Fort Greene

The bones of this two-family townhouse at 362 Clermont Avenue date back to 1899, but inside, a gut renovation has brought the property well into the 21st century. Several wood-burning fireplaces and the original doors were restored while other materials, like the reclaimed wood floors, were carefully sourced to reflect what was originally there. The 22-foot-wide Fort Greene home spans across 3,650 square feet (not including the basement apartment) and is seeking $4.35 million.
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Distinctive Homes

Take a jazz-filled tour of historic Fort Greene homes

Photo courtesy of CityRealty

September 4, 2019

Take a jazz-filled tour of historic Fort Greene homes

While it's always easy to admire the stunning brownstones of Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood from the outside, here's your chance to appreciate them up close. The 34th Fort Greene House Tour takes place on Sunday, Sept. 22, opening up unique homes from the 19th-century to architecture enthusiasts. Hosted by the Fort Greene Association, the theme of this year's tour is "Houses, History & All That Jazz," with some homes on tour featuring live music, in honor of the neighborhood's musical legacy.
How to get tickets

September 3, 2019

My 2,400sqft: Inside Compass agent Christine Blackburn’s custom-designed Fort Greene home

Ten years ago, Christine Blackburn and her husband built an entirely new home above two storefronts in Fort Greene. Christine is one half of the Barak/Blackburn Team at Compass. As a seasoned real estate agent who specializes in North Brooklyn and Downtown Manhattan, it's no surprise that she had the eye to create a home with a double-height living room, two terraces, a roof deck, and plenty of cool, custom design details. 6sqft recently paid Christine a visit to get a tour of her home, learn what it was like to build the residence from the ground up, and hear her thoughts on the real estate market in New York City.
Take the tour

BAM commissions a series of public artworks for its Fort Greene campus

Rendering of Teresita Fernández’s Paradise Parados courtesy of Brooklyn Academy of Music

August 8, 2019

BAM commissions a series of public artworks for its Fort Greene campus

BAM will soon be adding a series of site-specific public artworks to its Fort Greene campus. Brooklyn-based artists Teresita Fernández and Hank Willis Thomas have been commissioned to create new works for BAM, and Leo Villareal—whose LED light installation “Stars” can already be seen illuminating the arched façade windows of BAM’s Peter Jay Sharp Building—will create two new works. One additional artist will be commissioned in the near future.
More details

Events & Things To Do

New York’s first fleet of self-driving cars launches at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Photo courtesy of Optimus Ride

August 6, 2019

New York’s first fleet of self-driving cars launches at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

New York's first fleet of self-driving vehicles has officially landed in Brooklyn. Six autonomous vehicles will roll into the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Wednesday, shuttling passengers in a loop around the 300-acre industrial site for free. Optimus Ride, the Boston-based technology company behind the fleet, will run the autonomous shuttle between 7 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. on weekdays, between the NYC Ferry stop at Dock 72 and Cumberland Gate at Flushing Avenue.
Ride this way

Rent a polished Fort Greene one bedroom with a wood-burning fireplace for $3K/month

Listing images by Russ Ross; courtesy of The Corcoran Group

July 18, 2019

Rent a polished Fort Greene one bedroom with a wood-burning fireplace for $3K/month

This one bedroom on the third floor of a four-story co-op at 416 Clermont Avenue is "nestled in the treetops in prime Fort Greene," per the listing. Judging from the green views out the windows, that description isn't far off. The charming apartment was recently renovated to reflect more modern tastes but it held on to some of it's best prewar details, like the wood-burning fireplace with a carved marble mantle in the living room. The unit is now available to rent for $3,000 a month.
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Distinctive Homes

Historic Clinton Hill home that spawned ghost stories is back on the market for $3.6M

Listing images by Elizabeth Dooley

June 12, 2019

Historic Clinton Hill home that spawned ghost stories is back on the market for $3.6M

Here's a rare chance to own one of the city's most historic homes, the Lefferts-Laidlaw House at 136 Clinton Avenue in Clinton Hill (and part of the Wallabout Historic District). Built around 1836, the home "typified the villas that were erected in Brooklyn's early suburbs in the early-to-mid nineteenth century" and might be the "only remaining temple-fronted Greek Revival style residence in Kings County," according to the 2001 designation report. It's become known as one of the most haunted houses in the city, thanks to stories of "doorbells rung, doors rattled" on a nightly basis in the late 19th century—but the tongue-in-cheek tone of the original New York Times reports is hard to miss. Perhaps the scariest thing left about it is the asking price. The home has been on and off the market for years, last seeking $4.5 million in 2016. Now, the property is back for a significantly reduced $3.6 million.
Take the tour

May 31, 2019

$2.2M Wallabout townhouse comes with multiple outdoor spaces and two parking spots

Adjacent to Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard is one of Brooklyn’s oldest but least known neighborhoods: Wallabout. Though somewhat isolated due to its lack of public transportation, the area boasts a rich history dating back to the 17th century. It was once home to the area’s second largest producer of chocolate (second only to Hershey’s), Brooklyn’s first free African-American school, and where Walt Whitman wrote the first edition of “Leaves of Grass” while living at 99 Ryerson Street. Wallabout contains the largest concentration of pre-Civil War wood-frame houses in the city, but amid the historic homes are some contemporary gems, like this 2011 metal-clad townhouse at 336 Park Avenue. The 2,500 square-foot property—complete with a side yard, a roof terrace, and two parking spots—is currently on the market for $2,200,000.
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

In Fort Greene, nation’s largest LGBT senior development will open affordable housing lottery

Rendering courtesy of Marvel Architects

May 20, 2019

In Fort Greene, nation’s largest LGBT senior development will open affordable housing lottery

At 112 Edwards Street in Fort Greene, a completely new type of affordable housing is set to launch a lottery for 108 low-income units. The Ingersoll Senior Residences was built as part of the city's controversial plan to lease NYCHA land to private developers in order to build and maintain more affordable housing. Thanks to a partnership between BFC Partners and SAGE, Advocacy & Services for LGBT Elders, the building is the nation's largest LGBT-friendly elder housing project and the first in New York City. When the lottery opens on May 29th, individuals or couples who have at least one member age 62 or older can apply for studios and one-bedrooms for which they'll pay 30 percent of their income, which can range from $0 to $42,700.
Find out more

Affordable Housing

Will the Wegmans obsession continue in Brooklyn?

Rendering courtesy of S9 Architecture

April 11, 2019

Will the Wegmans obsession continue in Brooklyn?

Wegmans is officially coming to Brooklyn this fall, more than four years after the beloved grocery store announced plans to open its first ever New York City location. The grocery store will open a 74,000-square-foot spot within Admiral's Row at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a 300-acre site transforming from a waterfront warship building site into an industrial tech-hub. While the store already has a dedicated following outside of NYC, due mostly to its wide range of brand-name and specialty products, will the Wegmans obsession continue in Brooklyn?
Get the details

New Developments

Self-driving shuttle service is coming to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Brooklyn Navy Yard via Optimus

March 21, 2019

Self-driving shuttle service is coming to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Self-driving vehicles are officially coming to New York City this year. The Boston-based startup Optimus Ride announced on Wednesday plans to deploy a fleet of autonomous shuttle vans to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a 300-acre site in the midst of transforming from a World War II-era warship site to a modern tech-hub. When it launches in the second quarter of this year, the self-driving program will be the first of its kind in New York, according to the company.
Learn about it here

Transit

January 3, 2019

For under $1M, this Fort Greene condo has two bedrooms and a smart split-level layout

You might think of split-levels as a throwback to your grandparents' house, but when space is limited in a city apartment, the layout serves quite well for smart storage, privacy, and an open feel. All of these attributes apply to this completely charming two-bedroom at 69 South Oxford Street in Fort Greene. The fifth-floor spread has its public and private areas separated by a small staircase and it's listed for either $950,000 or as a $3,500/month rental. To boot, it's just steps from the park and Atlantic Terminal, located in the historic Roanoke Condos.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

October 30, 2018

Historic building at Brooklyn Navy Yard to be restored as modern manufacturing space

A former boat repair facility at the Brooklyn Navy Yard will get restored as a modern manufacturing space, the last adaptive reuse project at the 300-acre site. The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) last month closed on $42 million in financing to restore Building 127, which was built in 1904 by the U.S. Navy for ship construction. S9 Architecture is handling the "historically sensitive" gut renovation, which will bring 95,000 square feet of modern industrial space to the Yard by 2020.
More here

Over 70 affordable units up for grabs in new luxury Clinton Hill rental, from $913/month

Via RXR Realty

October 18, 2018

Over 70 affordable units up for grabs in new luxury Clinton Hill rental, from $913/month

Applications are now being accepted for 73 affordable rentals in a new Brooklyn building located in the middle of Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, and Fort Greene. Developed by RXR Realty, the 12-story building at 810 Fulton Street is expected to open in 2019. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, which range from $913/month studios to $1,183/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Smorgasburg opening two indoor food halls in Brooklyn

Photo via Flickr cc

October 17, 2018

Smorgasburg opening two indoor food halls in Brooklyn

Photo via Flickr cc In a not-very-surprising move, foodie phenom Smorgasburg has announced that it will open indoor markets in Fort Greene and Williamsburg this winter, according to Eater. Since first opening as an outcrop of Brooklyn Flea in 2011, Smorgasburg has grown to operate seasonal outdoor markets in Williamsburg, Prospect Park, Brooklyn Flea, as well as the indoor Berg’n food hall and even another outdoor market in Downtown LA. Their newest spots will be a 25,000-square-foot space in the Atlantic Center mall across from the Barclays Center and a night market in collaboration with Vice Media at their Williamsburg event space Villian. The latter will also have a full bar, DJs, and art exhibitions.
All the details

Food & Dining

New renderings for Brooklyn Navy Yard’s 5 million square feet of vertical manufacturing space

Waterfront space adjacent to Building 131; via WXY and bloomimages

September 27, 2018

New renderings for Brooklyn Navy Yard’s 5 million square feet of vertical manufacturing space

After announcing a $2.5 billion expansion of the Brooklyn site in January, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) released on Thursday new renderings of the plan, which would add 5.1 million square feet of manufacturing space. Developed by WXY architecture + urban design, the plan centers around three sites, all including new vertical manufacturing space along with public, open space and connectivity improvements. About 75 percent of the 10,000 jobs added (bringing the total to the site 30,000) will be manufacturing jobs, with the rest being service-oriented and creative work. The renderings released of the Yard this week by the BNYDC gives us a better look at how the 300-acre development will flow with the surrounding neighborhoods.
See the renderings

Uncategorized

September 20, 2018

Across from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, RXR plans a 10-building complex in a former printing press factory

By Michelle Cohen

The Brooklyn Navy Yard and the area surrounding it continues to expand and live up to predictions calling it the city's new creative hotspot. Just a few months after the Navy Yard and developers broke ground on a nine-story mixed-use creative and manufacturing project at 399 Sands Street, RXR Realty has announced plans to renovate a 10-building, 650,000-square-foot block-long complex at the site of the former Mergenthaler Linotype Company printing press factory, across from the Yard. The refurbished complex will be home to industrial, design, and office space, with ground-floor retail, and restaurant tenants.
More renderings of the new creative space, this way

Construction kicks off on Dattner Architects’ nine-story Brooklyn Navy Yard building

Rendering via Steiner NYC

June 14, 2018

Construction kicks off on Dattner Architects’ nine-story Brooklyn Navy Yard building

Just six months after filing permits for a nine-story mixed-use building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, city officials and developers broke ground Wednesday on 399 Sands Street. Designed by Dattner Architects, the building will feature a parking structure on four levels, four floors of manufacturing space and one floor for creative office space. The construction of 399 Sands Street is a key part of the Navy Yard's $1 billion expansion, overseen by Steiner Equities Group, which will add $2 million square feet. Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen also announced Wednesday a $40 million investment from the city to fund 230,000 square feet of leasable space above the parking area. "New York City grew up around the Brooklyn Navy Yard - and thanks to the City’s $40 million New York Works investment in 399 Sands Street, the Yard will continue to fuel growth, and provide manufacturing and creative jobs for generations to come," Glen said in a statement.
Find out more

Fresh set of renderings for Dock 72, the new home for WeWork at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Rendering of Dock 72 via Ekoomedia

May 30, 2018

Fresh set of renderings for Dock 72, the new home for WeWork at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

New renderings have been unveiled of Dock 72, a 675,000-square-foot office building co-developed by Boston Properties and Rudin Management for the evolving Brooklyn Navy Yard. Surrounded by water on all sides but one, Dock 72, designed by S9 Architecture, features outdoor terraces, 35,000 square feet of amenities and unobstructed views of Manhattan. As the anchor tenant and co-developer, WeWork will occupy a third of the space, or 220,000 square feet. With its glassy facade installed, the 16-story office building is scheduled to wrap up construction in the fall, becoming one of the largest ground-up office buildings in the borough in nearly three decades.
See them here

May 17, 2018

Holly Hunter lists historic Fort Greene townhouse for $4.5M

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Holly Hunter seems to be a perennial house hunter. In 2014, the Academy Award-winning actress sold her Greenwich Village apartment for $7.6 million. Now, she’s selling again, according to the Post. Hunter has just listed her 19th-century Brooklyn brownstone at 20 South Oxford Street, half a block away from Fort Greene Park, for $4.5 million. Built in 1864, the four-bedroom Italianate home is filled with original details.
See it all

Despite a 30 percent drop in sales prices, Tribeca remains NYC’s most expensive neighborhood

Photo via CityRealty

April 16, 2018

Despite a 30 percent drop in sales prices, Tribeca remains NYC’s most expensive neighborhood

Despite suffering from a 30 percent drop year-over-year in median sale prices, Tribeca still managed to rank first as New York City's most expensive neighborhood, followed closely by Soho. Property Shark released this week its list of the 50 priciest areas in the city in Q1 2018 and unsurprisingly, nine out of the top ten are located in Manhattan. Notably, the West Village witnessed an 88 percent year-over-year increase with a median sale price hovering $2.1 million. And the Flatiron District, which ranked as the most expensive neighborhood in the third quarter of 2017, fell to sixth place, with a median sale price of $1.85 million.
See the list

Real Estate Trends

April 13, 2018

A Buckminster Fuller dome almost kept the Dodgers in Brooklyn

By Michelle Cohen

With baseball season back in full swing, talk at some point turns to the heartbreak of losing the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles. Modern Mechanix informs us that team owner Walter O'Malley had championed a Brooklyn dome stadium designed by Buckminster Fuller–and how the result is yet another reason to blame Robert Moses. O'Malley took the team to Cali, if you'll remember, because he got a better deal on land for a stadium–better than he was able to get in the five boroughs. He had wanted to keep the team in Brooklyn, but Ebbets Field was looking down-at-the-heels by then and bad for morale. In 1955 O'Malley wrote dome-obsessed architect Buckminster Fuller requesting a domed stadium design.
So what happened?

A $2.5B plan will bring an additional 5 million square feet to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Overview of Brooklyn Navy Yard via Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation

February 1, 2018

A $2.5B plan will bring an additional 5 million square feet to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

The transformation of the Brooklyn Navy Yard from a warship building site into an industrial tech-hub got an extra boost this week after a non-profit announced a $2.5 billion building plan that would quadruple its current workforce. As Bloomberg first reported, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, which serves as the site's property manager on behalf of the city, plans to add 5.1 million square feet of manufacturing space to the site, with a little over half of it going towards one large complex.
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Real Estate Trends

Whole Foods Market’s first 365 store on the East Coast opens in Fort Greene

Rendering of entrance via Two Trees Management

January 31, 2018

Whole Foods Market’s first 365 store on the East Coast opens in Fort Greene

Whole Foods Market 365 opened its first East Coast location in Fort Greene on Wednesday, further cementing Downtown Brooklyn as a burgeoning commercial hub. The 30,000-square-foot store is located in Two Trees' 300 Ashland Place, a mixed-use development with 379 amenity-rich rentals above it. As the seventh 365 location in the country, the lower-priced grocery store will offer high-quality products free of artificial flavors, sweeteners and preservatives.
Get the details

New Developments

January 5, 2018

New renderings unveiled of John Catsimatidis’ 32-story Downtown Brooklyn rental ‘The Eagle’

Leasing has officially commenced at 86 Fleet Place, the final residential tower of John Catsimatidis' four-building development along Myrtle Avene, a site the billionaire first purchased from Long Island University in 1982. Dubbed by Catsimatidis' Red Apple Group as "The Eagle," the 32-story 440-unit building sits in between Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene and offers studios for $2,044/month, one-bedrooms for $2,743/month and two-bedrooms starting at $4,050/month. As CityRealty learned, residences will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, custom oak cabinets and Brazilian stone countertops.
More this way

Renderings revealed for Dattner Architect’s nine-story building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Rendering of Admirals Row via S9 Architecture and 399 Sands Street via Dattner Architects

December 21, 2017

Renderings revealed for Dattner Architect’s nine-story building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard