Joe Chan's Vision of Downtown Brooklyn

"It is tempting, of course, to call this something like the “Brooklyn Plan,” but it isn’t a plan in the literal sense. No one person or group of people sat down and sketched out an entire scenario. What has been looked at in the past several weeks is a combination of individual developments." (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

News Analysis: Radical New Look Ahead for Brooklyn (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

Fulton Mall. Change coming soon

“With all the housing stock that we have now and the demographics in the communities that surround Downtown Brooklyn,” said Joseph Chan, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, an economic development group, “the fact that there’s not a Bed Bath & Beyond, a Pottery Barn, a Pier 1 in the downtown of a city of 2.5 million people is odd.”

"And so the mall’s transformation, predicted for years, seems about to finally begin. The old Albee Square Mall, an enclosed shopping center within this stretch of Fulton Street, closed this year to make way for City Point, a high-rise tower that will house people, businesses and, on the ground floor, major retail tenants along the lines of Target.

Albert Laboz, one of the street’s biggest property owners and chairman of the Fulton Mall Improvement Association, said that deals were in the works with several leading retailers. “I think you’re going to see a nice transition in the next few years,” he said." (NY Times)

Brooklyn Mall Is Oasis and Anomaly (NY Times)

JC Penney to replace Conway on the Fulton Mall

"Next year, JCPenney will be opening its first location in Brooklyn, on Fulton Street. It will occupy the retail space presently leased to Conway's, which is directly across the street from Macy's.

Stanley Chera, a principal at Crown Acquisitions, one of the largest owners of property in the Fulton Street area, said leasing "continues to be excellent, with no slowdown in prime locations. Retailers are committed to downtown Brooklyn, and expect to see a new tenant mix over the next few years".

"With thousands of new residents moving to downtown Brooklyn, expect to see a large supermarket and health and beauty centers opening in this underserved area," a retail broker, Lori Shabtai of Winick Realty Group, said." (NY Sun)


'A Very Exciting Time' For Retail in New York (NY Sun)

Downtown IHOP

(image courtesy NYDN)
"An anticipated International House of Pancakes that opened in downtown Brooklyn to a swarm of hungry flapjack fanatics Tuesday is owned by a hip-hop producer behind Foxy Brown and Mary J. Blige, the Daily News has learned.

Former MCA Records executive Robert Cummins, known to hip-hop fans as Don Pooh, opened the Livingston St. flapjack joint to crowds of hungry customers, who poured by the hundreds into the 50-year-old pancake chain's newest location" (NY Daily News)

IHOP owned by hip-hop stars opens (NY Daily News)

It's Official. Morton's Steakhouse At the Downtown Brooklyn Marriot

"PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Morton's Restaurant Group, Inc. today announced that it has signed a lease to open a new Morton's The Steakhouse in Brooklyn, N.Y. The 14,500 square-foot restaurant will be located in the New York Marriott(R) at the Brooklyn Bridge. Morton's expects to open the restaurant, its first in Brooklyn, in late 2008.

With a total seating capacity of nearly 300, the restaurant will seat approximately 125 guests in the main dining room, 100 in Morton's exclusive private boardrooms and 70 in Bar 12-21, Morton's new bar dining concept, the place for specialty cocktails and Morton's appetizing Bar Bites menu. Morton's will be on the ground level of the Marriott. The Marriott, located at 333 Adams Street, is a 25-floor hotel with more than 600 rooms and suites." (CNN Money.com)



Morton's to Open its First Restaurant in Brooklyn
(CNN Money.com)

Morton's Steakhouse (official site)

Luxury retail and a steak house coming to Downtown Brooklyn

(image courtesy Marriot.com)
Some of this will be in the Marriot Hotel and some will be in the building on the corner of Adams Street and Willoughby Street


"The unnamed restaurant (High end steak house) - the announcement is expected this week - could open as early as Labor Day on the ground floor of the hotel.

Next door, on two floors of a city-owned building, Muss Development plans 40,000 square feet of luxury shopping. Barneys, Apple, The Gap and Banana Republic top a list of potential retailers." (NYDN)

Luxury shops for Downtown Brooklyn (NY Daily News)

Rentals in the hood

(image courtesy Brownstoner)

Looks like a nice location for rentals. It's close to the trains at Atlantic Avenue.


Dermot Plans High-Rise Rental Near BAM (Brownstoner)

V3 Hotel, at 237 Duffield St, will have it's groundbreaking today.

image McBrooklyn)
Brought to my attention by our friends at McBrooklyn
, groundbreaking will be set for 10:45 am today. Apparently, they will be tossing indigo colored paint all over the place. It will also be known as the Hotel Indigo, hence the choice of color. If anyone gets pictures of this, let me know.

A 'Splashy' First Look at 'Hotel Indigo' in Downtown Brooklyn; Yes, They're Throwing Paint All Over The Place (McBrooklyn)

V3 Hotel Indigo at the former VIM (Belltellofts)

Ian Schrager in Downtown Brooklyn?

(image courtesy USA Today)
"What Brooklyn neighborhood excites you most as a potential place to work?

Williamsburg, I suppose, or even downtown Brooklyn, where Bruce Ratner is doing a lot of work; around B.A.M. [the Brooklyn Academy of Music]—I have been asked to do a couple projects over there. I am thinking about it, but there is only so much you can do …. I haven’t been entertaining offers about doing anything in New Jersey yet, but I might if the right project came along."
(NY Observer)


Ian Schrager: Viewing Studio 54 From Age 60
The man who forever placed ‘boutique’ before ‘hotel’ talks about his High Line plans, Brooklyn dreams, and why he wouldn’t mind selling One Madison’s clock tower
(NY Observer)
www.ianschragercompany.com

NY SUN urges a second look at Downtown Brooklyn's Architectural Masterpieces

(image courtesy streetshooter1 on flickr)


Changes Are Afoot In Downtown Brooklyn

LONG ISLAND HEADQUARTERS of the NEW YORK TELEPHONE COMPANY pdf (NYC.gov)

"Downtown Brooklyn's most beautiful skyscraper is the former New York Telephone Co. Building at the northeast corner of Willoughby and Bridge streets. Built in 1931, it was designed by Ralph Walker of Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker, as the firm had recently been renamed. It is Walker's second-best building in the city, after 1 Wall Street. Walker and Ely Jacques Kahn were the two architects who went furthest in exploiting the zoning-mandated skyscraper-setbacks to dramatic advantage. Walker paid fastidious attention to the "skins" of his buildings, with subtle gradations of color and ripplings and folds that outdo any of the skin games played by today's so-called starchitects. Recently, the office building has been converted to apartments called the BellTel Lofts. City Tech Tower should be half as good."

Bam Developments: Revisited

(image Brownstoner)

All I can say is I love it. I think the building will fit in perfectly to the new and improved Downtown Brooklyn. This may be the only place in Brooklyn that it makes sense to build something like this. What do you think? Is this good for Downtown?


BAM Cultural District: Full-Speed Ahead (Brownstoner)

227 Duffiel saved from eminent Domain.

Duffield Street Press Conference (Brownstoner)

I know that this is old news but here it is. The city will not be demolishing 227 Duffield due to it's alleged connections to Abolitionist history. Willoughby Sq Park will have to built around it.