455-459 Smith Street

Developer in Contract to Acquire Commercial Site at 455-459 Smith Street, Gowanus

Property Markets Group is in contract to purchase the vacant 166,000-square-foot property at 455-459 Smith Street, in Gowanus, for roughly $50 million, DNAinfo reported. The site – bound by Huntington Street to the south, Smith Street to the west, Fifth Street to the north, and the Gowanus Canal to the east – is zoned for manufacturing. It can support 332,000 square feet of commercial development as-of-right in the form of offices, hotels, retail, and manufacturing/industrial space. The eventual new owner is mulling the idea of building a mixed-use development with a hotel, offices, and retail space, although development plans are in very early stages. The site, once home the Citizens Manufactured Gas Plant, is currently undergoing a remediation headed by National Grid. The plant’s last warehouse structure was demolished years ago. The Smith-Ninth Streets stop on the F and G trains is located a block to the south.


8794 17th Avenue

Three-Story, 11-Unit Residential Building Filed at 8794 17th Avenue, Bath Beach

Brooklyn-based WNS Development has filed applications for a three-story, 11-unit residential building at 8794 17th Avenue, in Bath Beach. It will measure 13,600 square feet and its residential units should average 923 square feet apiece, which means the apartments will likely be condominiums. All four units on the third floor — two of which are duplexes — will feature space on an upper penthouse level, although only the duplexes will have indoor space. There will also be nine off-street parking spaces. Harry R. Simino’s Brooklyn-based Simino Architects is the architect of record. The 75-foot-wide, 8,125-square-foot property is currently occupied by a two-and-a-half-story house. Demolition permits were filed in June. The 18th Avenue stop on the D train is six blocks away.



Rockaway Avenue in Brownsville, photo by NYC DOT via Flickr

City Agencies Envision a New Brownsville

As the dust settles after a contentious rezoning in East New York, Brooklyn, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development has set its sights on Brownsville, a neglected and similarly working class neighborhood next door. The housing agency announced the start of a new “neighborhood planning process,” which will collect feedback from residents, organizations, and business owners on how the city could improve the neighborhood.

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Redesigned Subway Station

Gov. Cuomo Unveils Designs for Future of New York City Subway

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has revealed the design for New York City’s 1,025 newly crafted subway cars, in addition to unveiling plans to renovate and upgrade 31 subway stations throughout the city. The details were presented on New York State’s website. Of the 1,025 new subway cars, 750 of them will boast accordion-like connectors to increase capacity, a configuration known as open gangway. The doors will also open wider, increasing from 50 inches in width to 58 inches, enhancing the flow of passengers. Other changes to the exterior include a slightly redesigned front with larger windows, LED headlights, and blue coloring. Amenities in the interior include Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, new digital displays and advertising, and security cameras.

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