The city wants to replace this 50-year-old office building with more than 1,200 apartments.
The Department of Housing Preservation and Development is proposing to rezone 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Brooklyn to make way for a 1.5-million-square-foot residential tower. The project would have 1,263 apartments, of which 253 to 379 would be affordable to those, on average, earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income, according to details released Monday.
The 350,000-square-foot office building is sandwiched between Dekalb Avenue, Fulton Street, Hudson Avenue and Flatbush Avenue. Brownstoner once referred to the building as “one of the biggest eyesores in downtown Brooklyn.”
Rabina and Park Tower Group control the site through a long-term ground lease with the city.
Rabina CEO and President Josh Rabina said that “replacing the dark and outdated office building” will “breathe new life into one of the most important intersections in Downtown Brooklyn.”
“395 Flatbush will respond to the city’s urgent housing needs, while anticipating and supporting future growth by overhauling the public realm for the thousands of people that pass through every day,” he said in a statement.
The developers are expected to seek the property tax break 485x. The size and location of the project mean that, under 485x rules, the developers will need to pay higher wages to construction workers.
The project is also expected to include a 4,750-square-foot public plaza, 66,000 square feet of retail, 75,000 square feet of commercial space and an “expanded and heightened” entrance at the DeKalb Avenue subway station.
The project would be one of the first to take advantage of the newly lifted cap on residential density. Last year, the state eliminated the restriction, which prevented residential space from exceeding a floor area ratio of 12. As part of the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity text amendment, the city created new district destinations allowing areas to be rezoned with higher FARs. The new building planned for Flatbush Avenue will have an FAR of 21.8.
State officials have indicated that a residential project planned on the Far West Side will also exceed FAR 12. The same goes for the project planned for HPD’s headquarters at 100 Gold Street, where the city plans to build more than 1,000 units of housing. The Flatbush Avenue project is on track, however, to be the first site to use a higher FAR under the new rules. A public scoping hearing is slated for June 5.
What we’re thinking about: Are you attending our NYC Forum on Wednesday? What panel are you most excited about? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: A PAC tied to real estate developer Ramon Maislen, dubbed Brooklyn Bridgebuilders, has raised more than $53,000 and spent nearly $11,000 on leaflets opposing Council member Shahana Hanif, campaign finance filings show. Many of the PAC’s donors are real estate executives, including Donald Capoccia, Donald Zucker, Douglas Durst, Hal Fetner, Winston Fisher, Jeff Gural, Jeff Levine, David Lichtenstein, Joshua Muss and Jed Walentas. The PAC has focused on Hanif’s stance on Palestine. Pro-Israel groups have supported her opponent, Maya Kornberg.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Yvonne Armstrong has ousted 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East President George Gresham, Politico New York reports. Gresham lost his reelection bid after serving as president since 2007. “No matter who you voted for, at the end of the day we are all part of our precious 1199 family, and I know that we share the same deep love for our union and the labor movement,” Gresham said in a statement. “It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your President for the past 17 years.”
— State Attorney General Letitia James and 17 other state attorneys general filed a lawsuit on Monday alleging that the Trump administration has exceeded its authority by halting permits on new offshore wind projects, Gothamist reports. “This administration is devastating one of our nation’s fastest-growing sources of clean, reliable, and affordable energy,” James said in a statement. A spokesperson for the White House said the Democratic attorneys general are “using lawfare to stop the President’s popular energy agenda” instead of working with the president to “unleash American energy and lower prices for American families.”
— We’re still waiting on a final state budget. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie reportedly indicated today that budget bills would be printed starting Tuesday or Wednesday.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Monday was $13 million for a 4,138-square-foot townhouse at 244 West 12th Street in the West Village. Ryan Kaplan and Chris DelCore of The Corcoran Group had the listing.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $62.6 million for a 79,361-square-foot industrial building at 50 Oak Point Avenue in Hunts Point. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) sold the cement factory to another Canadian company, St. Mary’s Cement.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $30 million for a 6,300-square-foot co-op unit at 960 Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side. Mark Blumenfeld at Compass has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a proposed 19,188-square-foot, 24-unit residential building at 1086 Dumont Avenue in East New York. Nikolai Katz filed the permit on behalf of Zev Lef.
— Matthew Elo