Image: Courtesy of Gruzen Samton LLP

Opponents of proposed Williamsburg waterfront development wanted more affordable housing. On March 8, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved Rose Plaza on the River LLC’s proposed mixed-use development along Williamsburg’s East River waterfront at 470 through 490 Kent Avenue in Brooklyn. The project, known as Rose Plaza on the River, would provide approximately 800 residential units in three towers on a site currently occupied by storage and wholesale distribution businesses, and a lumber yard.

A 25-story tower on the site’s southern portion at the corner of Division and Kent Avenues would provide 309 residential units and 29,000 sq.ft. of retail space. South 11th Street, which currently ends at Kent Avenue, would be extended across the site providing a 60-foot wide visual corridor to the waterfront. North of the visual corridor, the developer would construct an eighteen-story building along Kent Avenue with 221 dwelling units. A 29-story building would provide 271 dwelling units on the site’s northern portion. Twenty percent of the project’s floor area would be set aside for affordable housing, which would result in 160 affordable one-, two-, and three-bedroom units located throughout the three buildings. A waterfront esplanade would include 33,188 sq.ft. of publicly accessible open space, and an underground garage would provide 496 parking spaces. (read more…)

Citizens group challenged inclusion of private residential development. In 2002, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki created the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation as a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation and charged it with the responsibility to design and build a proposed park on Port Authority land along Brooklyn’s East River waterfront. The 2002 agreement required that no less than 80 percent of the acreage be park space, all revenue generated from commercial uses would be exclusively used for park maintenance and the final development plan would be guided by a master plan created for the area in 2000.

The newly-created Park Development Corporation adopted a general project plan for an 85-acre parcel in July 2005, proposing 77 acres of park space and eight acres of revenue generating space, including residential buildings, private parking, hotels and retail/ restaurant space. (read more…)

Two Williamsburg residential towers near approval after City acts to apply 20 percent inclusionary affordable housing text to development. On June 5, 2006, the Council’s Land Use Committee voted to approve a 591,138-square-foot residential and retail development along the East River waterfront in Williamsburg, outside of the City’s recent rezoning. Along with the development, the Land Use Committee approved a separate zoning amendment application initiated by the Planning Department that would apply the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program to the site.

Rector Hylan Corporation, owner of the 2.89-acre site on Kent Avenue and South 8th Street, originally filed for approval of a two-tower development with 628,870 sq.ft. of floor area (5 FAR), 450 housing units, 26,413 sq.ft. of retail space and 225 parking spaces. Both buildings would rise six stories along Kent Avenue before setting back to total heights of 24 and 18 stories. (read more…)