Gowanus is going green! Not with eco-friendly restaurants and homes (at least not just yet) but with cash. When it became clear in October of last year that a rezoning would see 8,200 new apartments built in the largely industrial Brooklyn neighborhood over the next decade, a third of them for affordable housing, developers’ checkbooks have been flapping in the wind in their rush to snap up available lots. Vision sketch of Gowanus canal bridge crossing with waterfront development and pedestrian activity.
Recent weeks have seen a flurry of deals make headlines. The Real Deal reported that plans were submitted for a 22-story building with 300 residential units at 395 Carroll Street and 155 3rd Street, respectively. The site also reported that Avery Hall Investments put in submitted paperwork to build 200 units at 653 Union Street.
Rendering of the rezoned Gowanus waterfront and public esplanade along Carroll Street. Image: Courtesy of SCAPE
Developers File Plans to Remake a Neighborhood
Now comes news that Tavros Capital and Charney Companies picked up 318 Nevins Street for $100 million from Property Markets Group (PMG) with the intent of constructing a 660-unit apartment building. A portion of these units will be dedicated to low and moderate-income tenants. PMG also owns another site across the Gowanus Canal at 267 Bond Street, where plans were recently filed to construct a 344-unit project. Not to be outdone, Tavros and Charney Companies are also building a 214 unit apartment complex at 577 Union Street, a stone’s throw away from their newly acquired Nevins Street site.
Rendering of the rezoned Gowanus waterfront and public esplanade along Nevins Street. Image: Courtesy of SCAPE Prescient developers such as Domain Properties and PMG had been expecting this rezoning for a while and so, had quietly been snapping up low-rise industrial buildings close to the canal for the past decade to capitalize on the inevitable. Now their patience is paying off.
Gowanus is an Ideal Location
The rezoning of Gowanus from industrial to residential was an early Holiday gift for the afore-mentioned property owners, waiting on tenterhooks for the news. Location-wise, Gowanus makes a lot of sense. Its proximity to Park Slope and Carroll Gardens puts it in the crosshairs of prime Brooklyn real estate. And there is, of course, the canal, while much maligned in the past, it will ultimately provide an area of tranquility and natural beauty. Anticipating what was to come, Wholefoods made the bold move to the neighborhood almost a decade ago and with a smattering of bars and restaurants doing the same, all it needed was a bountiful supply of residents.
Rendering of a proposed pedestrian-only stretch of President Street. Image: Courtesy of SCAPE
From Grit to Glitz
By the time Gowanus gets reinvented expect a waterfront lattice of public esplanades, parkland, and plazas with retail, restaurants sparkling new streets surrounded by gleaming new buildings. For a full list of new Gowanus construction projects in the works see this article in curbed.com.
Rendering of possible bankside designs. Image: Courtesy of SCAPE
Hastening the developers' plans was an expiring 421a tax break that also saw a large proportion of the buildings allocated for affordable housing. For middle and working-class New Yorkers increasingly perplexed by rapidly escalating prices in the city, the chance to live in a sought-after Brooklyn neighborhood has obvious appeal. But for relatively high-earning renters or house hunters priced out of Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, living so close by with the advantage of a long-term tax break is also appealing.
If you would like to know more about renting or buying in Gowanus and surrounding areas, reach out to me at gene@charneycompanies.com.