avenue Committee. "We think it's important for people to get fresh produce, milk, the morning paper. We would like to see some of the new Brooklyn retailers." Or, as Ms....

The Fifth Avenue Committee's new LEED Gold , mixed-income Atlantic Terrace development is nearing completion, far faster than Atlantic Yards (which began earlier), but there's a curious omission on the official web site: no (planned) arena. The neighborhood page of the web site states: Atlantic Terrace is located in Fort Greene, adjacent to Prospect Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Clinton Hill and Boerum Hill. The location has so much to offer, including two public parks, multiple schools, a major hospital, and a local university—all within walking distance. The building is also adjacent to a major shopping center, the Atlantic Terminal Mall, as well as Brooklyn’s premier transit hub at the Atlantic/Pacific Station through which virtually all city subway lines pass. Yes, and it looks like they're going to build an arena across the street, surrounded by a tower or two or four. There's a similar omission on the web site for Forest City Ratner's 80 DeKalb Avenue projec...