It’s been 12 long years since the Pacific Park megaproject was first announced as Atlantic Yards, and the Prospect Heights development hit a major milestone yesterday with the topping out of 550 Vanderbilt Avenue, a 17-story condo building. PR reps for the project sent along shots of the concrete shell that’s risen at the corner of Dean Street, taken by photographer Max Touhey.
Designed by COOKFOX, the building will hold 278 apartments, ranging from studios to four-bedrooms. The condos hit the market in June, starting at $625,000 for a studio and going all the way up to $6,860,000 for the four-bedroom, 4.5-bath penthouse with a sprawling private terrace. The structure also towers over the low-slung brownstones and row houses of Prospect Heights, offering lovely views from the top floor.
550 Vanderbilt seen from tbe corner of Dean Street, photo by Max Touhey
Workers haven’t started installing the facade yet, but it will be a mix of precast concrete and masonry, punctuated by big windows and plenty of greenery. The glassed-in lobby is designed to showcase the development’s eponymous, eight-acre Pacific Park, as we noted when we revealed the designs last year.
When construction wraps in 2017, the building will offer a slew of upscale amenities, including a library, a lounge with a fireplace, pet grooming rooms, and private storage.
550 Vanderbilt Avenue, photo by Max Touhey
Meanwhile, three other buildings are under construction across the 22-acre site. Developer Greenland Forest City Partners broke ground in June on 38 Sixth Avenue, a 23-story affordable tower, after starting work on 550 Vanderbilt and 535 Carlton Avenue (the first affordable building) last December.
But Pacific Park’s first building was B2, the half-finished modular apartment building at the corner of Dean Street and Flatbush Avenue. The 32-story project has pushed forward despite a series of legal challenges and issues with Skanska, which served as the former contractor on the pre-fabricated development. Now it may once again be in jeopardy.
550 Vanderbilt Avenue, photo by Max Touhey
The Real Deal reported Tuesday that Forest City Ratner plans to lay off employees at its modular apartment factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, unless it can sign outside construction projects. “If Forest City hasn’t inked any modular contracts by the end of the 90-day period, the axe may come down on the construction workers,” wrote TRD’s Katherine Clarke.
Looking towards Manhattan from the top of 550 Vanderbilt Avenue, photo by Max Touhey
Another rooftop view looking into Brooklyn, photo by Max Touhey
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Should have been 10 stories higher with 20% more affordable units. And Ratner should have paid for those.
Oh come on, Gersh. 6,500 planned units at Pacific Park are not enough for you? This basically represents a DOUBLING of of the current population of Prospect Heights. Look, I’m all for dense urban environments but have ya ridden the subway from 7th Ave, Bergen St or Atlantic Ave recently? It’s so crowded a person could worry about falling onto the tracks! And that’s BEFORE all these new apartments are occupied. And surely you’re not so naive as to question the affordable housing equation? Everyone knows that, between phoney AMI stats and Albany/City Hall, it’s a total con.