A tower for East Flatbush, 1580 Nostrand

xlizellx

...some good food options. Shake Shack?!

pragmaticguy

The Macys on Flatbush closed many years ago. It wasn't a full size store like the one at Kings Plaza and had about half the departments. I used to shop there but the neighborhood got tough at night and people stopped going there. My car was broken into when I shopped there just before the holidays in December and that was in 1983 I think. Pity too, was actually quite a pretty store.

mugofmead111

That Macy's on Flatbush and Tilden closed when I was in high school (back in the 1990s). 

I don't have high hope for that Sears. Years ago that location used to sell some Lands End items, but that was discontinued. Now the Kings Plaza location is only location in Brooklyn that carries Lands End items. This person believes Sears will ultimately go out of business. 

whynot_31

That Sears location is likely earning far more on yearly appreciation of its land than it is on the sale of Kenmore appliances and Craftsman tools.

It could easily be replaced with a large mall and/or housing.

suppleknuckles

the sears building has some sort of landmarked designation, doesn't it? if the business closes down it could very well become housing. which would be sort of cool. plenty of space in the flat parking lot to accommodate some adjacent structures. around the corner from kings. honestly the houses across the street from the sears roebuck are quite pretty little limestone 2 stories and brick townhouses. i think this part of flatbush is overdue for some love!

psyker390

Just when I was wondering if there were any updates regarding this building, potential renderings were found: http://newyorkyimby.com/2015/03/revealed-1580-nostrand-avenue-flatbush.html

Though I'm not all that sweet on the design, it is pretty striking. Would make for an interesting addition to the 'hood!

whynot_31

Yup

ehgee

It'd look better with more even steps, in my book.

But how good it looks overall will depend a lot on how nice the cladding materials are.

suppleknuckles

......whoa

whynot_31

The apartments on the higher floors are going to be lovely, and I'm willing to bet the new Kings Theater will be mentioned in 90% of ads for the units.

crownheightster

Really interesting.

suppleknuckles

i mean if these are actually condos to the price point of hello living's usual units and not rentals, then i can't say i'm unhappy. we need more affordable apartments for purchase out there--first time buyers are quickly getting screwed out of opportunities to buy since 1-2 bedrooms are sometimes hard to come by in more accessible neighborhoods like this.

crownheightster

If they offered 3-bedrooms for, say, $700,000, they would get snapped up immedietely by all the young families living in a 1/2 bedroom.

pragmaticguy

Looks like they got that design after seeing someone's kid playing with Legos.

psyker390

Looks like they got that design after seeing someone's kid playing with Legos.

Haha -- my own initial thoughts were of Jenga blocks.

pragmaticguy

That too

whynot_31

Given the design of the building, it wouldn't be difficult to argue that the elevators must be designed in such a way, that the wealthy people living on the higher floors never have to interact with less wealthy folks on the lower floors.

suppleknuckles

i also have to wonder though. i mean, how badly are wealthy folks clamoring to live off the Church ave 2/5 stop? My boyfriend lives a block away from this project and it's not exactly inundated with what anyone could call wealthy people. especially that little pocket between flatbush, nostrand, church and tilden seems misused and in poor shape--not exactly cute town-house lined blocks with greenery like the areas that surround it. more like ugly self-storage buildings and some sad empty lots (parking lots? sometimes it's hard to tell)

what do you guys think? do you think hello living is going to be successful in getting rich people to live on those top-of-the-ziggurat floors? or will it just be snapped up by foreigners who've never even set eyes on flatbush. who do you think is actually going to live in this undeniably massive building? 626 flatbush of similar height at least can claim park views. 

pragmaticguy

It depends on what goes in around the building. There isn't a decent supermarket anywhere near that area. I think the closest one is around Ave. D.  And it's still about a five block walk to Flatbush. Going east there's not much there so whoever moves in at the beginning has to be prepared to travel to get anything done. I think this one will take some time to be fully occupied.

whynot_31

It will take a while to build as well. So, for the heck of it, lets estimate occupancy in the Spring 2018.

The Plex (located on Nostrand near Empire) opened a few years ago, when the neighborhood was much less desired by those with wealth.

I think it took about a year to be fully occupied, and is only now filling its 1st floor commercial spaces.

I suspect The Plex (and this building) just have a longer view than others.

crownheightster

If they price the units appropriately, the project will be sold out fast. Let's say they offer family-sized three bedroom condos or two-bedrooms with offices. If they can build this project in such a way that it is attractive, filled with amenities, and priced at around $500-700,000 per unit, they will have tapped the huge market of young, smug marrieds with kids who want/need to live in NYC and want space, and have a car they want to park in their building's lot. I mean, I would seriously consider it.

whynot_31

Yup.

Vacancies are not always a bad thing. It is just a matter of waiting for someone to want what you have to offer, and the price you are offering it.

If I was in my 30s and newly married, I might seriously consider this building in today's market. East Flatbush wouldn't really bother my wife and I, and when we wanted a "nice meal", we would eat together in Manhattan before we headed home.

32 year old versions of us might be headed to Flatbush in 2018.

lilern

The Plex has finally started filling its first floor retail?  Do tell!  That complex is on my block and it is still empty as far as I know - I walked past there on Sunday as a matter of fact and saw nothing. 

whynot_31

I have heard the Plex has begun the flirtation stage, which often comes before cohabitation.

When and if I hear more, I will let the world know via my very small microphone: Brooklynian.

suppleknuckles

personally, when i'm in flatbush i often just go to crown heights for a fancy meal i like this whole manhattan-not-being-the-center-of-the-universe thing, myself

whynot_31

Ms Whynot and I have only both worked in Manhattan for two years out of the last 14.

It is kinda nice.

booklaw

I worked in Manhattan from 1971 until mid-2009. Since then I've worked in Brooklyn. It's so much better this way!

whynot_31

@booklaw - 

When you were 32, did you live in a neighborhood similar to what Flatbush might look like in 2018?

booklaw

In 1976, when I was 30, I moved to Plaza Street in Park Slope, and lived there for several years.

Sorry, seriously off-topic!

whynot_31

It is actually quite on topic.

I imagine Park Slope in 1976 as having many of the same qualities as the area we are discussing in Flatbush.    I imagine you at 30 (college education, married, employed, not a huge amount of wealth) having many of the same qualities as those who will move into these units in 2018.

The more things change, the more they stay the same?