Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

I have to admit, when I saw this article yesterday in Curbed,  The Brooklyn High-Rise Giving Tenants an Allowance , with an image (photo? rendering) of 18 Sixth Ave. (B4, aka Brooklyn Crossing), I wondered if there was a story I missed. Well, only slightly.  I somehow wasn't sent the press release from the Brodsky Organization touting its  Neighborly Events programming, which, as it turns out, is not limited to that particular address. As Curbed puts it: Across a number of the developer’s roughly 50 rental properties , tenants can get Visa gift cards to partially reimburse a game night or costume party attended by their neighbors — as long as they’re willing to post about their event on the Building Link messaging system; take a minimum of “five quality photos” of, say, Lisa from the 16th floor munching on Doritos; and, of course, provide itemized receipts. So far, per a Brodsky spokesperson, the company’s priciest compensation has been somewhere around $500. The point i...

Who knew: the luxury fitness club Life Time's lease at 18 Sixth Avenue (aka Brooklyn Crossing, or B4) is  Brooklyn’s largest retail lease of 2023, in square footage, according to The Real Deal . The publication, which did not rank leases in overall cost or cost per square foot, noted that it was the borough’s second year in a row without any deals larger than 40,000 square feet.  All three floors? "The fitness center agreed early this year to lease the first three floors of the 51-story Brooklyn Crossing tower," built by the Brodsky Organization and Greenland USA, the Real Deal reported. That's not quite true. As I wrote in January, The Commercial Observer reported Life Time leased 36,470 square feet for 20 years. The publication said the club would "occupy" the first three floors, which is not incorrect, but misleading. The lease, as far as I can tell, represents the full second and third floors, plus one of the three ground-floor retail spaces, given that...

There's no timetable or signage yet, but the high-end, Minneapolis-based chain Life Time gym will occupy two floors, plus part of the ground floor, at 18 Sixth Ave., aka Brooklyn Crossing, the Commercial Observer reported 1/9/23. The building flanks the Barclays Center at the northeast corner. Life Time--which, upon a 2016 announcement of its first outpost in Manhattan was described by one publication as "crazy luxe"--opened  a club  in 2021 at Front & York in DUMBO, with membership starting at $259/month. Life Time also will operate a gym, plus a co-working space , at the Brooklyn Tower, the borough's first supertall, at 9 DeKalb. This would be the tenth location in Manhattan and Brooklyn. A restaurant on Sixth Avenue? (Photos/Norman Oder) The Commercial Observer said Life Time leased 36,470 square feet for 20 years. That represents--apparently--the full second and third floors, plus one of the three ground-floor retail spaces.  Here's the building plan . ...

As I wrote recently, rising Area Median Income (AMI) means elevated city guidelines for "affordable" housing, which housing advocates say are way out of sync with the actual incomes of city residents, especially those who rent their housing. Indeed, as shown in the graphic at right, under 2022 AMI guidelines, a studio apartment could rent for $3,035 to those earning 130% of AMI, or $3,852 to those earning 165% of AMI.  The two most recent Atlantic Yards Pacific Park buildings to open, 662 Pacific St. and 18 Sixth Ave., and likely the next two, 595 Dean St. and 615 Dean St., have their affordable units limited to those at 130% of AMI. 2022 figures Those rising AMI figures, of course, are easily in the realm of market-rents, especially for units that aren't in new, highly amenitized buildings--and even for the latter, so it's not surprising that developers don't push for the maximum.. Consider Unit 4104 , a market-rate studio at 18 Sixth Ave. (B4, aka Brooklyn Cr...

At a Furman Center policy breakfast Oct. 3, Bernell Grier, executive director of the nonprofit housing group IMPACCT Brooklyn, made a few observations about "affordable housing" that, if hardly new, deserve recognition, since they reflect on an eternally controversial issue, including the housing planned for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park. When she speaks to community members, Grier said, the first question is "affordable for who." She recalled a conversation with lobbyist Jacqui Williams who said she called it not "affordable housing" but "income-targeted housing." Indeed, I and others have tried to use that term, as well as "income-linked housing" as synonyms for "affordable housing," especially when it's aimed at middle-income households who are financially better-off than most Brooklynites. So the issue, Grier said, is "the right housing being developed for the households that need it." Leasing at 60% of AMI A...

This is the second of three articles about the 9/20/22 Quality of Life meeting. The  first  concerned the delayed platform. Screenshots from meeting presentation Scott Solish of Greenland USA, which owns nearly all of master developer Greenland Forest City Partners (GFCP), said the sidewalk on Atlantic Avenue outside of B4 (18 Sixth Ave., aka Brooklyn Crossing) had been restored. "The last piece of work," he said, "is the restoration of a full size median in Atlantic Avenue to free up the east and west travel lanes. And that work should happen over the next several weeks." That said, assuming a fence is built at Atlantic Avenue between Sixth and Carlton avenues for the platform work, that means traffic will be constricted for three years. Solish said all the work on the residential units is substantially complete, except for some punch list work. The tower has 858 apartments, 600 of them market-rate, and 258 "affordable." Have the tenants in the latter mid...

From the New York Times Real Estate section, published 7/23/22, Luxury Rental Buildings Take ‘Working From Home’ to the Next Level : Developers across the nation are doing what they can to make remote work more convenient to lure prospective tenants, setting off an amenities war as luxury rental buildings and condos dangle must-have conveniences like private offices, conference rooms, task lighting, wall-mounted monitors, podcasting booths and high-speed internet.  ...Other developers are switching gears midway through construction. At Brooklyn Crossing in Prospect Heights, Thomas Brodsky, a partner at the family-run development firm Brodsky Organization, scrapped plans for an open lounge and added semiprivate cubicles and “phones booths” instead to the building’s co-working space, scheduled to open in August. A couple of things to note. First: Brooklyn Crossing (aka B4 or 18 Sixth Ave.) contains 30% income-targeted, "affordable" units, but they're aimed at middle-income ...

From Real Estate Weekly, 5/23/22, The Brodsky Organization Announces Full Lease Up of Plank Road at Pacific Park , surely a press release regarding 662 Pacific Street (aka B15): The Brodsky Organization today announced that Plank Road , one of the latest residential developments within Pacific Park in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, is 100 percent leased. Offering well-located rentals, a full suite of amenities and incredible views — coupled with peak market demand — the 27-story, 312-unit luxury rental building has fully leased its market-rate apartments. This is a special milestone as Brodsky completed Plank Road during the pandemic and finished leasing just seven months after receiving its first temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO). So that means 218 units have been leased. Note: we haven't heard about how many, if any, tenants of the 94 middle-income "affordable" units have moved in.  Applications for those income-linked units were due by 1/18/22, three months after ...

From a recent Brooklyn Magazine newsletter, as excerpted at right: All roads lead to Brooklyn Crossing Welcome home to light-filled warmth, brought to you by high ceilings, expansive windows, custom climate controls, in-unit washer-dryer and wide-plank custom flooring. This is your place, perfect for those solo or “just us” days, and beautifully ideal for intimate gatherings And the link goes here .  It's an anodyne enough campaign, I guess, and the word "roads" does have a connection to "crossing." But "All subways" would be more precise, if we're being literal. The view from that window sure isn't toward Downtown Brooklyn, though. Availabilities As to availabilities , studios start at $3,385, 1-BRs at $3,995, and 2-BRs at $6,700.  But in some cases that's "Net Effective Rent," or indicates price reductions.  Let's go to StreetEasy, which shows that one studio with a $3,395 Net Effective Rent is listed at $3,638, with one mo...

OK, sometime in the past few days Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project, posted the presentation from the 5/10/22 Quality of Life meeting, which I've added below, and also to  my coverage  the next morning.    There isn't much revealing in the slideshow, but I have excerpted, at right, one slide, which is a helicopter perspective, looking west/southwest, at the western end of the railyard and the B4 tower (aka 18 Sixth Ave., or Brooklyn Crossing), which flanks the Barclays Center. The arrow, which I added, points to the location of the planned B5 tower, the first one over the railyard. The railyard platform is expected to start next month. I suspect at least one foundation for the tower will also be installed by the June 15 deadline to qualify for the current 421-a tax break. The tower is expected to go vertical next year, and should take two years to build. B5 is slated to be about 77% of ...

An interesting Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park detail emerged in a 2/23/22 Bisnow article,  Developers, Contractors Investing In Off-Site Construction Storage To Get Ahead Of Supply Chain Issues , describing challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, during which some developers decided to avoid uncertainty around the delivery of materials by eschewing just-in-time delivery: Scott Solish , executive vice president at Greenland USA , said the coronavirus pandemic had impacted 800K SF of construction on Pacific Park in Brooklyn that the developer started working on in 2018 and was ready to start building just before the pandemic hit. But shutdowns and the immediate impact on the supply chain had immediate consequences. “You have to regroup, look and see where all your components are coming from, where are your windows coming from, your HVAC, every piece of material,” Solish said. “Then you have to try and find out: is it coming; how fast can it get here; will the bank let you pay for ...

From New York Real Estate Journal, 2/22/22,  Brodsky Organization and Greenland USA feature local artists at Brooklyn Crossing , citing "artwork from eight artists, all of whom are BIPOC and either live or work in the borough." From the press release/article: The new artwork is another perk among Brooklyn Crossing’s suite of amenities, access to public transportation, culinary scene and local cultural institutions. The Brodsky Organization worked with The Art Committee, a small woman-owned business, to help identify the artists and artwork. The goal was to invest in works from local and diverse artists, putting money back into the pockets of small galleries and artists from the neighborhood. The works displayed differ from current European art typically seen in the community at public venues like the Barclays Center, and reflect the Black and brown roots of the people that originally lived in the area , giving residents a history lesson and a variety of interesting pieces to ...

Rendering of 18 Sixth, looking NW on Sixth Ave. Yesterday, the lottery finally launched for 258 income-targeted, rent-stabilized "affordable housing" units at Brooklyn Crossing (B4, 18 Sixth Ave.), the largest building so far in Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park. And yes, all apartments are designated for middle-income households earning a maximum of 130% of Area Median Income (AMI), or over $100,000. (That's what I  reported  last March for Bklyner, though without confirmation by the developers or the state.) However, as with Plank Road (B15, 662 Pacific St.), the developers are not seeking the maximum rent possible under city guidelines.  They apparently recognize  that such "affordable" rent levels, at least for studios and 1-BRs, would get little uptake from apartment-seekers who can lease similarly-priced units--albeit not rent-stabilized--without going through a laborious application process.  That said, Brooklyn Crossing seeks higher rents than Plank Road: st...

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on 1/4/22 offered the unbylined (credited to "staff")  Leasing begins at 51-story Brooklyn Crossing in Prospect Heights , clearly just the developer's press release: The Brodsky Organization and Greenland USA announced on Tuesday the launch of leasing at Brooklyn Crossing , the latest development within the mixed-use development project Pacific Park in Prospect Heights. Located at 18 Sixth Ave ., the 51-story residential building offers 858 new units of mixed-income housing, 258 of which are set aside for affordable housing, ranging from studios to one- to three-bedroom apartments. Retail space occupies the building’s ground floor. Except leasing actually began last month, as I reported . Pumping affordable housing From the article/press release: “It’s an exciting time in the market as we launch leasing of another remarkable building in Pacific Park, bringing 258 units of dedicated affordable housing to the Prospect Heights neighborhood,” said Ale...

So, as we wait for the affordable housing lottery--almost surely for middle-income units--to surface for 662 Pacific St., aka Plank Road, aka B15, I checked to see the rental status for market-rate units--and they're on discount, somewhat. Interestingly enough, StreetEasy lists nine past rentals, all currently unavailable, and seven current listings. I'm not certain whether the unavailable listings have been rented, or taken off the market for a bit.  Some of the past listings were offering one month free rent on a 14-month lease. The current listings are offering one month free rent on a 16-month lease--and in some cases prices have already come down.. That not surprising, given that it takes carrots to get people into a new, amenitized building where only some floors are available for occupancy and construction continues --and continues nearby.  Worth watching is whether a larger number of units--especially when facing competition from the catercorner 18 Sixth Avenue--come ...

Well, there's no update yet regarding the next key stage of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park: whether and when the platform over the Vanderbilt Yard, to be constructed in two stages and support three towers each, will be built. That platform is crucial to the project's affordable housing obligations, as well as the future open space. The latest iteration of the required six-month look-ahead (bottom) required of master Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park developer Greenland Forest City Partners, again--as in  November 2020 --says that "Platform construction may commence during the reporting period." The workforce would average 50 to 100 workers. (I received the document, dated 5/1/21, from Empire State Development, which oversees/shepherds the project, after a Freedom of Information Law request.) In May 2020 , the document stated, with unreliable certainty, that the construction "will commence." At a public meeting 12/10/20, Greenland USA's Scott Solish said that, w...

The 858-unit 18 Sixth Ave. (B4) tower has a name, and a branding effort: Brooklyn Crossing . Leasing starts this fall; as stated separately, move-ins begin in the fourth quarter (which also includes the beginning of winter). The building--the largest planned so far in Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park--likely won't be finished for another year. It flanks the northeast corner of the arena block, and is at the southwest corner of Atlantic and Sixth avenues. As with Plank Road , the branding for the catercorner 662 Pacific St. (B15), the Google ads, at least, emphasize the location in Prospect Heights, not the chimerical neighborhood of Pacific Park, as noted below. The "park" relies on open space that will be, in large part, one long block away, and remain incomplete until possibly 2035.  Nor are developers of 51-story Brooklyn Crossing emphasizing, as during the run-up to approval of Atlantic Yards, the project's location in Downtown Brooklyn. Note that the black-and-white ...