Pharrell Williams and Emmitt Smith are among the investors vying for the right to redevelop a mall in Norfolk, Virginia. The rapper and NFL Hall of Fame running back are on competing development teams for the project at the Military Circle Mall, according to the Virginian-Pilot. Slammed by the pandemic, malls are gaining renewed attention as potentials for massive redevelopment. Williams, a Virginia Beach native, is part of a team that includes developers Armada Hoffler
2 Hong Kong resi towers to be demolished over defects
New World Development Company will demolish two residential towers at its popular Pavilia Farm complex in Hong Kong over construction defects. The developer announced it would tear down and rebuild blocks 1 and 8 at Pavilia Farm III, according to Bloomberg. The company said that some concrete sections of the buildings were weak and did not meet design requirements. The move comes after the June 24 partial collapse of Champlain Towers South condo development near
Navy Yard looks to add museum, health club, and more via rezoning
The managers of the Brooklyn Navy yard are seeking a rezoning to add more amenities to the sprawling waterfront complex. The Department of City Planning reviewed an Environmental Assessment Statement at an online meeting on June 7 that would allow for the creation of a Special Brooklyn Navy Yard District to foster “the introduction of compatible community facility and commercial uses.” No specific project is being proposed, and the rezoning application states that approval is “not expected to result in new development density beyond that which is permitted…
MTA eyes more developer incentives for accessibility upgrades
State transit and city planning gurus want to expand incentives for private developers to fund accessibility improvements for Metropolitan Transportation Authority subway and railroad stations around the Five Boroughs. The inter-agency partnership dubbed “Elevate Transit: Zoning for Accessibility” will boost the MTA’s effort to make all of its 472 stations more accessible, according to the agency’s head of construction. “Zoning for Accessibility builds on the MTA’s historic $5.2 billion commitments to accessibility projects by partnering with private developers to help make stations Americans with Disabilities Act accessible — and to deliver them faster and cheaper than ever before,” said the Authority’s…
Data centers poised for record year of leasing
Data centers appear poised for record growth this year. A recent CBRE report found that demand is strong, and preleasing suggests 2021 a sustained surge, CNBC reported. Data centers https://therealdeal.com/chicago/tag/data-centers/ — essentially large warehouses filled with computing and data storage systems — are measured in power instead of square footage. “We know that there’s already 500 megawatts of new build coming online now, almost 70 percent of which is pre-leased,” said CBRE’s
Gowanus rezoning opponents to sue city to stop virtual ULURP
They’ll see the city in court! Opponents of the Gowanus rezoning plan to sue the city Friday, alleging the Department of City Planning’s virtual Zoom hearings don’t allow for enough public review for the neighborhood-wide land use changes. “When you’re dealing with a massive project of this scale that is going to impact so many people’s lives, the community must have its voice heard; that is simply not possible with virtual public hearings,” said attorney Jason Zakai on behalf of the plaintiffs, anti-rezoning group Voice of Gowanus, in a Jan. 15 statement. …
960 Franklin Avenue rezoning moves forward after judge tosses restraining order
A Brooklyn judge tossed a temporary restraining order that was halting progress on the controversial 960 Franklin Ave. development in Crown Heights — paving the way for the hotly-contested building to move forward through the city’s seven-month Land Use Review Process. The rezoning change would call for the proposed mixed-use development to rise high above the adjacent Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which both garden stewards and Parks Department employees say would devastate plant life in the flower emporium. A lawsuit, filed by activists Alicia Boyd and Michael Hollingsworth, had halted progress on the building by arguing that city planning honchos violated a law that required the city to provide details about rezonings 30 days before certifying them — which is an initial step in the…
Proposed development in C’ Heights historic district faces overwhelming opposition
Community members voiced their overwhelming opposition to a proposed seven-story apartment building in the Crown Heights historic district on Thursday, saying the project is out of character for the area’s landmarked section, and would accelerate gentrification in the working-class enclave. “They need to go back to the drawing board and start again,” said Phara Souffrant Forrest, the Democratic nominee for the area’s 57th Assembly District. The Land Use Committee of the area’s Community Board 8 voted 14-to-2 to withhold support for developer Hope Street Capital’s plan, which needs approval from the city Landmarks Preservation Commission to build in the Crown Heights North landmarked district. The…
Artist, Philanthropist, Carousel Namesake, Jane Walentas Dies at 76
As reported by Brooklyn Daily Eagle and Brooklyn Paper, Philanthropist, Artist, Real Estate Developer, and “First Lady of Dumbo,” Jane Walentas passed away July 5th after a brief battle with cancer. She was 76 years old.The Walentas Family and their management company, Two Trees, is synonymous with DUMBO as we now know it. And the carousel, which has delighted children and adults alike since September 2011, is inseparable from Jane.A New York Times article from 2011 traces the journey of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel, originally installed in Youngstown, OH in 1922, to Brooklyn. Purchased by the Walentas’ in 1984, much of the tedious scraping away of decades of paint was carried out…
City shuts down Marine Park development for unsafe conditions, unapproved elevator
City regulators shut down a Marine Park development site after the builders flagrantly ignored city-approved construction blueprints — and put workers’ lives at risk in the process, according to a Department of Buildings spokeswoman. “We issued a stop work order for the site…and issued violations to the contractor for disregarding the approved plans and putting workers in jeopardy by skirting safety regulations,” said Abigail Kunitz. Neighbors filed 11 official complaints to the department since June 2018, claiming that the…
Elon Musk teases possibility of a Texas gigafactory
Tesla CEO Elon Musk put out the possibility of a Tesla “gigafactory” production facility in Texas this week. Musk polled Twitter users with a two-word question: “Giga Texas?” and has received hundreds of thousands of responses, according to the New York Post. The possible responses were “hell yeah” or “nope,” and so far users are overwhelmingly supportive of the idea — over 80 percent of the more than 300,000 voters chose yes. Musk, who’s prone
Bossert Blues
Like the refugees in Casablanca, those eagerly awaiting the re-opening of the Hotel Bossert must wait…and wait…and wait…As Brooklyn Eagle reported last week, the scheduled soft opening last month didn’t happen (again). Reporter Lore Crohan couldn’t track down anyone willing to offer any explanations, trying to contact a variety of people associated with the Chetrit Group, which owns the property, to no avail: messages and phone calls yielded no response.The Eagle story offers context of the building’s history and links galore to …
Pier Six Towers Update: Developers Busy Building and Advertising Despite No Court Decision
The Brooklyn Paper reports that the developers of the two controversial high rise residential towers on the uplands of Pier Six, near the Atlantic Avenue entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park and on park land, have already done extensive construction work on one of the two towers (see photo in story linked above) and are, as the story indicates, already advertising to (although not yet accepting any money from) prospective condo buyers. This is despite there is as yet no final ruling on a lawsuit brought by the Brooklyn Heights Association and others to prevent construction of the towers, on the contention that revenue from them is not necessary to fund the park’s maintenance. As it stands, a judge has ordered that, while construction may …
Court Gives Go-Ahead to Pier Six Towers
Curbed reports that New York Supreme Court Justice Carmen Victoria St. George on Friday issued a ruling dismissing a lawsuit filed by the Brooklyn Heights Association in July of 2016 against the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation and two developers, seeeking to prevent the construction of two high rise residential towers on the uplands of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier Six, near Atlantic Avenue and Furman Street.The BHA’s suit was based on language in the Park’s General Project Plan providing that no more private development would be allowed in the park than is necessary to provide the Park with funds, in the form of payments in lieu of taxes (“PILOTS”), needed to provide for …
Hearing on Proposed Brooklyn Jail Expansion Thursday Evening
The Brooklyn Heights Association has advised us that Brooklyn Community Board 2 will hold a public hearing on this Thursday evening, April 11 from 5:00 to 9:00 (doors open at 4:30), at the Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School Auditorium, 357 Clermont Avenue (Enter off Greene Avenue) — see map here. The nearest subway stop, two blocks away, is the Clinton-Washington Avenue G.According to the BHAThe hearing is the start of a 7-month land use review process (ULURP) that will culminate with a final decision by the City Council on Mayor de Blasio’s plan to close Rikers Island and construct four new jails, one in each borough except Staten Island. Targeting an eventual jail population of 5,750 detainees – down from the current level of 7,800 – each jail would house up to…
Is The Bossert Back?
If so, the Eagle is on it.Following reports of a party on the Bossert’s famous roof (on which the Brooklyn Dodgers celebrated their only World Series win), the Eagle contacted one of the hotel’s owners, who said, “We plan to make a major announcement soon.”The hotel has been under renovation since it was sold in 2012, and two years ago, the Eagle reported on an imminent re-opening, only to follow up earlier this year with news of another delay and the news that the hotel operator originally slated to run the place was being replaced.Stay tuned, and as always, check out the Eagle‘s story to get the details and
Downtown Brooklyn Macy’s a Teardown Option?
With reports Wednesday that Macy’s is considering a sale of its flagship location in Brooklyn, speculation begins about the fate of Fulton Mall’s largest and grandest building. According to Women’s Wear Daily, executives at the Cincinnati-based retail chain are said to be debating whether to renovate the venerable building at 422 Fulton Street or to sell the property and rebuild at a new location at 1-31 Hoyt Street, the current site of a Macy’s-owned parking garage. RELATED:This Interactive Map Shows Every Demolition In Brooklyn Since 2003 With the possibility of netting as much as $300 million dollars, this sale may proceed quickly, and it seems likely that whoever wins the bidding war will be tempted to raze the old building, whose origins date…