The development is also in the vicinity of a Whole Foods market recently approved at Third Street and Third Avenue, next to the Gowanus Canal; and within walking distance to the 585-acre Prospect Park, with access to numerous subway stations and a five-minute walk from Atlantic Terminal.

“We are delighted to invest in this high-quality, well-located site to develop a luxury rental property in Brooklyn,” said AEW Director Anthony Crooks. “We believe the property will attract young professionals and families looking for affordable, quality housing, good amenities and access to public transportation.”

Residential brokerage aptsandlofts.com is expected to begin marketing the units in Summer 2013.

Naftali Group is also building a 104-unit luxury residential property at 267 Sixth Street, at the corner of Fourth Avenue. That project is also expected to come online next year. The firm currently owns 100 apartments and 20,000 square feet of retail space in Brooklyn.

According to Epoch’s research, based on Property Shark stats, Cobble Hill has the No. 4 priciest block: delimited by Warren St to Baltic Street/Clinton Street to Court Street, with a median price of $2.8 million. And at No. 5 in Cobble Hill is Hicks Street to Henry Street/Baltic Street to Kane Street, with a median of $2.7 million.

Overall, the priciest block in Brooklyn is in Midwood, delimited by Avenue I and Avenue J/Ocean Parkway and 7th Avenue, with a median sale price of $4,350,000. The biggest sale there was a single-family home on 935 Ocean Parkway, on Nov. 11, 2010 for $6,130,000. Less than one year later, on Sept. 20, 2011, it exchanged hands again, for a slightly smaller amount of $6,000,000.

See the full article here.

The couple currently resides in a townhome in the West Village on Charles Street, near West Fourth Street, with their son James Wilkie, 9, and twin daughters Marion and Tabitha, almost 3. A source told the Daily News, “They loved the West Village but wanted something more private, laid-back and discreet.”

When construction is completed, the two adjoining State Street townhouses the actors purchased will create “an urban mansion of 7,000-plus square feet with a suburban-size backyard,” the News reports. Both were an “off-market” transaction, meaning the houses weren’t officially for sale, according to Sheftell. City records show both are owned by Mark and Diane Baker.

Parker and Broderick paid $18.995 million for the East 10th Street townhouse two years ago, and fully remodeled the home, which the News says is now on the market.

CORE senior vice president Doug Bowen noted, “Brooklyn Heights is the city’s first official historic landmark district; that’s how beautiful it is and what it means to New York. The price difference between the West Village and Brooklyn Heights is sometimes two, three, four times the amount. That’s why even big names are deciding to live here. It’s an easier financial commitment.”

(Photo: New York Daily News)

The new outposts “secure us two wonderful locations,” Trish Martin, Brooklyn director of sales for Halstead told the real estate pub, saying that Halstead has quickly outgrown its other Cobble Hill location, at 162 Court Street. The new office in Cobble Hill will be located at 206 Court Street, between Wyckoff and Warren streets.

The expansion brings Halstead’s total number of brokers in Brooklyn to 70, as they absorb 15 additional brokers from the newly acquired offices.

Aptsandlofts.com’s founder and president David Maundrell says that the new office is part of his plan to double the size of the 45-agent firm, with room in the Cobble Hill location for around 40 agents.

“Court Street is amazing. It is a good central location and is a busy street with a lot of foot traffic,” Maundrell told Crains.

The firm joins a growing crop of brokers along the neighborhood’s Court Street corridor. Last month, Prudential Douglas Elliman announced it would be moving into a bigger storefront on Court Street. Its new 1,500-square-foot space at 327 Court St. will be twice the size of its current location at 189 Court St.

Maundrell says he had been eyeing the street for some time for Aptsandlofts.com and “jumped at the opportunity to lease 236 Court St. because of its unobstructed frontage. Because there is a fire hydrant right out in front, no cars can park and block the view from the street.” As well, “The office will be an advertisement for the company in the neighborhood. There’s marketing value in having a lit up storefront.”

In the last five years Aptsandlofts.com has sold $260 million worth of real estate, mainly units in new condominium developments in Williamsburg, downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights. Recently, the decade-old firm has expanded into townhouse sales.

Brownstoner reports that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn sold its parcel at 118 Congress Street, between Hicks and Henry, comprising a string of buildings totaling 18,001 square feet. Repeated inquiries to JMH by Brownstoner about their intentions for the properties weren’t returned. As well, there is no DOB filing yet. The properties are part of the Cobble Hill Historic District.

(Photo: Brownstoner)

The New York City Department of Correction (DOC) invites the community to attend an open house at the Brooklyn Detention Complex, more commonly known at the Brooklyn House of Detention or the “House of D’.”
…

The open house in being held in advance of the phased re-opening of the House of Detention. Approximately 100 inmates per week will be transferred to the facility beginning in February. This will be an opportunity to meet Warden Walter Nin, ask questions and tour the facility.

To take advantage of this (we hope) once in a lifetime opportunity, please RSVP to Delilah Ortega in the DOC Department of Public Information at Delilah.Ortega@doc.nyc.gov or (718) 546-0631.

NY Post: They had been living in Cobble Hill and needed more space.

“We had looked at about five places, and then we went to get dinner [at a neighborhood Thai restaurant on Court Street owned by a friend]. And our friend’s like, ‘You guys look bushed,’” recalls De Marrais. “He told us, ‘I’m moving out of my apartment; you should go check it out. Here’s the keys. Go check it out now.’”

They did, and it was love at first sight. “We were walking around like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ This place is amazing, and we would dance around this place the first few years we lived here.”

NY Times: Warren Street between Bond and Nevins offers many of the things well-off buyers seek in brownstone Brooklyn: a pastoral, leafy feel; long rows of 19th-century town houses; proximity to transportation and charming little restaurants; young families on the block.

But the block also has something that those buyers have traditionally seemed to avoid: two large public housing projects that stand tall at either end, to many New Yorkers enduring symbols of danger, social dysfunction and blight. The map showing the neighborhood on the Web site of the Boerum Hill Association — a group dedicated to preserving and enhancing “the unique qualities of our neighborhood” — includes Warren Street but runs up and around to Wyckoff at points to cut the projects out.

Curbed NY: Things are now moving quickly for what was once referred to as the Amity Street Horror, aka the old Lamm Institute building at 110 Amity Street in Cobble Hill. The new owners just unveiled plans for turning the historic 14,000-square-foot building into three townhouse-style units, and now the 110 Amity renovations are already headed to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for approval. However, a couple of the proposed changes might slow down this conversion’s momentum.

The Curbed story notes that a proposed new doorway on the side facing Amity Street has already been vetted and approved by Community Board 6, and should easily get LPC approval. However, a new doorway at the rear of the building, which would require cutting through existing brick, and a rooftop addition, which has grown in size since originally proposed, may be problematic.

Photo: Curbed NY

New York Times: Ms. Abry said her family was happy with the apartment because it was newly renovated when they arrived in June 2009. Most apartments there are walkups, but the Abrys have a ground-floor apartment so they do not have to carry Elijah up stairs. Their apartment also sits on the building’s inner courtyard, which Ms. Abry said makes her feel as if she is living on a college quad…

…But there are also residents who say they have been soured by the buying process. Some tenants pooled $6,400 to hire an independent engineer, who reported that the building needed $6 million in repairs, including new roofs, windows, balconies and stairs. Hudson said that the developer had committed to making most of those changes, but that it had not agreed to replace balcony drains and cellar and crawl-space floors. “We just drew our line at taking care of lots and lots of things and not feeling that some items they mentioned were worthy of replacement,” said David Kramer, a Hudson principal.

Carl Rosenstock, a resident since 1997, said he wanted to buy at Cobble Hill Towers. At first he was offered a price of $300,000 for his one-bedroom, or about $627 a square foot. He estimated that the apartment needed $50,000 to $75,000 in updates.

With apartments selling between $287K and up some wonder if any of them are that much of a deal even with an “insider” price.  Once comment on The Real Deal blog says:

If you like noise and carbon monoxide from the expressway, mold in your apartment, tilted floors, noisy mornings, then you have come to the right place. Greed ultimately rears it’s ugly head, what is happening is a travesty to the fine people who dwell in it. The goal is another get rich scheme and displacement of the tenants with the help of the city. Buying an apartment is beyond my comprehension, offering a buyout is a lure to a fish and simply fools gold. You people have what they want, don’t give it up. Moving or buying helps them and hurts you in the not so long run. Lose your job and lose your investment, it can happen quickly and no one will help you; look beyond the smoke screens. If you feel the neighborhood is desirable, then stay in it for less money and no responsibility, not to mention putting your money at risk in a company that could default. Let them keep the apartments empty with no rent.

What do you think?
Flickr photo by callandresponse

The architect intends to work with a wall already running through the middle of the 14,000-square-foot building and divide it into three homes, each with their own entryway; one entirely new entryway will be created on the corner of Henry and Amity. Heavy wood paneled doors, aluminum-clad windows, and a higher security fence are also planned. A minor rooftop addition, which will be five feet wider than the one the LPC already approved, is part of the project as well.

The proposed changes have already been approved by the CB6 Land Use Committee; one member of which, according to Brownstoner, characterized them as “sensitive, intelligent, and thoughtful.”

It also appears that the three lots on Henry Street adjoining the building remain for sale, although they were earlier reported to have been sold.

The Brooklyn Paper: The state agency behind the controversial Atlantic Yards mega-project and the Brooklyn Bridge Park waterfront development now has a Brooklynite at the helm.

On Wednesday, Gov. Cuomo tapped former Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Kenneth Adams — a Cobble Hill native — to run the Empire State Development Agency, the state’s quasi-independent economic engine.

Adams is the son of Cobble Hill community activist Murray Adams, who has been active in opposition to the use of luxury housing to fund maintenance of Brooklyn Bridge Park. ESDC funds state supported projects through the issuance of bonds, and has been said to have circumvented environmental reviews of projects such as Atlantic Yards. Another Cobble Hill activist and opponent of housing in the Park, Roy Sloane, is quoted in the Post article as condemning ESDC’s past actions, but as optimistic about Mr. Adams’ appointment.

Curbed: We’ll let the brokerbabble explain what’s going on with this new-to-market townhouse at 350 Baltic Street in the Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill DMZ: “This sunny and beautiful Civil War era rowhouse has nurtured a family of artists, as its unique renovation shows.” It’s a two-family property, but the garden apartment is currently set up as a painting studio. We assumed “unique” was a euphemism, but we kinda like the atrium, skylight, and yard. The asking price, at $1.275 million for 1,968 square feet, is a bit more average than the decor.

NYO: The “most celebrated and vilified” novelist of our generation has bought a $2.5 million brownstone in Cobble Hill, a holy grail, of course, for writers and poseurs (and writers who are poseurs). No word yet on how much time he plans to spend on this side of the Atlantic.

The author of Money and London Fields is famous for his sharp prose and withering stare, but he’s previously fled the harsh glare of London’s literati, temporarily relocating to South America following the critical flogging of Yellow Dog. His most recent work, the “blindingly autobiographical” The Pregnant Widow, was well-received, however, so maybe he just likes greenmarkets.

What do you think?  Is it a good idea, or just a dream?

The full story, and more renderings, can be viewed on Curbed.

To view the flier click here.  RSVP to BQE@nycedc.com.

via Cobble Hill Association

After a couple of years of consensus-building, the effort has started to make some very concrete progress in the form of public support from Community Boards 2 and 6 recently… Once established, the BID would cover all properties fronting Atlantic Avenue from the BQE to 4th Avenue and one block north and south on all side streets within the district. (Properties from Court Street to Smith Street on the north side are excluded—they’re in the Court-Livingston-Schermehorn BID.)

According to the Atlantic Ave. BID web site, the organization would provide

marketing and promotion services to bring additional foot traffic to the Avenue, beautification and streetscape improvements, sanitation and improved advocacy work.

The BID committee next has a tentative meeting with the City Planning Commission on December 1st.

via Brownstowner

Just stopped by Vintage Cellars on Smith between Union and President and they’re closing today after 13 years! The landlord wanted to triple the rent. It’ll probably become another f****ing tanning salon. Customers are coming in and hugging the owner, Margaret, as she and family pack up the last of the wine. It’s really sad. One more Smith Street local business bites the dust.

DEVELOPING…

Brownstoner photo

Brownstoner reports that the “Rat Squirrel House” at 149 Kane Street is now sporting a huge dumpster out front.

NY Daily News: Modeled after a 1940s Aspen-style ski chalet, the Lodge has wood paneling, a kitchen, a billiards table and two Skee-Ball machines. In downtown Brooklyn a short walk from Brooklyn Heights and Boerum Hill, the building has only 140 units left to sell before it’s full. “Its pretty simple; we’re in a great location near just about every subway imaginable,” says David E. Perry, director of sales and leasing for the Clarett Group, a New York-based development firm started 11 years ago by Veronica Hackett. “We also think our amenities are better than our competitors.”

What are the apartments like? Eric Gillin posted this video:

And so did amubarah:

The NY Post profiles Cobble Hillbillies Talk Stoop host Cat Greenleaf and her news producer husband Michael Rey. Mostly, they talk about the schweet deal they got on their townhouse, which we’re not mad at:

NY Post: At a time when even badly run-down brownstones in the area were going for $1.3 million, he asked the couple for only $850,000. For that amazing price, they got three floors and a full basement — a total of 2,300 square feet — and a garden.
Greenleaf and Rey opted to convert the ground floor into a two-bedroom rental, and they and their 15-month-old adopted son, Nick (whom they call Primo), have taken over the top two floors. On one floor is the open living space, which includes the living room, dining area and kitchen, as well as one bathroom. The top floor has three bedrooms, one bathroom and a laundry room. (An added patio and the updated 100-foot-deep garden are shared with their tenant.)

Ideal’s human resources director Henry Tsaur announced that the Cobble Hill office will start serving the area with 20 brokers and salespeople. Built on solid technological grounds, and with an enduring commitment to research and design, Ideal’s highly developed infrastructure could support — according to the company’s business development team — in excess of 1,000 agents in the area.

“With our passion for the area, and with our clients’ interest and needs in mind, the opening of the Cobble Hill office seems like an intuitive fit,” Ideal’s CEO concluded.

Brooklyn Paper: The proposed renovations to the Clinton Street crib echo the controversial seven windows that singer Norah Jones’s had punched into a blank wall on the side of her Amity Street house, which is only one block away.

Jones managed to get city approval for her renovations without presenting them to the local community board late last year — and, as a result, many Cobble Hill preservationists feared that the neighborhood’s aesthetic would soon be under assault. “Jones’s windows established a precedent,” said Roy Sloane, the president of the Cobble Hill association and a passionate preservationist. “Our fears have been realized.”

The Landmark Preservation Commission will review the application on July 13.

Owner of the property Abelardo Argibay said he did not know when the restaurant will open, but said it will likely be “soon.” The delay remains a mystery, but stay tuned for more updates!

THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2010.

6:00 PM @ PS 32, 317 HOYT STREET

Photo by EJ Cory

It appears that construction on our local Barneys is underway. Earlier estimates have the store opening this Fall.