As the New York City Housing Authority struggles to develop its underutilized properties across the five boroughs, YIMBY revisited Prospect Plaza in Ocean Hill, Brooklyn, where the city tore down an entire public housing project two years ago. Now, construction is wrapping up on the second phase of affordable rental buildings that replaced the 12- and 15-story towers.
It’s been a busy week for new development in western Flushing. Yesterday, YIMBY spotted plans for a hotel-residential-retail project in the part of the neighborhood that’s about to be rezoned, and today a different local builder filed plans for an eight-story, mixed-use building at 131-09 Fowler Avenue, close to Flushing Meadows Park and the Van Wyck Expressway.
In the summer of 2015, Chelsea-based Alfa Development entered into contract to acquire the development site spanning 253-261 Third Avenue (a.k.a 200 East 21st Street), in Gramercy, and now the developer is planning a 20-story, 65-unit mixed-use building. The Real Deal reports the project will measure 104,700 square feet in total and will include 7,200 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The rest of the new building will contain 65 condominium units, which will come in one- to four-bedroom layouts. BKSK Architects will be responsible for the design. Reportedly, the developers filed permits for the project, although they have yet to hit public record. Demolition permits, however, are on file for all of the assemblage’s existing buildings. Four three-story structures are to be demolished at 253-259 Third Avenue, and a five-story, 12-unit tenement building at 200 East 21st Street will be razed.
Back in 2013, the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (GJDC) and Blumenfeld Development Group signed an agreement to build a 160,000-square-foot retail complex accompanied by a 550-space parking garage across two vacant lots in downtown Jamaica, specifically at 90-01 168th Street and 90-02 168th Street. Then early last year, the developers said they would build an additional 105,000 square feet of retail space and an affordable residential building. DNAinfo now reports the 2013 deal has terminated, effectively halting any plans for the sites. At this point, the GJDC plans to release a new and updated Request for Proposals (RFP), that will more than likely include affordable housing, for both properties later this spring. Both lots are currently being used for surface parking.
For the past few years, Brooklyn-based landlord Todd Parjonas has been converting the two-story, 12,150-square-foot manufacturing building at 196 Fourth Avenue, between Sackett and Degraw streets in Gowanus, into a commercial-retail or office property. Commercial Observer now reports the Veterinary Emergency & Referral Group, a 24-hour animal hospital, has leased the entire building for the next 15 years, taking both the ground and second floors. The tenant expects to move into the repurposed property later this year, once it builds out its office space. Michael D. Just’s Brooklyn-based Just Architecture is the architect of record.
