 This morning's Wall Street Journal reports that initial demolition of the former Caledonian Hospital is underway and that construction on a 270 unit building - mixed condo/rental - will soon begin.
The developer of the property at 100 Parkside, Joseph Chetrit, is one of the owners of the Sears Tower in Chicago and involved in some very large development projects in New York as well. According to Karl Fischer, the project architect, "The rental units may come on the market ... within a year."
In walking past in recent weeks, I've seen lights on and evidence of activity inside the current building. I hope that this means that the building was being prepared for demolition but - given the time that I was walking by - I suspect that it means that there are squatters in the building. I hope that if there are squatters, the new development isn't impeded too greatly. It will be nice to have an occupied apartment building and the activity it would bring to that stretch of Parkside; it is creepy to walk past a large, charmless, vacant building late at night.
Thanks, Sam.
PLOG spotted a new sign on the Ocean on the Park condos in the Ocean on the Park historic district. I won't swipe their traffic by swiping their image so head over there to check it out.
PLOG says that the old sign was in violation because they didn't get a permit to hang it, which makes me wonder... how is their new "sign" legal?
 The saga of 185 Ocean has taken its latest twist, as the building has announced - like all modern construction must - that it has a name. And what is the name? "Ocean on the Park". I feel like I've heard that name before.
That's right. The decidedly ahistorical development that replaced a frame house and sits in the middle of a row of historic brownstones has named itself after the recently-approved historic district.
Of course, this is in keeping with the development tradition of naming a planned community after whatever species of tree or animal had to be destroyed to make way for the new building.
Thanks to Bob Marvin for the tip and the photo.
 A new city program that converts stalled construction projects into affordable housing units will get its start with a building in our fair neighborhood. That building, 382 Lefferts Avenue (between Nostrand and New York), was one of many casualties of the real estate bust. But under the new plan, the former condo development will be transformed into 46 rental apartments for middle-income households: 5 studio apartments, 28 one bedrooms, and 13 two-bedroom units.
City officials, under the Housing Asset Renewal Program, gave developer Tali Realty LLC a $2.9 million subsidy in order to secure the affordable units. Those units will be set aside for single persons with incomes under $55,000 per year year and families of four with incomes under $79,200. (These numbers are based on the Area Median Income. Never mind that $55,000 for one person would make him much wealthier than four people sharing $79,200. I'm sure this makes sense.)
The project is expected to be completed in 2013. There's no word yet on what the rents will be but, assuming they're comparable to other subsidized units in the city, they'll be low enough to be highly desirable.
More info:
Deal on Stalled Condo Project Is First Under a City Program (NY Times)
NYC Housing and Preservation Development press release
CORRECTION: Thanks to Babs for pointing out (see comments) that the top photo is not the site in question but is actually across the street.
 Congratulations are in order for Providence House, which received approval from the Mayor's Office for the construction of transitional housing at 329 Lincoln Road. The approval follows a modification of the original proposal to accomodate the objections raised by Borough President Marty Markowitz's office and others in the commuity.
Sister Janet Kinney told me that the plan has added two 2BR units, lowering the total number of apartments in the building from 26 to 22. The final layout will include 18 studios for program participants, including the super's apartment, and four units for the community, including both 2BR units. Ground breaking remains several months away as there is still plenty of administrative work to be done.
Sister janet also said that she "will keep the community posted, and certainly want[s] to mend bridges with those who are not in favor" of the project.
Thanks, Dynishal.
ClarksonFlatbed from The Q at Parkside has filed a report on the meeting between Moses Fried, owner of 205 Parkside, and a number of neighborhood representatives. His conclusion? Nothing good will come of this.
The lines that jumped out at me were these:
- "While legally he's bound to allow stays no shorter than 30 days, he was quick to add that he wouldn't turn people away for, say, a week (oops!)."
- "Construction starts in the next couple weeks and goes for 6 months to a year."
- "I'm sorry Mr. Fried. You have every legal right to build your fleabag motel. But we have every right to watch your every little move."
It really is a great write-up and I encourage you to read the whole thing. Bonus speculation: scroll to the bottom here and wonder, as I do, if Fried has found a way to get his insurance company to pay to renovate two of his properties at once.
 In better development news, ClarksonFlatbed also shares word of the low-income housing being developed at 97 Crooke Street, east of the Parade Grounds. CAMBA bought the lot and is building the 9 story, 53 unit building. You can read more about on CAMBA's website.
 For those wondering when the 8 story building being put up at 185 Ocean Avenue will be completed, the answer is... probably not soon. There has been a stop-work order entered on the property by the Department of Buildings for "failure to protect adjoining properties during construction." Someone appears to have called earlier this month to complain that the retaining wall was compromised. Following an inspection on Thursday, the stop-work order was issued.
Anyone who has been in the neighborhood for more than a few years (and is at least a little responsible-development-obsessed) remembers the drama regarding 185 Ocean Avenue. In 2007, a developer purchased the charming single-family frame house as a tear-down to put in an 8 story, 20 unit property. Sadly, the Ocean on the Park historic district did not make it through the landmarking process nearly soon enough to save the building or prevent the approval of plans for this large building. After a long delay and at least one attempt to sell the lot, it appeared that once construction was inevitable at least it would be completed quickly.
Now, who knows.
 The NY Post has stepped in to follow up on the work done by The Q at Parkside and our blog to point out 205 Parkside owner Moses Fried's horrible history as a building owner. As the Q at Parkside revealed, the building was recently been approved to be converted into an "apartment hotel." Fried's history belies any credibility and we should expect that, if the hotel opens next year as scheduled, to see it become a haven for prostitution and drugs.
As reporter Selim Algar wrote, "The 81-year-old magnate, who owns properties across New York and Florida, has been criticized for his ownership of other properties in New York City, including one that was closed for violations discovered after a prostitution raid, and one shuttered for use and safety violations. A third property has been hit with a whopping 45 violations."
Fried claimed in the article that he was hoping to market the apartments to Brooklyn College students and Kings County Hospital employees but... what else is he going to say? Would he tell a reporter (or the Department of Buildings) that he is going to turn a blind eye to crime and profit from his barely credible deniability? It is what he does at all of his other properties until the City shutters them and I expect nothing different at 205 Parkside. It is a pity that the DOB does not consider a developer's history when reviewing an application. The presumption of good faith that an applicant gets should not apply when a man with a history of opening whorehouses applies to open a hotel.
Q at Parkside blogger ClarksonFlatbed and CB9 President Pearl Miles have arranged a meeting with Fried and his architect. If you would like to find out more about the meeting, join the meeting, or have questions you want raised, leave a comment on his blog and he will get back to you with details.
On a personal note, I got quoted in the article saying, "[PLG is] beyond that" when what I meant was "better than that." I end up sounding very much like the whining gentrifier that every story like this needs. It is an unfortunate to have that quote published from a considerably longer interview.
 The Q at Parkside has a big scoop about the persistent eyesore and dilapidated rathole at 205 Parkside: The Department of Buildings gave approval for the conversion of the building to a 19 unit "apartment hotel." I'm not sure what this means, exactly, but it appears to be a loophole dodge as it will not require the zoning change that a hotel would have necessitated.
An apartment hotel, as you'd expect is something of a tweener: no leases, relatively short-term stays, and a working lobby that handles the reservations. In New York, to qualify as an apartment hotel, the building must "primarily" provide units for permanent occupancy, defined as a minimum 30-day stay. There are, generally speaking, two types of buildings that fall into this category: corporate lodging and SROs. Since PLG seems a bit too far removed from Wall Street to be a likely candidate for upscale corporate housing - and the reputation of these landlords belies such a lofty goal - let's take a look at the SRO side of the equation.
I don't want to immediately conflate SRO housing with anything nefarious. In keeping with our generally pro-Providence-House position, low- and moderate-income housing is a serious issue and SRO housing can be a reasonable way to meet that demand. Seeing the bright side of SRO housing requires an assumption of good faith on the part of the developer. The reputation of Providence House leads us to support that project; the reputation of Moses Fried makes me wary about this project. A person who wanted to open a transient hotel (read: whorehouse) is not the person I trust to lead a responsible low-income housing developement.
I became even more wary after finding this opinion, from last year, which essentially says that even an SRO doesn't have to rent all of its units on a long-term basis, only that it has to be, as noted above, "primarily" long-term rentals. That leads me to believe that - unless Fried has learned his lesson from 2006 - some of the units will be held back to be rented out on a per-sex-act basis until the cops shutter the place.
The Q at Parkside's Clarkson FlatBed is trying to round up a posse to meet with CB9. I think this is an excellent idea. The last thing our neighborhood needs is a hot-sheet hotel and if the developers know that we are all watching they are more likely to stay on the right side of the law.
 Brownstoner The Brooklyn Eagle was the first with the word that the site of the proposed Lincoln Road tower is now up for sale. The project broker, TerraCRG, is quoted saying "We completely acknowledge that the award winning plans are ambitious for today’s market conditions and may have to be amended to accommodate a more modest rental project." They have no asking price listed.
I have no idea what the future holds for the site but we stand by our previous feeling that the location is, as these things go, as good a location for a high-rise in PLG as you are likely to find. Near both bus and subway, on a significant-commercial block with minimal architectural significance and mere blocks from the massive Patio Gardens development. We know that many of you disagreed with us about this. Go ahead and dance on the grave in the comments.
Via The Real Deal
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