Brooklyn's Progress
June/July 2007

BY JILL SHEEHY

Brooklyn is looking good – and it’s not only stately brownstones and tree-lined sidewalks that define the borough’s look anymore. Dynamic and wide-reaching development is now commonplace, and melding into a style that will define the borough for years to come.

For the last seven years, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce has presented the Building Brooklyn Awards as a way to recognize recently completed construction projects that have had a positive impact on the borough’s economy and quality of life. To wit, this year’s 15 winning projects represent over $846 million of capital investment in Brooklyn.

"The face of Brooklyn is changing rapidly,” said Mark Kessler, interim president and chief operating officer of the Chamber. “In many ways, the future of the borough is in the hands of designers, architects and developers ... and, if the competitors for this year's Building Brooklyn Awards are any indication, the borough is in good hands.”

The event, to be held on July 18 at Stage 6 at Steiner Studios, will also honor Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) and Joshua Muss, principal of Muss Development.

“When the Building Brooklyn Awards (BBA) program was started, it was a way to draw attention to the opportunities in Brooklyn,” said Cheryl Gladstone, the Chamber’s director of real estate and development. “We received the greatest number of nominated projects to this year's Building Brooklyn Awards, which adeptly reflects the state of building and construction in Brooklyn.”

Building Brooklyn
Criteria included overall aesthetic and design, a positive economic impact, improving the quality of life, providing critical neighborhood services and amenities, demonstrating a commitment to quality design and pre-existing architectural character, and retaining a connection with the surrounding community.

Residential projects ran the gamut, from environmentally-friendly condos in Greenwood Heights to affordable housing in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Cultural institutions are also being honored, like Fort Greene’s Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA), which is the first public arts institution to open within the new BAM Cultural District.

Thoughtful design has been utilized in educational facilities throughout the borough, evidenced in honorees Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn Law School, and East Flatbush’s PS/IS 395.

Brooklyn’s retail sector has also been reaping the rewards of shoppers from near and far, and has stepped up to meet the demand. So when West Elm was looking to put down corporate roots in the borough, they looked no further than the offices above their DUMBO store.

Economic Impact
The awards are also meant to hail economic impact to the borough, and some projects have been able to combine design with business feasibility.

For instance, a $3.5 million-dollar capital project is underway in Williamsburg, where Twin Marquis Inc. is converting vacant buildings into a full-service food manufacturing facility. And Redhook Stores, which is being honored in the mixed-use category, is better known as the Fairway supermarket, which also houses a 22,000 square foot food preparation area, office space, and 45 apartments, several which are live-work spaces and artist studios in the restored shipyard buildings.

Information about sponsorship opportunities for this year’s awards is now available. To learn more about sponsorship, souvenir program ads, trade show tables, and group ticketing, contact the Chamber's Director of Real Estate & Development Cheryl Gladstone at 718-875-1000 ext. 142, or at cgladstone@brooklynchamber.com.

For more information about the winning projects and the BBA’s, please visit the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Web site at http://www.ibrooklyn.com/ or call Cheryl Gladstone at (718) 875-1000 ext. 142.