New retail, office and manufacturing space will soon be coming to various parts of New York City. Even better, some of these changes will come to the city without having to sacrifice the historic buildings that have helped to give the city its unique character and allure. Here are a couple of the new and exciting changes that are taking place with commercial real estate in NYC.
New Office Complex Coming to Williamsburg
A massive new office complex being developed by Rubenstein Partners and Heritage Equity Partners is on its way to Williamsburg. Located at 25 Kent Avenue, the building will ultimately reach eight stories tall and will span more than 500,000 square feet. The first ground-up office building to be constructed in the neighborhood in more than 10 years, the building will house new offices as well as retail and light manufacturing space.
Designed by Gensler and Hollwich Kushner, the building itself will feature a red brick façade with punched windows on two sides and a glass curtain wall on the other two sides. Covering an entire city block, the development will be bound by Kent and Wythe Avenues and North 13th and North 12th Streets. Building tenants will enjoy access to a roof deck as well as private balconies located on each floor. The project also includes a new public plaza as well as several new restaurants open to the public. Construction on the project is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
Brooklyn Site Near Prospect Park May Bring New Retail to the Area
A site in Brooklyn at the southwest corner of Prospect Park is going through some major changes, but the original plans have been changed. Located in the Park Slope Historic District, the property was originally slated to be transformed into condos. Hidrock Realty recently presented its plans for approval to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, however, and the new plans call for bringing more retail space to the area. This process would involve restoring a strip of single-story retail space that borders the former Pavilion Theatre.
Constructed on the site of the Marathon Theatre, which was in existence from 1908 through 1927, the theatre now known as Pavilion Theatre was opened in August 1928 with 1,516 seats. The theatre was subsequently closed in 1978 and stood unused for over a decade before it was taken over by a new operator in September 1995 and reopened as the Pavilion Theatre in 1996. The theatre was converted from three screens to 9 screens in October 2004.
Hidrock purchased both the Pavilion Theatre and the land next to it in 2006 for $16 million. Plans for the space were originally presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission in July and August 2015, while the theater was sold last year to a group of investors who have extended a longterm lease to Nitehawk Cinemas after converting it to a 7-screen theatre. The original plans for the retail space sought to bring a 24-condo building designed by Morris Adjmi to the site. Hidrock has since decided to spruce up the existing 1920s structure instead. Plans for the restoration of the building have been approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.