Development

In-the-Works Nine-Story Development Towering Above the Elevated Train Tracks in Bed Stuy

The building, on the Bed Stuy-Bushwick border, will eventually have 93 residential units, 19 of which will be affordable.

by Craig Hubert

03/19/2019 0

A large nine-story mixed-use building is rising next to the elevated train tracks—very, very close to the train tracks, in fact—on the border of Bed Stuy and Bushwick. Located at 874 Willoughby Avenue, at the corner of Broadway, it has been in the works for a number of years.

During a recent visit, it appeared to be close to topped out. Construction fence and netting are still up.

874 willoughby street — The rendering posted on the construction fence

It will eventually have 93 residential units, 19 of which will be affordable according to available data from Housing New York. In addition, there will be 47 parking spaces for cars and the same for bikes, and four retail stores on the ground

One of those retail spaces will possibly be a grocery store. The developers filed for a FRESH (Food Retail Expansion to Support Health Program) certification with City Planning in November 2018. As part of the program, the developers will receive zoning incentives if they can prove that the main retail space in their project is dedicated to the sale of food products.

The owner, listed on building permits as George Kelesidis of Queens-based Nikki Suites LLC, purchased the formerly empty lot in 2012 for $2.8 million. In 2013, he was accused by the New York City Department of Investigations of allegedly “offering money on two occasions to a DOB employee.”

Engineer Stavros Malliaros is the applicant of record. The project began construction in 2015. A one-story building once existed on the site but was demolished sometime in 2011.

There are a number of developments currently in progress along this stretch of Broadway, including a seven-story mixed-use building at 1595 Broadway at Halsey that has already topped out.