Development site in Williamsburg

City approved developer’s request to rezone 15 tax lots to facilitate the development of two, six-story buildings near site of Domino Sugar project. Bruce Terzano (through JBJ, LLC) sought City approval to build a two-building mixed-use project at the corner of Wythe Avenue and South 3rd Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. To facilitate his proposal, Terzano asked the City to expand a nearby MX-8 special mixed-use district to include 15 tax lots on the eastern portion of the block bounded by South 2nd and South 3rd Streets between Wythe and Kent Avenues, and rezone the blocks from M3-1 to MX8:M1-4/R6A. Terzano needed the rezoning in order to replace a parking lot and low-rise plumbing supply store with two, six-story buildings, providing 18 affordable apartments, 61 market-rate apartments, and ground floor commercial space.

The proposal was met with opposition from the local community during the ULURP review process. Brooklyn Community Board 1 opposed the proposal, recommending that the area be rezoned to M1-4/R6B, and that Terzano record a deed restriction excluding bars and restaurants from the development’s commercial space. At the City Planning Commission’s public hearing, Brandon Cole, president of the Williamsburg Community Preservation Committee, asked the City to postpone the “spot” rezoning and perform a comprehensive study of the neighborhood similar to the study carried out prior to the 2005 Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning plan.

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Developer agreed to community request to exclude bar or restaurant from ground floor of mixed-income project. On March 23, 2011, the City Council approved Bruce Terzano’s proposal to develop a two-building mixed-use project at the corner of Wythe Avenue and South 3rd Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The mixed-income project will include a six-story building with 61 market rate apartments and ground floor commercial space, and a smaller six-story building with eighteen permanently affordable apartments. Terzano requested that the City rezone a portion of the block from M3-1 to M1-4/R6A and apply the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program to the project site.

Brooklyn Community Board 1 opposed the project, requesting a more restrictive M1-4/R6B zoning district and a prohibition against ground floor bars or restaurants. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz requested a guarantee that the affordable housing would be built. Neighbors in opposition argued that the proposal amounted to spot zoning and claimed that Terzano should have instead sought a BSA variance. The City Planning Commission unanimously approved the proposal. 9 CityLand 26 (March 15, 2011). (read more…)

Wythe Ave. proposed plan.

Community board wanted developer to exclude bars from mixed-income housing project. On February 16, 2011, the City Planning Commission approved Bruce Terzano’s plan to redevelop the southeast corner of a block bounded by South 2nd and South 3rd Streets and Kent and Wythe Avenues in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The proposal included constructing a six-story building with 61 market-rate apartments and ground floor commercial space, and a smaller six-story building with eighteen affordable apartments.

To facilitate the project, Terzano requested that the City establish a special mixed-use district and rezone the block’s eastern half from M3-1 to M1-4/R6A, and apply the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program to the site. Terzano’s property is occupied by a plumbing supply store and parking lot. The remainder of the rezoning area consists of mixed-use buildings, undeveloped land, and industrial buildings converted to commercial uses. (read more…)

Image: Courtesy Joseph Vance Architects.

Project near Domino Sugar Refinery would provide 59 market-rate units and eighteen affordable units. The City Planning Commission held public hearings on Bruce Terzano’s proposal to develop a 104,000 sq.ft. mixed-use project at the corner of Wythe Avenue and South 3rd Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The project would include a six-story building with eighteen affordable apartments and a larger six-story building with 59 market-rate apartments and ground-floor commercial space. The site, one block from the Domino Sugar Refinery, is occupied by a parking lot and plumbing supply store owned by Terzano.

Terzano proposed rezoning a half-block portion of Wythe Avenue between South 2nd and South 3rd Streets from an M3-1 manufacturing district to an M1-4/R6A mixed-use district. Terzano also requested that the City apply the Inclusionary Housing Program to the area in order to build affordable units. The Commission held separate hearings on the applications in order to comply with public notice requirements. (read more…)