Think there hasn’t been too much development? Think again.

The city’s real estate press, as usual, went wild over the announcement.

The Brooklyn Eagle did a little stalking of the home’s owners, Claire Silberman Leaf and her husband Stuart Leaf:

A phone call to the residence further confirmed that the apartment belongs to her and her husband. The couple has lived in Brooklyn Heights since the 1980s, online sources indicate. Neither Claire nor Stuart has called back, or responded to an email.

For a time, they rented 70 Willow St., a source said – the stunning 19th-century Brooklyn Heights house that’s in tourist guidebooks because Truman Capote lived there while writing Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood.

Brownstoner, as usual, stuck to the math of real estate observing:

The unit is 11,000 square feet and has been “totally reconfigured,” according to the listing. There’s a formal dining room, a landscaped terrace, wine storage for 3,500 bottles, a screening room, library, central air, and a private guest suite. There are also two deeded parking spaces.

To put that in perspective, a 4,700-square-foot penthouse in the same building recently sold for $9,825,000, MNS announced last week. The building, whose address is 360 Furman Street, has 14 stories and 438 units.

Curbed , who broke the story, put the whole thing in perspective:

If the place sells for anywhere close to the asking price, it would smash the record for the borough’s most expensive home ever, currently held by 70 Willow Street, which sold for $12.5 million in 2012. This “Brooklyn is the new Manhattan” thing just reached a whole new level.

So what does $32 million bucks get you?

A nice terrace over looking Manhattan

A room for all the wine you’ll drink in this lifetime

A home theater fit for any character in ‘Game of Thrones’

Full listing at Sotheby’s.

NYDN: But fed up Brooklynites priced out of in-demand areas like Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights and Williamsburg are managing to find less expensive homes in certain Manhattan neighborhoods, such as the far Upper East Side, the Upper West Side and Midtown West.
“You can give up some amenities and get a great apartment in Manhattan on par with Brooklyn prices,” said Yuval Greenblatt, executive vice president at Douglas Elliman.

A lot went on at Thursday night’s Brooklyn Heights Association Annual Meeting, much of which is touched on in our “Tale of the Tweets” coverage. I have a few points about the business side of the meeting to expand on. In addition to the awards for “best diner” to Clark Restaurant and to Patricia and John Duffy for their renovation of 265 Hicks Street, there was one to the extended Alperin/Lowe/Sullivan family for their various ventures, including Marissa Alperin Studio on State Street between Columbia Place and Willow Place (a frequent stop for your correspondent when shopping for presents for his wife), clothing store and art gallery Goose Barnacle, kids’ clothing shop Junior Lowe, both on Atlantic Avenue, and the re-opening of the Long Island Bar and Restaurant, also on Atlantic.

A new honor was the Martha Atwater Award, named for the Heights resident, TV producer, wife, and mother tragically killed just over a year ago when an out of control truck hit her on the sidewalk on Clinton Street. The first Martha Atwater honoree was Mary Frost, of the Eagle, who received the award in recognition of her coverage of the battle to keep Long Island College Hospital open. Finally, a “Best New Addition to the Neighborhood” award was given to Ted Zoli, with Brooklyn Bridge Park President Regina Myer accepting on his behalf, for his design of the Squibb Park Pedestrian Bridge.

Clay Shirky (photo above), who holds joint appointments as a professor in New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and as Distinguished Writer in Residence in NYU’s Arthur. L. Carter Journalism Institute, was evidently prepared (he is a former resident of the area) for an audience heavily salted with geezers, like your correspondent. Hence he saw his mission as dispelling any notion that the internet is leading to the End of Civilization as We Know It. But what is it destroying? There are some distinctions that it is seriously eroding, if not ending.

Shirky said he was sure we were all familiar with the Iliad, the classic account of men at arms and warfare, while a photo of the cast of Hogan’s Heroes was projected above him. Similarly, he said, we knew the Odyssey, the prototypical tale of adventure at sea and on unknown islands; this was accompanied by a photo of the Gilligan’s Island cast. He then showed a typical example of internet trivia: someone’s tweet of their fast food breakfast. Next he showed a page of a blog, NeverSeconds, started by a nine year old Scottish schoolgirl, Martha Payne, who would photograph her school “dinners” (lunches to us) and rate them for taste, healthiness, presence or absence of hairs, and other qualities. Her blog went along for some time, and gained fairly wide readership, with no reaction from school officials until it got mentioned in a newspaper. This caused her to be taken out of class and told she could no longer photograph her school meals. Her “Goodbye” post went, as they say, viral, and generated so much protest that the county council reversed its decision, and Martha’s blog, complete with photos, continues. Shirky said this illustrates one of the cultural changes the internet is effecting: an erasing of the professional/amateur distinction. Once, to reach a wide audience quickly, you had to be a professional journalist. Now, thanks to the internet, even an amateur can.

Another distinction being lost is that between public and private – as Shirky discussed in this chat a few years ago with “Switched”:

Shirky noted that tweeting on Twitter is often used as a means of chatting with friends, as oppeosed to e-mail or text messaging, but that it isn’t private, as e-mail or texting is.

As to whether the internet is oblivious to, or drowning out, “serious culture” (like the Iliad or Odyssey), Shirky noted that the printing press was invented in 1450, that the first erotic novel was printed in 1495, but that serious philosophical papers weren’t printed until the 1600s. So, just be patient. (Actiually, the first thing reported to have been printed by Johannes Gutenberg was “a German poem”; after that he produced the first printed Bible. He also printed papal encyclicals, church indulgences, and Latin grammars.)

Since I’ve used Wikipedia as a reference, it’s worth noting an interesting statistic that Shirky used in his presentation. The total person-hours used to produce and edit the entire content of Wikipedia up to a fairly recent date is approximately 100 million, but the total time spent watching TV over the same period of time (I don’t recall if he said, but I’m assuming this is worlwide) is estimated at 200 billion person hours. So, the time used by amateurs to produce an encyclopedia is, in shirky’s words, a “rounding error” compared to couch potato (or stationary bike/treadmill) time.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/65931

The average rent in Brooklyn moved over the $3000/month mark according to a report from realtor Douglas Elliman. Most of that spike is due to increased demand in Brooklyn Heights and other “hot” neighborhoods. That apparently prompted a visit to our side of Court Street from Jimmy McMillan of The Rent Is Too Damn High Party.

The rent is to damn high guy complaining in the wrong Brooklyn neighborhood. ?. Brooklyn heights http://t.co/IkNM2HfRBF

— Irate (@SirIrate) August 9, 2013

NY Post: Driving the surge was growing demand in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill, fabulous news for Brooklyn’s status-symbol crowd, but not so much for residents looking for affordable places to live.

Actor Jim Callahan, whose wife is pregnant, said he’s concerned about the cost of a bigger apartment for his family.

“It is a great area and we feel very fortunate to live here,” said Callahan, 33, of Cobble Hill. “But as far as the long run goes, it’s getting more and more unrealistic. We just have to kind of shove a baby in there somewhere.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/61637

Eleven designs were presented to the Brooklyn Bridge Park in June 2013, and team 11, or the Alloy/Monadnock team won. The development at John Street will include new parkland, to include pedestrian bridges over a tidal salt marsh, tree-lined pathways, and a 13,000-square-foot gathering lawn. The 12 story residential building will include 47 apartments and cultural and retail space on the ground floor, to be occupied by the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. The building will comprise a total of 96,440 square feet, 2,650 square feet of ground floor retail and 1,750 square feet of cultural space for the Brooklyn Children’s Museum annex.

More photos at DUMBONYC.

Source: Dumbo NYC
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DumboNyc/~3/y98OAqDYHQw/

Uniglo is looking for folks to staff their new stories, including Brooklyn.

Real estate investment firm RFR and Kushner Companies today announced that they have entered into a contract to acquire six properties in Brooklyn from the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society for $375 million. According to the press release (July 8, 2013), Jared Kushner (of Kushner Companies), Aby Rosen (of RFR), and Asher Abehsera (a former Two Trees Management Company executive) teamed up to purchase the portfolio of buildings which total 1.2 million square feet of commercial space. The buildings include:

• 117 Adams Street
• 175 Pearl Street
• 55 Prospect Street
• 81 Prospect Street
• 77 Sands Street
• 90 Sands Street

These buildings are included as part of the Brooklyn Tech Triangle master plan and could be key buildings in the development of the plan for creating appropriate commercial space and connectors between Dumbo, Navy Yards, and Downtown Brooklyn.

90 Sands Street is a 30 story, 500+ room residential building will be turned over vacant at closing in September, according to a NY Post story.

According to the Post, the Jehovah’s Witnesses moved their headquarters to Brooklyn in 1909. As part of their plans to move to Warwick, NY, they have been selling off a 34-building portfolio, including lots in Dumbo at 173 and 177 Front Street as well as 200 Water Street in April 2013.

(175 Pearl Street)

(90 Sands Street, Photo by a.pitch)

Related:
{The Watchtower Moving Some Operations from Brooklyn, 26Mar2009}
{Watchtower Properties in Dumbo?, 29Sept2011}
{Jehovah’s Witness Buildings Could Offset Brooklyn Bridge Park Costs, 08Oct2010}

Source: Dumbo NYC
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DumboNyc/~3/zlCNVc-KU9I/

A combined penthouse unit and 3-bedroom 4-bath condo below at One Brooklyn Bridge Park could set a record-breaking residential price tag for Brooklyn Heights. According to a story in the New York Daily News, MNS CEO Andrew Barrocas is close to signing a $9 million contract for the duplex.

One Brooklyn Bridge Park, at 360 Furman Street, is located within Brooklyn Bridge Park across from Pier 6. “If sold, the combined unit would likely go to contract in the $9 million range, a record for a Brooklyn condominium,” reports real estate guru Jason Sheftell in the Daily News. Barrocas notes, “There is someone interested in combining a penthouse and the apartment on the floor below. What this says is the Brooklyn high-end is on fire. Prices are going one way, and that’s up. We’re having lots of bidding wars on the last few apartments left in the building.”

Listed at $4.25 million, one of the units, 1302, offers 2,687sf and a wrap-around terrace with Manhattan skyline views. Developed by RAL Companies, One Brooklyn Bridge is a former Jehovah’s Witness printing plant converted to 449 condo units.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/56906

Downtown Brooklyn’s Shake Shake inarguably changed the face & fortunes of the once-sagging Fulton Mall, convincing many Heights residents to cross Court Street for the first time in years (decades?). Since its December 2011 opening, the burger joint has led to a renaissance, bringing the likes of Starbucks, Brooklyn Industries, H&M, Century 21, Gap, Seattle’s Best, TJ Maxx, Raymour & Flannigan… and on and on…

Union Square Hospitality Group has confirmed a second Shake Shack in Brooklyn this fall at 170 Flatbush Avenue, across from the 18,200-seat Barclays Center, which BHB first tipped in September.

Grub Street reports that the chain is expanding this year in London and Istanbul, and may be coming to the Upper West Side, in addition to Manhattan locations in Madison Square Park and Midtown.

In a press release, Shack Shack acclaims its “modern day roadside” burger stand known for all-natural burgers, flat-top dogs, frozen custard, beer, wine and more.” CEO Randy Garutti says, “Our second Brooklyn location will be directly across from the Barclays Center and plant us firmly within walking distance of several neighborhoods from Park Slope to Fort Greene. New York City is our hometown, and the Shack will be the place where New Yorkers can come together to celebrate the best of Brooklyn’s thriving culture, sports and entertainment.” (Photo: Brownstoner)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/55254

At Thursday’s public hearing with the SUNY board in Midtown Manhattan, sparks were flying over the closing of Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill, with contentious exchanges between Councilman Brad Lander, SUNY Chairman Carl McCall and state Sen. Eric Adams.

Among accusations: whether SUNY’s acquisition of Long Island College Hospital was a transaction driven by real estate rather than medical considerations. Lander: “Was there a good faith effort to integrate LICH into the [larger medical] system, or was there some attention being paid to several hundred million dollars, possibly 500 million dollars, in real estate?”

After the hearing Thursday afternoon, the board is expected to act on a recommendation that it close LICH in a closed door session. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle is reporting on today’s events.

Tweets about “#savelich”

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/55016

The Bossert Hotel could begin receiving hotel guests at 98 Montague Street as early as this summer, according to a report from the Architect’s Newpaper—as long as construction remains on schedule. That includes preserving the facade, lobby and reception area, updating the rooms with new design finishes and amenities, and restoring the Marine Roof to a restaurant and lounge.

On January 8, the Board of Standards & Appeals unanimously approved a request for variance to change the Certificate of Occupancy for “transient hotel use, accessory hotel use and commercial use,” officially allowing the building to open its doors as a hotel once again.

David Bistricer and Joseph Chetrit closed on the 103-year-old, 14-story property, for $81 million in November. Since the 1980s, the building had been owned the Jehovah’s Witnesses and used as a community facility. At the time of purchase, Bistricer said the hotel would remain independent and maintain the name of original developer, lumber mogul Louis Bossert.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/54069

A BHB tipster shares that the space at 93 Court Street—formerly Evergreen Deli—is soon to be opening as Boneheads Restaurant. The chain originated with chefs from South Africa and Atlanta, and specializes in grilled seafood dishes “in a casual, but fast setting.” It currently has locations in Atlanta, Memphis, Charlotte and Lake Forest. This is its premiere NYC location.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/53252

Brownstoner writes:

We fear for the future of the building, whose otherwise pristine original bead board walls, fireplaces, wainscotting and other 1890s details have been marred by graffiti at the hands of party-goers. (We don’t mean the art, but rather the stray spray paint on non-painted surfaces, such as mirrors.)

FreeWilliamsburg simply calls the party people who reportedly defaced the home, “a bunch of clueless Bushwick asshats.”

As for the original piece in Paper Mag:

An enterprising group of individuals have miraculously persuaded the new owners of a grand old four-story, seven-bathroom, three-kitchen house in Bushwick to let them throw huge, wild parties on the property until the ultimate fate of the house is decided (i.e. torn down, or renovated and split into apartments). Throughout the fall, they’ve been promoting parties here, at the “Trip House,” catering to the Williamsburg/Bushwick underground art, music and slacker scene. We’ve heard many tales, and finally got a chance to check it out on Saturday, a party called “Gender Blender: Bring Ur Own Microgenre.” …
Among the grungy, young intoxicated masses, several older Hasidic Jewish men, who said they were friends of the owner, curiously roamed throughout the crowds and asked us funny questions like, “Is this what the show Girls is based on?” and “Do these kids go to Pratt? Like, what do they major in? Any of them in real estate?,” interspersed with comments like “I’m not really into culture.”

An official realtor website from developer Fortis Property Group has popped up for Brooklyn Heights’ condo project 30 Henry Street, deemed “The Heights,” at the former site of The Brooklyn Eagle. A new rendering of the exterior has also been made public, Brownstoner shares.

The Real Deal offers the goodies on what it terms “a new boutique Brooklyn Heights condo,” saying that it will hit the market in earnest “in the next few months.” The development features five large full-floor units asking between $3.39 million for a 2,418sf first-floor unit with three bedrooms to $4.95 million for a 2,861sf fifth-floor pad with additional exterior space. Construction on the BKSK Architects-designed building, which will have keyed elevator access to all apartments, is slated to be completed by the late summer.

Fortis President Joel Kestenbaum notes, “There’s a great shortage of supply in Brooklyn Heights and demand for big apartments is very strong.” Fortis purchased the development site for $3.5 million in April. The design of the prospective building was criticized earlier this year by community organizations that deemed it too tame. At the time, BHA Executive Director Judy Stanton told the Wall Street Journal, “If there was ever a site that cries out for something quite special and a district that deserves something quite special,” this would be it.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/51943

TerraCRG and aptsandlofts.com are continuing much-needed efforts for Hurricane Sandy Relief, in a partnership with “United Way Rallies NYC Real Estate Industry Support for Storm Victims.” The commercial real estate brokerage with its partners is launching a fund-raising effort to facilitate and encourage donations from the real estate community to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy through a secure webpage created to gather the donations.

All proceeds will be used by local United Way chapters to address near and long-term hurricane recovery needs in communities that FEMA has declared disaster areas, with “aggressive monetary goals to help aid those in need. The goal of this effort is to unify the New York City real estate community to make a difference in the lives of the many people who experienced devastation and have been severely affected by the storm.” Both TerraCRG and aptsandlofts.com have each contributed $10,000 to the effort.

Ofer Cohen, founder & president of TerraCRG, and David Maundrell, founder & president of aptsandlofts.com are directing the efforts. Cohen notes, “We would like to see the entire real estate industry in New York come together. While our lives in North Brooklyn and Manhattan have been slowly returning to normal, many residents and businesses in the hard hit area of Southwest Brooklyn and Staten Island, Queens and Long Island are dramatically impacted and will remain so for months.”

The webpage, www.NYCREUnited.com, is linked directly to the United Way’s website infrastructure.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/51848

Halstead Realty at 150 Montague Street (between Henry and Clinton) is directing another much-needed food & goods drive this weekend, in which they intend to pack a moving van with requested items for Hurricane Sandy residents in The Rockaways. Please bring donations by the shop Saturday & Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Broker Meryl Blackman tells BHB that the truck will arrive in front of the shop at 9 a.m. Monday, and is asking area residents to contribute specific items that donation centers have asked for. She adds that Halstead volunteers will be going door to door in areas “where many people and pets are shut in with no elevators.” See the list below…

In addition, Corcoran Reality is collecting items for The Rockaways. Drop goods by their BH location at 124 Montague St.

FOR HALSTEAD’S COLLECTION EFFORT:
• Canned Food/Can Openers
• Electric/extension Cords/Rope/Tarps
• Pet Food – wet and dry
• Multi-roll packages of toilet paper
• Batteries (especially AA and D)
• Rubber Gloves – Dish gloves, and medical
• Work Gloves (all sizes) and Work Shams
• Bleach/Cleaning Supplies
• Contractor Bags/Heavy Duty Plastic Bags
• Adult Diapers, Baby Wipes
• Feminine Products
• Handwarmers (the self-heating kind)
• New unopened packages of underwear/socks – for Men, Women and Children
PLEASE NO CLOTHING OR BLANKETS!

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/51741

Douglas Elliman Realty is sponsoring an ongoing effort to accept donations and organize relief efforts following dastardly Hurricane Sandy at its Brooklyn Heights location, 156 Montague Street, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Its effort in Brooklyn and around NYC include:
· The firm is using social media and online resources to rally and gather volunteers for relief efforts and to distribute information.
· Elliman has organized helicopters and trucks as volunteers go from designated donation centers across NYC, Long Island and the Hamptons, delivering aid to victims in Breezy Point, Rockaway, Long Beach and Staten Island.
· Dottie Herman’s radio show “Eye on Real Estate” on WOR-AM NYC is being utilized to round up volunteers and donations, and has been an important news & info resource.
· All Elliman offices with power have remained open for community relief, including collecting & distributing donations of non-perishable food items and other necessities and to provide local residents with power, charging stations and warmth. A fund is being created to help those in need in these regions.
· ELLIMANRENTALS, the firm’s rental division, is assisting placement companies and insurance adjusters who have reached out for help in finding short- and long-term housing for those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/51546

UPDATE: FD monitoring an “electrical condition” as well as an oil leak in the boiler room, caused by “rising water.”  More to follow.

UPDATE, 11:58 P.M.: The chief has requested an engine company equipped with a dry chemical agent known as Purple-K, used when water is not appropriate to control a fire (as it would not be in this case.)

FINAL, 12:07 A.M.: FD is holding with five units and placing the situation under-control. No evacuations were necessary. Busy night all around Brooklyn, with a 2nd alarm in Red Hook occupying many of our resources. Engine 205 has been sent to southern Brooklyn to assist with the operations out there.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/50315

A classic Boerum Hill townhouse at 179 Bergen Street was on the market for only one day before entering contract, after being listed by Corcoran on September 8 for $2,950,000. By October 5, Brownstoner reports it was in the midst of changing hands after a September 9 sale. It last sold in 2009 for $2,150,000.

The listing describes it as a “lovely two family townhouse. Owner’s upper triplex and garden level floor-through. Restored details throughout include original molding and plaster medallions, pocket doors and wood burning fireplaces with marble mantles. Located on a quaint, tree-lined street. The configuration makes for an easy conversion to a one family home. The building has mechanical and structural upgrades from top to bottom.” (Photo: Corcoran)

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7962

John Quadrozzi, owner of the long-decaying Cobble Hill townhouse at 364 Henry Street & Congress Street, has scheduled a meeting with the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a major building upgrade. According to public records cited by Brownstoner, he’s been promising to repair the structure since 2010.

Proposed changes on the LPC agenda for both 364 Henry and 129 Congress Street—the adjoining building around the corner—call to alter the facades, construct new rooftop and rear yard additions, install a stoop, bay windows, light fixtures, roof deck, a metal fence, alter window openings on the stable and modify and add curb cuts.

The LPC filed a lawsuit for failure to maintain the historic structures two years ago. On the DOB end, the buildings have a long history of stop work orders, most recently this past July. (Photo: Brownstoner)

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7954

After little more than a month on the market, Carroll Gardens’ “priciest townhouse” has entered contract. According to Curbed, 356 Sackett Street sold for close to asking price, which was $4,099,000.

Although Curbed alludes to comments in its original post about the property that deemed it “massively overpriced,” “not worth $4 million” and “out of touch with the reality of the neighborhood,” apparently those readers were way off the mark. Brownstoner adds its take here. See more pics and floorplan back at Curbed here.

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7924

While residential rental prices in Manhattan rose more than 10% over last year to a median of $3,195, Brooklyn also remains a prime destination. Overall prices in the borough slipped 2.1% from 2011, although 1 bedroom rental units jumped 10.5% to a median $2,100 a month, while 2 bedrooms rose 6.9% to $2,673 a month. The research was conducted by Miller Samuel, whose CEO Jonathan Miller tells NY1 that potential homebuyers are remaining in the rental market, “sometimes not by choice, and that’s tipping the market” upward.

Prudential Douglas Elliman Executive VP Michael Guerra says that the most in-demand neighborhoods in Brooklyn are Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope. He notes, “Brooklyn is offering the same amenities Manhattan used to be known for. As Manhattan has become dominated by big businesses and larger kinds of stores or chains, Brooklyn is still a place with boutiques, something funky, something different, something unusual.”
(Photo: Chuck Taylor)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49245

The first five incidents occurred at 75 Henry St. between 4:30 A.M. and 6:00 A.M. on October 5, where the suspect allegedly gained entry to five apartments, each time being caught in the act by occupants.

Deciding to try his luck elsewhere, he moved south to 75 Livingston St., where surveillance footage shows him entering the lobby past a guard and boarding the elevator.  He attempted to hit two apartments in this building between 6:25 A.M. and 6:35 A.M., but was again thwarted.

No property was taken in any of the incidents.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49201

BHB reported in late July that another property in the Jehovah’s Witnesses real estate portfolio had hit the marketplace: the beautiful five-story, 5,088sf residential brownstone at 67 Remsen Street—which ironically backs up to the organization’s recently sold Bossert Hotel. Brownstoner shares that the Brooklyn Heights building has sold for $3.25M, just a shaving from its asking price of $3.4M.

It features 10 units, a private garden and will be delivered vacant, according to David Schechtman of marketing firm Eastern Consolidated. The Real Deal reported in July that the building housed students and volunteers associated with the Watchtower Society. As the Witnesses move forward with a planned relocation upstate, the residences were no longer necessary, he said.

In all, Johovah’s Witnesses’ portfolio included 25 properties in Brooklyn, which they began selling off two years ago. Other recent sales include 183 Columbia Heights, 161 Columbia Heights and 50 Orange Street. (Photos: Chuck Taylor)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49155

Ongoing concerns about Barclays Center’s overall impact on surrounding borough neighborhoods—including Brooklyn Heights—could rise from a low roar to a full-on battle cry, given the mammoth long-term plan that developer Bruce Ratner has in mind for the area. Located at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic avenues, Barclays is merely the first part to be completed of a planned 16-building complex that would include 6 million square feet of residential, 247,000 of retail and 336,000 of office space.

In a lengthy story about the Atlantic Yards development, The Architects Newspaper reports that the as yet tallest modular construction building in the world—a 32-story residential tower—is slated to add to the Brooklyn skyline. An office building and possibly a hotel would round out the first phase of development, followed by eleven more residential buildings, eight acres of open space, and retail.

Related: Opening Night at the Barclays Center

Ironically, it was NYC planner Robert Moses who first pooh-poohed the idea of a stadium near the space now occupied by Barclays Center, back in 1955. Responding to Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley’s proposal to build a new home for the Dodgers on the site of what is now the Atlantic Center Mall, Moses said, “I don’t want to see a baseball field in downtown Brooklyn at all. The streets will never handle all the cars. (A) stadium would create a China Wall of traffic.” Much more, including more photos, here.

How did we get there from here? Read the Atlantic Yards Report’s definitive primer on the area’s development.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49042

High-end residential brokerage Stribling & Associates is opening its first office in Brooklyn—just a few blocks from the newly opened Barclays Center. The Wall Street Journal reports that the firm is ramping up its activity in the borough with a 3,500sf office at 384 Atlantic Avenue, which will house up to 50 brokers. “Brooklyn is the hottest place to be right now,” says Elizabeth Ann Kivlan, a Stribling EVP.

Stribling has three Manhattan offices employing more than 250 agents and has been involved with such Brooklyn projects as One Hanson Place, a landmarked loft conversion at the former Williamsburgh Savings Bank building, and One Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn Heights, where Elizabeth Stribling, the company’s founder and president, lives in a multimillion dollar penthouse.

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7867

Curbed brought to our attention a listing with Brown Harris Stevens for a furnished carriage house in Brooklyn Heights at 21 Grace Court Alley. It offers three bedrooms, 1.5 baths and six rooms total, with parking, central air conditioning, skylights, fireplace, washer/dryer and three outdoor areas. BHS says: “This is very special. Beautifully appointed and lavishly furnished. This is a wonderful home with a spectacular eat in kitchen, dining room and beautiful living space. Built for elegant living, entertaining and privacy. Flexible lease.”

The price tag: $11,500 a month. That, mind you, adds up to $138,000 a year. Curbed adds, “Grace Court Alley is one of those lovely, teensy Brooklyn Heights streets where carriage houses tend to go quickly, which makes the $11,500/month asking rent here seem slightly less ridiculous.” (See more pictures below the jump)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/48288

Back in March, it was national news that Sarah Jessica Parker and husband Matthew Broderick were purchasing a pair of townhouses in south Brooklyn Heights on State Street near Sidney Place, which would total 7,000sf when combined. It was reported then that the celebrity couple was selling their West Village townhouse because they “wanted something more private, laid-back and discreet.” In mid-September, that property on East 10th Street was listed for $25 million.

But Brownstoner now reports that the State Street deal fell through, and Parker & Broderick—with their son James Wilkie and twin daughters Marion and Tabitha—have purchased a new-build townhouse in Brooklyn Heights for more than $4 million. Brownstoner coyly offers, “We know the address, and the building was recently taken off the market, but we don’t want to say more.” This, however, refutes other media outlets that are sticking by the State Street purchase. Stay tuned! (Photo: New York Daily News)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/48213

New York magazine and design periodical Dwell are co-sponsoring the City Modern Brooklyn Home Tour, with five renovated homes in Boerum Hill and Brooklyn Heights, on Sunday, October 7. The starting point is modular design retailer Module R, 141 Atlantic Avenue (between Clinton and Henry).

For more information, see the Brooklyn Heights Blog here. (Photo: Peter Aaron/OTTO)

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7836