Brooklynites fear that Brownsville will be next on the gentrification train, but those fears have yet to become a reality. Still, investors are taking a hard look at the neighborhood, which is only a train stop away from increasingly pricey Crown Heights and Bushwick.
An anonymous Brooklyn-based LLC has filed applications for a two three-story, six-unit residential building at 275 Grafton Street, in Brownsville. The project will measure 3,593 square feet and its residential units should average 562.5 square feet apiece, indicative of rental apartments. Reza Khamcy’s Great Neck, N.Y.-based Icon Engineering is the applicant of record. The 37-foot-wide, 3,750-square-foot property is currently occupied by a two-story, single-family house. Demolition permits were filed in July. The Saratoga Avenue stop on the 3 train is around the block.
SNL Storage has filed applications for a four-story, 61,951-square-foot storage facility at 163 Sackman Street, located on the corner of East New York Avenue in Brownsville. The facility will contain 33,324 square feet of commercial storage units across four above-grade levels and two bel0w-grade levels. Accessory offices will be located on the ground floor, and two parking spaces and two loading berths will facilitate the transport process. Jack Wilbern’s Virginia-based architecture firm Butz • Wilbern is the architect of record. The 16,667-square-foot corner site is currently vacant. The Broadway Junction stop on the A, C, J, L, and Z trains is six blocks away.
In addition to projects in Fort Greene and Mott Haven, the New York City Housing Authority has released plans for a 13-story, 188-unit all-affordable residential building at approximately 401 Dumont Avenue, located within the Van Dyke Houses complex in Brownsville. The new building, being dubbed Dumont Commons, will rent at below-market rates to individuals and families making 30 to 60 percent of area median income (AMI), according to the New York Times. The project will include an urgent care medical facility, a wellness center, and a daycare-like community facility. Dunn Development is the developer and has ground-lease the site, currently a parking lot, from the city for 60 years. Construction is expected to begin in 2017.
Maspeth-based Aasrah Holdings Corp. has filed applications for a four-story, six-unit mixed-use building at 98 Thatford Avenue, in Brownsville, located 10 blocks south of the Rockaway Avenue Station on the A/C trains. The new structure will measure 8,500 square feet and will include 2,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Two per floor, the residential units begin on the second floor and should average 750 square feet apiece, indicative of rental apartments. Akeeb Shekoni’s Jamaica-based Askon Architects is the architect of record. The 25-foot-wide, 2,502-square-foot lot is currently vacant.
