Developers Compromise on Height
At Court and Columbia Streets
Perhaps following the old adage, ‘a stitch in time save nine,’ developers The Clarett Group and L&M Equities chose to negotiate with community groups on their projects at 340 Court St. and 75 Columbia St., respectively, before the official unveiling of their plans. Wednesday night, some compromises, mainly concerning height, were announced.
Though Forté developer The Clarett Group could build up to 21 stories at 340 Court St.— a 44,000 square-foot lot with frontage on Sackett and Union Streets — Assemblywoman Joan Millman said the developer would limit the height to six or seven stories. At the Community Board 6 meeting Wednesday, she said her office recently met with representatives of the high-rise developer over its plans for the site. She stressed that while the meeting was productive, “I don’t have anything in writing; there’s very little we can do to hold their feet to the fire.” Local wags agree, discomforted by the developer’s Web site featuring renderings of residential towers like the 55-story “Sky House” in Manhattan and the 30-story Forté in Fort Greene.
The former International Longshoremen’s Association building, previously owned by Long Island College Hospital and reportedly sold to Clarett for $24 million, would be razed to make way for 30-40 condos in one building, and five “brownstone-like” townhouses with stoops on both Sackett and Union Streets, said Millman. She said the developer stressed the condominiums would be large, “a lot of three and even four-bedroom units,” each with one parking space. She was also told Clarett is “actively seeking a commercial tenant for Court Street, possibly a grocery store.”
Another developer, L&M Equity, took a similar approach — limiting height in an effort to quell what often becomes a lengthy, and costly, battle with the community — on their Columbia Street project, a joint venture with the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The project was previously 170 units, with 41 units of below market rate housing, but is now apparently 152 units, still with 41 units below market rate. Greg O’Connell, developer of the Fairway market and a Community Board 6 member, said he’s been involved in
negotiations with L&M since last month’s raucous board meeting. Originally, the board had asked L&M to hold off on beginning the process for 75 days of approving the zoning change and sale of city-owned land. “They have refused to do that,” said O’Connell. “L&M and HPD have decided to keep this development on the fast track”
Instead, after a “constant back and forth every day” since last month’s board meeting, L&M agreed to reduce the maximum height of the building facing Hicks Street (which would contain all of the below market-rate units and roughly 45 others) from 80 feet to 60 feet, said O’Connell. On the Warren and Baltic street sides of the building, the maximum height would be still be 60 feet, but with height setbacks at 40 feet so it would appear shorter. Also, he said on the side streets the building would be set back from the sidewalk 14 feet, “where you could have a fence and some bicycles and some green — in other words, it creates more of a neighborly feel on this block.”
The buildings on the other two project sites on Columbia and Congress streets would be a maximum of 60 feet, with setbacks at 40 feet facing Warren Street, said O’Connell. L&M is still negotiating with community members on design guidelines, with ideas on the table such as varying the color of brick on the Hicks Street site so it appears to be multiple buildings, and adding decorative elements to the façade that are contextual with the neighborhood.
Discussion at Wednesday’s board meeting focused more on height and design issues than the number of affordable units, though it was brought up by one member who didn’t think there were enough to compensate for the transfer of 18,000 square feet of city-owned land, subsidies and a valuable zoning variance. “I don’t think anyone would not want more affordable housing … but we didn’t get involved with that,” said O’Connell.
A number of developers in this intensely active area of Brooklyn are choosing to meet with community groups before official unveiling their plans, and The Hudson Companies contributes a weekly entry to the popular blog Brownstoner on their Gowanus project. Perhaps, after witnessing so many other developments tangled in community opposition during the approval and construction phases, developers here are adhering to the old adage, ‘a stitch in time saves nine.’
Assemblywoman Millman said the city finished going through proposals for the reuse of the
firehouse at 299 DeGraw St., and invited her to give input on “blind proposals,” which conceal the name of the applicant. “There’s some very fine proposals out there to lease it to a non-profit for five to 10 years,” she said. “As long as they don’t sell it, but only lease it, there’s a good chance we’ll get it back.”
The firehouse was one of six slated for shutdown by the city in 2003, despite protests by both citizens and elected officials. Sale of the property was averted this summer, however, when the city agreed to lease it on a long-term basis to an organization that benefits the community. Friends of Firefighters has submitted a proposal to move its operations to the vacant firehouse, and other community-based groups have done the same.
— Compiled by Sarah Ryley
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
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Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues.
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