lot at 1 Sullivan Place (at the corner of Washington Avenue)

mugofmead111

Does anyone (e.g. @whynot_31, LOL) know the scoop about this lot? I noticed some work being done on Saturday morning. It's been vacant for as long as I can remember.

Tax Map:

whynot_31

Go ye to the DOB BIS site.

It will tell you whether permits have been recently issues.

mugofmead111

The tax records indicate that this parcel recently changed hands.

I'm just curious why this lot has been vacant for years. It also looks like it was split off of the lot for 1035 Washington Avenue decades ago. It's an odd lot, like the triangle shaped parcel around the corner on Washington Avenue.

ETA: There is an open DOB violation for work without permit from 2013.

A permit was issued on August 4 and it expires January 6, 2015. 

whynot_31

That new permit on Aug 4 is the one you want to look at.

It should tell you what is coming.

mugofmead111

From DOB:

ALTERATION TYPE 2 - STRUCTURAL

FILING STRUCTURAL APPLICATION FOR SOIL AND SITE PREPARATION AS REQUIRED TO

PERFORM TEST PITS AND BORINGS AS PER DRAWINGS FILED HEREWITH.

whynot_31

Prior to submitting plans to DOB, the owners must do soil samples to test for density, poisons, etc.

Once these results come back, the developers will submit plans to DOB that reveal how large the building will be.

whynot_31

@mugofmead -

Do you have $5M?

"A Crown Heights development site directly across from Prospect Park is on the market with an asking price of $5 million.

Located on the corner of Washington Avenue, the vacant 40′ by 82′ lot at 1 Sullivan Place has unobstructed views of the park. The irregular site comes with 20,385 buildable square feet, along with plans for an eight-story, 16-unit apartment building.

The permits, filed on September 23rd by the current owner, have yet to be approved; they call for a 20,552-square-foot structure with a common roof terrace, private exterior space, storage, bike storage and 532 square feet of community facility space on the ground floor. Workshop Design & Architecture is the architect of record. Of the proposed apartments, four are one-bedroom units, nine are two-bedrooms and three are three-bedrooms.

The lot previously traded for $2.5 million in April to Sullivan Gardens LLC, Department of Finance records show. Before that, it sold for $850,000 to One Sullivan Place LLC in 2006."



http://news.buzzbuzzhome.com/2014/10/1-sullivan-place.html

whynot_31

mugofmead111

I had seen the for sale sign a few days ago, but I didn't bother to seek out the listing. 

That lot's been vacant for decades. I wouldn't mind seeing it developed. I just wished it were a little shorter, like the development at 90 Sullivan Place. 

whynot_31

That is just the price for the lot and the approved plans.

Once the building is built, the package might be worth $20M.

mugofmead111

@mugofmead -

Do you have $5M?

"A Crown Heights development site directly across from Prospect Park is on the market with an asking price of $5 million.

Located on the corner of Washington Avenue, the vacant 40′ by 82′ lot at 1 Sullivan Place has unobstructed views of the park. The irregular site comes with 20,385 buildable square feet, along with plans for an eight-story, 16-unit apartment building.

The permits, filed on September 23rd by the current owner, have yet to be approved; they call for a 20,552-square-foot structure with a common roof terrace, private exterior space, storage, bike storage and 532 square feet of community facility space on the ground floor. Workshop Design & Architecture is the architect of record. Of the proposed apartments, four are one-bedroom units, nine are two-bedrooms and three are three-bedrooms.

The lot previously traded for $2.5 million in April to Sullivan Gardens LLC, Department of Finance records show. Before that, it sold for $850,000 to One Sullivan Place LLC in 2006."



http://news.buzzbuzzhome.com/2014/10/1-sullivan-place.html

If I had a spare $5 million, my current living arrangements would be quite different. LOL 

That blurb got it wrong. The site is not directly across from Prospect Park; BBG is in the way (and the Franklin Avenue Shuttle tracks). 

whynot_31

I suspect that buzzbuzzhome is written by someone who does not live in the CH area.

As a result, they look at google satellite view and conclude that green = park.

mugofmead111

That's just lazy journalism, @whynot_31.  

BBG is clearly marked in Google Earth view. 

whynot_31

In this instance, the closer a building is to green, the more green people will pay to live in it.

....I wonder how many offers the owners of the nearby church and auto repair shop have received.

mugofmead111

The Q at Parkside now has picked up this story.

At least the building will have a bus stop directly in front of it! Yay!

bobmarvin

"That's just lazy journalism"

Sadly "lazy" and "journalism" are words that go together far too often. You're likely to see this phenomenon any time you read a story on a subject you know well.

whynot_31

If I were to move into this building, I am not certain whether I would walk to the Q at Parkside, or the Brooklyn Museum 2/3.

The 2/3 is uphill, but doesn't involve crossing any big streets.

The Q is downhill, but involves crossing Empire.

mugofmead111

If I were to move into this building, I am not certain whether I would walk to the Q at Parkside, or the Brooklyn Museum 2/3.

The 2/3 is uphill, but doesn't involve crossing any big streets.

The Q is downhill, but involves crossing Empire.

@whynot_31: Why would someone walk all the way to Parkside unless they want the exercise?  

I walk to Prospect Park because it's closer. Actually crossing Empire at Washington is a little easier than crossing at Franklin, which is what I often do. 

Once in a while I will walk up the hill to Franklin Avenue to take the IRT; there are more choices of trains at that stop. Walking to the Brooklyn Museum locks you into taking the 2 or the 3. 

Sometimes on the way home I will get off at Brooklyn Museum and walk down the hill on Washington Avenue by BBG to go home. That's the scenic route. I do that then because at that point I am not in a rush. 

whynot_31

From 1 Sullivan, they might walk to the Franklin 2/3/4/5, but don't think I would.

I would walk to the Brooklyn Museum 2/3. I would walk on the BBG side of Washington Ave, because once I crossed Washington, I would not have to cross any additional streets.

Needless to say, things are looking up for the place I want to open: http://www.brooklynian.com/discussion/44526/has-anyone-put-any-thought-into-the-corner-store-at-98-montgomery-aka-941-washington-ave/p1

mugofmead111

From 1 Sullivan, they might walk to the Franklin 2/3/4/5, but don't think I would.

I would walk to the Brooklyn Museum 2/3. I would walk on the BBG side of Washington Ave, because once I crossed Washington, I would not have to cross any additional streets.

Needless to say, things are looking up for the place I want to open: http://www.brooklynian.com/discussion/44526/has-anyone-put-any-thought-into-the-corner-store-at-98-montgomery-aka-941-washington-ave/p1

Re: Franklin Avenue - I'm not a fan of Franklin Avenue either, which is why I don't often walk to that subway stop. However, things are looking up for the street. If I use it while coming home, I sometimes walk down another street via Eastern Parkway. 

Also, if you needed a stop by the Lexington Avenue line, why take the 2/3 to Nevins and transfer to the 4/5 when you could get on it at Franklin (during AM rush hour)?

whynot_31

Correct.

BTW, a part of me wonders if people walking by have noticed the changes that the buildings along Washington btwn Empire and EP have already undergone....

Just from the outside, one can see:

New hallway lighting. Scrubbed facades. New entrances. Maintained gardens...

mugofmead111

I have noticed that the lighting outside the buildings is much better than it has been in the past. It factors into why walking down Washington Avenue now qualifies as the "scenic route" even after dark.

That also applies to the buildings on Carroll Street west of the shuttle tracks (behind Clara Barton and P.S. 241). 

While we're at it, some of the buildings on Bedford also have better lighting outside. 

whynot_31

There is also much less litter on Carroll than there used to be.

In front of the cute little pedestrian bridge, there used to be lots of litter and debris.

Now, that spot is filled with bikes.

mugofmead111

@whynot_31 - "debris" - That'd be an understatement.

I think I mentioned in another thread when I was a kid, I remember Carroll Street on both sides of the shuttle tracks (and years before that pedestrian bridge was replaced) was littered- actually boobytrapped - with dog poop. Walking to school often involved trying to dodge such bombs. It seems that area now has someone who is keeping up with a pooper scooper.

whynot_31

The stretch of Washington along the BBG used to have lots of dog poop as well.

Actually, I was thinking of all the car debris that use to be by the ped bridge: tires, engine parts, etc.

I think for a long time, a guy operated a roadside repair shop there. The kind that just requires you have lots of tools, but not pay rent.

mugofmead111

The car debris may be gone from the street by the ped bridge on Caroll, but there is still plenty of debris on the embankments just above the train tracks. (I dream of a day when the MTA were to clean that all up. They could do it with a "Fast Track" and have shuttle buses and the B48 provide alternate service.) 

I have noticed doggie poop and random debris on Montgomery Street by the spice factory site and the Sea Crest linen site between Franklin and Washington Avenues.

Someone had put up doggie poop bag dispensers on BBG's fences on Washington Avenue. It was a nice touch. Maybe this is a movement that can be expanded throughout the rest of the neighborhood...and the city. 

whynot_31

Hopefully the new residents of 1 Sullivan will be on board.

whynot_31

http://newyorkyimby.com/2015/12/revealed-1-sullivan-place-crown-heights.html

Rebecca writes:

"Construction is finally underway at a long-stalled development site at 1 Sullivan Place in Crown Heights, and we’ve got a rendering for the eight-story building rising on the corner of Washington Avenue, next to Prospect Park.

The development will reach 79 feet into the air on a fairly quiet block wedged between the shuttle tracks and Franklin Avenue, just north of Empire Boulevard, which marks the border between Crown Heights and Prospect Lefferts Gardens. It will have 16 apartments and a 532-square-foot medical office on the first floor.

Each floor will hold two units, and if the rendering is accurate, every apartment will come with a private balcony. Residents will also have access to a shared roof deck, storage, and bike parking in the cellar. There won’t be any parking for cars, because the zoning code doesn’t require any on small lots like this one.

The facade will have a pretty modern look, incorporating a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows and strips of greenery along the corner and the base of the building.

With 20,020 square feet of residential space, average units will measure just over 1,250 square feet. Condos seem likely, and 1 Sullivan will probably be the first new condo project to finish south of Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights. If a developer buys the former Brooklyn Botanic Garden site at 111 Montgomery Street, more condos could follow only a block north."

whynot_31

^future and present^

mugofmead111

The site at 90 Sullivan Place was originally intended to be condos too. I don't know whether the developer has changed that strategy.

whynot_31

90 Sullivan remains a mess, and I have no updates on it:   http://www.brooklynian.com/discussion/39173/construction-for-new-condo-building-sullivan-place/p1

It's failures will have little to do with the (likely) success of this one.   Very few developments go that badly....

 

mugofmead111

While I was walking by this lot, I managed to get a glimpse into the property. Some of the wooden fence had disappeared (probably due to one of the recent storms.)

This lot is still empty! It still is a lot that contains mounds of dirt. It appears not much has been done. According to the DOB, the last valid permit expired in 2015.