Warehouse Site to South Could
Double Project’s Size, Says Owner
By Sarah Ryley
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
GOWANUS — The housing component of the city’s effort to develop a six-acre lot known as “Public Place” could nearly double if the winning team joins with a property owner to the south, the Eagle has learned.
Monday night, Gabriella Amabile, director of large scale development for the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development, presented the two finalists out of six entrants to convert the six-acre, contaminated Public Place into a mixed-use community with waterfront access and open space. As first reported in the Eagle, the finalists are: The Related Companies partnering with Monadnock Construction Inc., Catholic Charities and Donna Walcavage Landscape Architect, called “Team A”; and The Hudson Companies partnering with Fifth Avenue Committee, Jonathan Rose Companies and The Bluestone Organization, called “Team B.” The Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation is a partner with both teams.
Related had nearly two acres of open space and 725 units, with 61 percent priced below market-rate and 100 earmarked for seniors. Hudson had 2.25 acres of open space and 774 units, with 64 percent priced below market-rate and 120 earmarked for seniors.
Clothing magnate Henry Abadi owns the four-acre property adjacent to Public Place, where he warehouses the uniforms and sportswear he sells across the city. Together, the two properties span from Fourth Street to Huntington Street, and from Smith Street to the Gowanus Canal.
Abadi said he initially joined forces with the World-Wide Group, one of the other six teams not selected as a finalist, with a proposal containing 1,500 units on the ten acres. “Avalon [Bay Companies, partnering with Strategic Development] contacted me and they offered me also a joint venture,” said the 61-year-old Jewish immigrant, who escaped from Syria in the 1970s. “I joined the one that I thought would be in my best interest  but whoever wins, if it suits me, I will team up with them of course. No questions asked.”
Abadi said city officials encouraged him to team up with the winner, though the requirements for his privately owned land would likely be less stringent on affordability and open space than the city-owned Public Place. He pointed out that he is demolishing his warehouse, worth “between $13 and $15 million  just for the sake of cleaning up the area.” KeySpan Energy, now national Grid, is required to cleanup heavy contamination on Abadi’s property and Public Place, both the site of a former manufactured gas plan.
“I am sacrificing a lot now and getting little in return,” said Abadi. “Nobody is paying me for demolishing the place, they are only paying me a small part (for demolition and moving cost).”
Amabile said Abadi’s land would most likely have affordable housing requirements, common when the Department of City Planning grants a special rezoning from industrial to residential, significantly increasing the value of the land.
Fifth Avenue Committee Co-Chair Michelle de la Uz, who has spoken with Abadi, said she thinks the 1,500 units in World-Wide’s proposal sounds a bit high. “I think partly it’s going to have to abide by the newly intended waterfront zoning that City Planning is discussing,” she said. “They want to have a significant setback from the Gowanus Canal, and then of course you're going to have to bring in public streets and public access.”
Hudson Principal Michael Wadman said, “We haven’t formulated any specific plans for his site but we would hope to mirror our Public Place proposal with buildings of similar quality and style, integrate the site with the new streets planned for the Public Place site, and provide open space along the canal as an extension of our proposed Canal Park.”
Related spokeswoman Joanna Rose referred questions about the project to the city.
Both projects would dedicate a significant amount of space to retail and community facilities. Amabile said a winner would be announced next month.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
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