End Nears for Crown Heights Spice Factory as Developers Seek Demo Permit and New Rezoning

In a surprise twist, after a failed Crown Heights rezoning whose resulting 39-story towers and their shadows would have threatened the nearby Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the same developer is back and, unexpectedly, is now seeking a new rezoning to build 14 stories on the property. At the same time, a new owner is moving ahead with plans to demolish the site’s historic Spice Factory building.

Built as the Consumer’s Park Brewing Company in 1898, the complex located at 124-150 Montgomery Street and 928-976 Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights South has historical and architectural significance and is eligible for the National/State Register of Historic Places but is not a protected New York City landmark.

An application for a permit to demolish the historic factory building at 960 Franklin Avenue was submitted in July but as of yet no permit has been issued, Department of Buildings records show. The application says it is for the full demolition of the building using hand and mechanical equipment.

The paperwork filed with DOB shows a new owner, Yitzchok Schwartz, for 960 Franklin Avenue. Schwartz appears to own a couple of other buildings in Bed Stuy under a different LLC. There is no public record of a sale to Schwartz, with the city’s finance records showing the building’s owner as 960 Franklin LLC. Isaac Hager and Daryl Hagler, through 960 Franklin LLC, bought the building from longtime owner Zev Golombeck for $42.350 million in November 2022, The Real Deal reported at the time.

After the rezoning was killed, Golombeck applied for a permit to build a six-story, 293-unit residential development in place of the 19th century factory building, which would be as-of-right in the R6A-zoned area. That permit has also not yet been issued.

Meanwhile, Continuum Company in August applied to rezone a neighboring longtime vacant lot that long ago held an ice making and distribution company at 962-972 Franklin Avenue. (The proposed rezoning area also includes a garage attached to the factory building.) The plans call for rezoning the property from R6A to R8A to build a 14-story, 456-unit apartment tower by 2026.

While the application doesn’t offer any renderings of the proposed new building, it mentions the development would include 119 permanently affordable apartments under the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program, as well as retail space and parking.

Could the new rezoning be shot down on the same grounds as the old one, that the proposed 14-story tower will cast shadows that will threaten the nearby Brooklyn Botanic Garden?

In the application, Continuum says the proposed 145-foot-tall development is “in the vicinity of sunlight-sensitive resources, including Jackie Robinson Playground to the east and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Prospect Park to the west” and therefore an assessment will be needed to evaluate the “extent, duration, and effects of any potential incremental new shadows” on the Botanic Garden.

It goes on to say: “If significant adverse impacts are identified, mitigation measures will be identified in conjunction with DCP [Department of City Planning] as lead agency and any expert agencies, as appropriate,” but it does not lay out what those are.

The neighboring Spice Factory complex was built as a brewery in 1898 and designed by architect C.T. Ferney. The brick Romanesque Revival complex was originally named Consumer’s Park Brewery, and was funded by a group of over two hundred hoteliers and saloon-keepers who wanted to have control over the pricing of the beer they were selling in their establishments. The brewery closed down at the start of Prohibition. By 1955, Golombeck’s family owned the building, where they operated their spice mixing business.

In a 1999 evaluation letter, National Register of Historic Places said it met the criteria to be listed on the register as “a rare survivor of the many breweries that were once an important part of Brooklyn industry at the turn of the century and due to its distinctive industrial architecture.”

In the past, locals called on the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to preserve the historic brick building with its iconic chimney, but were rejected. In 2017, the agency issued a letter saying the factory had no archaeological or architectural significance and that it had “no interest” in any other part of the site, including the factory’s mansard-roof stable at 130 Montgomery Street.

After the rezoning and development plans were scrapped, some locals held out hope the old factory might be saved as part of a new development — with listing on the National/State Register helping fund adaptive reuse — but with the demolition application that does not look likely.

[Photos by Susan De Vries unless noted otherwise]

Related Stories

• With Light-Blocking Tower Plan Dead, Spice Factory Owners Plan Mid-Rise Building in Crown Heights
• CB9 Votes Against Towers at Crown Heights Spice Factory, Citing Harm to Brooklyn Botanic Garden
• Community Fiercely Rejects Planned Crown Heights Development at City Planning Hearing

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