Albee Square Deal Closes, Fewer Apartments Planned
When the deal was announced back in February, the consortium of investors purchasing the groundlease for the Gallery at Fulton Mall from Thor Equities had big plans: 475,000 square feet of retail space, 125,000 square feet of Class A office space, and 1,000 rental apartments (with 20 percent set aside for tenants of moderate income)….
When the deal was announced back in February, the consortium of investors purchasing the groundlease for the Gallery at Fulton Mall from Thor Equities had big plans: 475,000 square feet of retail space, 125,000 square feet of Class A office space, and 1,000 rental apartments (with 20 percent set aside for tenants of moderate income). Since the deal closed last week for a reported $120 million, it’s come out that the housing component has been scaled back by about 35 percent. The 1.6-million-square-foot tower (which will be anywhere from 40 to 60 stories) will still have 650 apartments, but the switcheroo is expected to result in a loss of about 70 affordable housing units, something that has community groups pissed off. The new owners haven’t announced what they’re going to do with the extra square footage from the 350 axed apartments yet.
Developers Pare Housing Plan for Albee Square [NY Observer] GMAP
Expansion, Skyscraper Planned for Albee Square Mall [Brownstoner]
Albee Square [Acadia Realty]
Actually Bren and Scott you take the easy way out by trying to turn this into a black and white issue – many of us would like to see successful mixed communities, the issue is how do you obtain that without creating all sort of other problems.
I have said that I favor rent controls on occupied apartments (vacancy decontrol); and 421-a changes that require some affordable housing in exchange for tax breaks. I also support other incentive programs like Mitchell-Lama that make building affordable units attractive to developers. (However I am dismayed by legislative attempts to change the rules now that some of these buildings are eligible to leave Mitchell-Lama – since I think that will discourage developers from entering such programs in the future)
Anyway beyond these things (and btw there is legitimate arguments against all my positions), I am not exactly clear what else you can do to create “mixed-neighborhoods”, when clearly there are certain areas that are more desired and therefore more expensive then others. Do you propose some sort of forced economic integration, or new tax plan?
Instead of simply trying to make the debate about “good and evil” (and then picking the side of “good” for yourself). Try actually engaging with the real issue – what to do.
Yes Scott, it does sound like that…
this “second group” would like Brooklyn
to become a borough of nothing but clones of themselves … they would like to drive the rest of us into the sea… oops that’s right, can’t go there either, big development on the horizon for Coney Island…
Yes, if people cannot live in the brownstone belt, they will have no quality of life. Just as those who don’t attend Harvard or Yale cannot possibly be successful in their careers.
Gotcha.
There are two clear groups represented here: a group in support of mixed communities and the other for market driven homogeneity. I get the feeling that this second group would like to transform the city into bland little suburban neighborhoods.
IF you all went back to NYC or elsewhere we would all be happier. But since you are here DONEDEAL SHO NUFF LET ER RIP FIGHT THE SOURS IM SO BORED WITH THE USA
Anon 8:54- Brooklyn Heights on the other side of Court St. was affluent. Low and middle income families not only lived there, but they were the residents in the surrounding areas- Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and especially downtown Brooklyn. No one “stuck” them there- they were there for years.
As far as whether or not renters did ir did not buy- since when di being a renter become a term of derision? Since when does renting make anyone a second class citizen? I think many of you forget that rentals were the norm for everyone in this City and was no reflection on how much you made or how hard you worked. Life happens- not everyone gets the same chances or has the same abilities or resources. It’s truly disheartening to see the sheer selfishness of some of the posters here.
As for the poster who thinks cops and firefighters chose the job so it’s OK for them to die in the line of duty, or that it’s such a cushy job- I’ll warrant you don’t know a single cop or firefighter, or their families. It’s a waste of time trying to educate anyone about social responsibility who’s idea of it is all you poor people and renters, get out of my way. It’s not a concept they get.
“They chose that job and the public does expect them to do it because they pay for the services with their taxes.” I hadn’t realized you could buy a man’s life, or treat him like chattel. I have far more respect for what they do than I do for a stockbroker. I’m damn grateful that any of them take jobs like that because obviously respect for them and the fact that they put their lives on the line for the public is nothing you are capable of appreciating. That’s what happens when your moral and ethical growth has been stunted by greed.
Some of the posts on this thread sound positively fascist. You’re basically talking economic apartheid- as a friend of mine calls it-. No society, capitalist or otherwise- can exist that way, and those of you who forget the past will be condemning all of us to repeat it.
well spoken Anonymous 6:59pm… and so very true!
What’s so “Heartless, Shortsighted and Cruel” about placing gov’t assisted housing for low to middle income families in low to middle income neighborhoods that represent over 50% of the boroughs population and not in affluent communities such as downtown Brooklyn? Is there an equal desired public policy mandate to create such affordable housing in SoHo, Tribeca or the Upper East Side? Certainly not. So why should downtown Brooklyn be any different? According to some of you, downtown Brooklyn will always be considered a colossal “Kumbaya failure” unless we throw up some Section 8 housing along 7th Avenue or Montague Street.
These comments have taught me what currently underlies so much of New York’s “special” energy: anger.