Pratties Have 'Cake-and-Eat-It' Design for Admiral's Row
Pratt Institute architect Brent Porter and his students have designed a plan for Admiral’s Row that would involve preserving the 10 old buildings and also constructing a supermarket and a parking lot. The design would result in the restoration of the houses for commercial and community use, and put a supermarket—one that’s smaller than the…
Pratt Institute architect Brent Porter and his students have designed a plan for Admiral’s Row that would involve preserving the 10 old buildings and also constructing a supermarket and a parking lot. The design would result in the restoration of the houses for commercial and community use, and put a supermarket—one that’s smaller than the one the city wants—on old parade grounds. The proposal, which comes in advance of Tuesday evening’s public meeting at Borough Hall and days after Councilmember Letitia James expressed a willingness to preserve at least some of the buildings, does not come with a price tag.
Meet the New ‘Row’ [Brooklyn Paper]
Guard Starts Talks ‘To Come Up With Alternatives’ For Row [Brownstoner]
James Opens Door to (Partial) Admiral’s Row Preservation [Brownstoner]
Model c/o Gordon LaPlante / Brent M. Porter and Associates for BP.
@BklynPEZ
“It seems a good idea to me… but as with everything it boils down to $$$. I wasn’t able to find any details on the Pratt students project. But I’ll bet it is just that, a school project. So I hope someone involved has the savy to help it become a reality.
Also I noticed that here Brownstoner states, “Pratt Institute architect Brent Porter and his students have designed a plan for Admiral’s Row”. But in the Brooklyn Eagle linked article …”
There are two different things happening. Zehra Kuz was teaching a class focusing on alternatives to the admirals row housing. Meanwhile Brent Porter was working with two other students to create an alternative plan which had nothing to do either with Zehra Kuz or a Pratt Institute school project. (aside from the students being in school at the time). Brent Porter’s proposal was mearly created with the aid of Pratt Students and was an attempt to prove the city could achieve the same desired results (i.e. parking requirements, height restrictions, and the desired grocery store) while preserving both the historic brownstones as well as park space and timber shed. The proposed bix box retail center was a proposal which could be improved upon. More images can be seen here:
I hardly think their would be many tourists who would drag they sorry asses through the surrounding projects to see a half a dozen restored brownstones when any other Brooklyn neighborhood has more and better architecture to look at. As far as I can tell there is nothing nautical or Navyish about these places that would make them unique. There is a finite amount of money available for this kind of project, better to look for something that gets more bang for the buck.
Businesses that depend on cars:
Fairway
Ikea
Anything that’s far from a subway. I dont know much about those houses, but they are a low priority for me. They are houses. I doubt theres much of the original detail left.
They can knock these down for a good grocery store and use the preservation money on the Loews Kings on Flatbush, which is a far more worthy building for preservation that is being ignored.
There’s plenty of room to build the supermarket if you don’t build a parking lot. And there’s plenty of supermarkets in Brownstone Brooklyn that are getting along just fine without parking lots. With the price of gas well over $4 a gallon and no decline in sight, who would start a business that depends on customers coming in cars?
It seems a good idea to me… but as with everything it boils down to $$$. I wasn’t able to find any details on the Pratt students project. But I’ll bet it is just that, a school project. So I hope someone involved has the savy to help it become a reality.
Also I noticed that here Brownstoner states, “Pratt Institute architect Brent Porter and his students have designed a plan for Admiral’s Row”. But in the Brooklyn Eagle linked article …
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=18939
“We’re trying to please, I think, everyone, as much as possible,†said Diane Smith, a student in Professor Zehra Kuz’ architectural design class.”
Brooklyn Eagle goes on to say Prof. Brent Porter is also Chairman Of the Clinton Hill Society of Landmarks Comm.
So time will tell. I do hope History is remembered.
It seems a good idea to me… but as with everything it boils down to $$$. I wasn’t able to find any details on the Pratt students project. But I’ll bet it is just that, a school project. So I hope someone involved has the savy to help it become a reality.
Also I noticed that here Brownstoner states, “Pratt Institute architect Brent Porter and his students have designed a plan for Admiral’s Row”. But in the Brooklyn Eagle linked article …
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=18939
“We’re trying to please, I think, everyone, as much as possible,†said Diane Smith, a student in Professor Zehra Kuz’ architectural design class.”
Brooklyn Eagle goes on to say Prof. Brent Porter is also Chairman Of the Clinton Hill Society of Landmarks Comm.
So time will tell. I do hope History is remembered.
Lots of chatter. How many of you live in the Whitman or Ingersoll housing projects and have to shop in the nabe? Let’s see those hands a waving.
I actually read law last year on government owned property. It referred to how they were required to maintain the buildings and/or land. I can’t recall exactly, but I thought they were bound by law to maintain it to a certain degree. IF Admiral’s row is “transferred” to a private entity, as I’ve been reading about, the law would no longer apply. Is anyone familiar with law regarding state owned or federal owned property?
“Major supporters include Bloomberg LP, Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, Carson Family Charitable Trust, CIT, Forest City Ratner Companies, The Charina Endowment Fund, The Silverweed Foundation, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee, and The Wachovia Foundation. Generous support has been provided by Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Kathy and Richard S. Fuld, Jr., Danielle and David Ganek, Jennifer and Matthew Harris, Jill and Peter Kraus, and Peter Norton Family Foundation, with additional funds from Donald B. Marron Charitable Trust, Elise and Andrew Brownstein, The Jonathan M. Tisch Foundation, Laurie M. Tisch Illuminations Fund, Steve Tisch, Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen, Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, and Jeanette Sarkisian Wagner.”
sorry f4f, the project cost $15M; the amount of money coming from NYSCA and the Department of Cultural Affairs was relatively minor. And kingstonlounge, the pope is the leader of a major religion worshiped by hundreds of thousands of people in the New York metropolitan region, so what you (or I) think of him doesn’t really mean a whole lot.