Very few new manufacturing buildings have risen in the low-slung area around the Gowanus Canal, but one developer is turning the tide with plans for a 13-story industrial project at 148 Third Street, between the Third Street Bridge and the canal.
The development would reach 130 feet into the air and hold 68,000 square feet of manufacturing and offices. Most of the building would be devoted to light manufacturing uses, like sailmaking, glass working, textile making, woodworking, jewelry making, and ceramics.
Manufacturing would occupy 51,624 square feet, and the remaining 16,300 square feet would be commercial office space. The plans also call for warehouse space and moving storage. The top two floors would include a duplex “caretaker’s unit” and a shared roof terrace for the industrial tenants.
The project would have parking for 90 cars, spread between the first and second floors. While Gowanus has never had excellent transit, there’s clearly no need for that much parking. Unfortunately, the auto-friendly zoning code imposes unnecessarily high (and expensive) parking requirements on commercial and industrial developments.
The city is trying to remedy this issue with a special industrial district, which would cut parking requirements and encourage office development by offering zoning bonuses for office builders who include light manufacturing space. It’s only planned for North Williamsburg so far, but the local council member, Brad Lander, has said he supports similar zoning for Gowanus’ manufacturing zone.
Industrial zoning typically limits buildings to a few stories. But this lot is large enough – at 34,000 square feet – to allow a sizable project.
The developer is Bernard Dillenberger’s Abra Construction, and they’ve hired Karl Fischer to handle the design. Abra picked up the two development sites on Third and Bond streets for $5.5 million last year.
The Real Deal was the first to notice the permits.
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