Dyker Heights

Community Board 10 looking at Eighth Ave. Center

Hotel, shopping mall, apartments, pre-school planned for site

July 21, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
This rendering of the planned Eighth Avenue Center offers a bird’s eye view of the scope of the project. Image courtesy of Richard Chan Architects, P.C.
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A massive commercial-residential development on the border of Dyker Heights and Sunset Park is still in the planning stages, but members of Community Board 10 are not waiting until the shovels are in the ground to take a close look at the ambitious project.

The owners of the property at 6208 Eighth Ave. are hoping to develop the site into a massive complex that will include an 11-story hotel, a shopping mall, 250 residential apartments, a health care center, a library and a private pre-school.

Hundreds of jobs will be created as a result of the project, supporters of the development are predicting.

The development has been dubbed the Eighth Avenue Center.

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The giant property, which stretches from Eighth Avenue to Seventh Avenue, between 62nd and 64th streets, is owned by a group of investors that formed an entity known as 62-08 Realty Corp., according to New York City Department of Finance records.

Lore Croghan, the Brooklyn Eagle’s “Eye on Real Estate” columnist, reported last year that the owners paid $51.5 million for the property back when they purchased it in 2014.

Richard Chan Architects, P.C. is the firm hired to design the project. The architecture firm is located in Flushing.

Brian Kaszuba, chairman of Community Board 10’s Zoning and Land Use Committee, said the development is going up in a part of Brooklyn that has experienced tremendous growth in recent years in terms of population. The community board is monitoring the development plans with a watchful eye, he said.

“The plans call for an 11-story hotel, commercial usage, 250 residential units, a health care center, a library and a day care center. There will also be 2,500 parking spaces on two subterranean levels. These plans have changed before and they could change again,” Kaszuba told the Eagle.

One change came when the owners scrapped plans to build a large public school at the site and opted instead for a smaller, private preschool.

The project would need a special permit from the city because the land is zoned for manufacturing, not residential use.

The Department of City Planning wants to conduct an Environmental Impact Study of the project, according to Kaszuba. But he isn’t waiting for the results. “We’re doing our own study of northern Dyker Heights that will take in a portion of Sunset Park as well. We want to look at the impact on traffic, churches, schools, and parks. Knowing how big this project is, the board is being proactive,” he told the Eagle.

The area the committee is studying is located between Sixth and 14th avenues, from Bay Ridge Parkway down to 45th Street.

The community board serves in an advisory capacity only and doesn’t have the power to stop the Eighth Avenue Center project from moving forward. But the board can voice any concerns it has to city officials.

“We’re not against development per se. We just want to be cautious,” Kaszuba said. “This is such a large-scale development. It will affect everything around it.”

The community board is doing its own study because “by the time the city gets back to us we will be ready,” Kaszuba said. He was referring to the fact that the project will undergo a lengthy city review process before construction takes place.

The property has been eyed for development for many years.

The previous owner, Andrew Kohen, announced plans in 2007 to build a Home Depot at the site. Kohen later sold the land.

 


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