Expect More than 2,500 New
Apartments in Next Three Years
By Dennis Holt
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — When the city decided it needed a second East River bridge, to be called the Manhattan, planners knew exactly where it should be placed. It had to connect in as straight a line as possible with Flatbush Avenue, which began at Fulton Street.

For that bridge to be built and the connection made, about 300 Brooklyn buildings had to be destroyed, and what is called the Flatbush Avenue Extension was laid down.

That path is the major reason why there are some strange short streets that seem to end unexpectedly, and why a small part of Brooklyn is called Bridge Plaza.

The Flatbush Avenue Extension has never been an attractive entry into the heart of Brooklyn. It has always been very utilitarian. That, however, is about to change.

The street itself is going to be renovated, improved and made quite attractive. It will still be utilitarian, but in a much more appealing way. And what surrounds it is changing, too.

If all goes according to plan, during the next three years or so, there should be 2,667 new residential units built along what planners call the Flatbush Avenue Extension Corridor. This will create more than 3 million more square feet of new space. The whole effort should cost more than $1.3 billion.

Although Brooklyn planners, in rezoning the Downtown Brooklyn area in 2004, hoped those efforts might lead to 1,000 new housing units, no one anticipated the wave of residential development. Few had thought through the appeal of living in Brooklyn with a view.

With height plans for four of the 10 projects still being determined, there will be at least 224 new combined stories of buildings climbing into the sky. This will probably amount to a minimum of 2,500 feet of high-rises.

With five buildings contributing retail space, there should also be about 113 feet of new stores. Three of these projects are in Bridge Plaza along Nassau, Duffield and Gold streets. Three others are between Tillary Street and Myrtle Avenue, and still another three are on the southern part of Myrtle Avenue. Every one of these projects is east of the Flatbush Extension.

A summary follows. Bridge View Tower at the corner of Nassau and Bridge will be 19 stories tall and have 58 market-rate condos. The “flatiron�-shaped building will be at Duffield, the Extension and Tillary, with 108 condos. It will have 8,000 feet of retail space.

Gold Street Holdings hopes to build a 417,000-square-foot complex for 348 market-rate rentals at Tillary, Prince and Gold streets.

Ron Herscho/United Homes plans two towers flanking Gold Street at Johnson Street with 517 market rate-condos. Avalon Bay is putting together a massive project at 343 Gold St. that would consist of 628 market rate rentals.

And two developers are planning and building three projects along Myrtle between the Extension and Ashland Place that could total 559 market-rate condos, 192 market-rate rentals, 192 affordable rentals and 42 affordable condos.

If all this comes to pass, this part of Brooklyn and the old extension will never be the same.

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
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