Brooklyn's Progress
June/July 2008

BY JILL D’AMICO

The annual Building Brooklyn Awards™ (BBA’s) will be held on Thursday, July 17, at Stage 6 at Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

As in years past, the evening will present the opportunity to honor the private and public sectors for their efforts in making Brooklyn a vibrant core for both economic and community development.

Mary Brennan, senior vice president of the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), will be honored for her organization’s efforts for affordable housing in Brooklyn. CPC is a private non-profit corporation whose mission is to stabilize, strengthen and sustain low and mixed income communities.

"As Brooklyn has grown and become a major player in New York City, so has the Brooklyn Chamber become increasingly important in positioning Brooklyn for even greater accomplishments,” said Ms. Brennan. “It is especially meaningful to receive this award at this time, and to follow in the illustrious footsteps of those who have received the award previously.”

Mike Baker, the recently named store manager of IKEA Brooklyn, will accept honors for IKEA’s impact on the borough. Opening on June 18 in Red Hook, the Swedish home furnishings giant has hired over 500 local employees and provided construction jobs in the lead-up to its opening. The first IKEA in New York City, it is poised to become one of the busiest in the country.

"We are thrilled with the reception given by the community as we progress towards opening this store and appreciate this acknowledgement by the Brooklyn Chamber," said Mr. Baker.  "We are proud of the contributions we are making to Red Hook, of the new public waterfront esplanade we have created, and the transportation options available for customers throughout Brooklyn."

Building Up
In addition to the honorees, seventeen construction projects were chosen as examples of the best and brightest in economic development, affordable housing, and aesthetic style, all reflective of Brooklyn’s future.

The winners were chosen by a judging committee made up of architects, planners, government officials, economic development experts and business leaders. In a nod to the sustainability trend, green buildings proved very popular.

The Center for Urban Environment Headquarters will be honored in the adaptive re-use category, and was given a gold rating under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rules for commercial interiors. The space features a low-energy lighting system, rainwater harvesting, and a green cleaning program.

In the residential 1-2 family category, 377 Pacific Street, a five-story residential condominium will be honored. The affordable residential category honoree is the Glenmore Gardens in East New York, a cedar-and-corrugated-aluminum-clad development that is being sold by lottery. The homes were built for an impressive $108 per square foot, a rarity in New York City.

Large-scale residential projects being honored include State Renaissance Court, a 152-unit building built atop the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station, half of the units of which are set aside for low- to middle-income residents, and the J Condominium, a 33-story luxury tower in DUMBO.

The mixed-use honoree is Williamsburg’s Greenbelt – Brooklyn’s first LEED residences – which will set aside space for an arts and cultural center. Living up to its name, the building will use roughly 40% less energy and 30% less water than a comparable building.

The multi-family rehabilitation project being honored is 164 Atlantic Avenue, a landmark 18-unit building with retail on the ground floor.

BBA will also honor a historic preservation project in Brooklyn Heights. After a fire gutted the 19th-century wood-frame home at 135 Joralemon St. in 2005, it was meticulously restored by a passionate preservationist. 

The public plaza space at the Marriott in Downtown Brooklyn created when the hotel opened up a 280-room extension recently, is being honored in the open space category.

Crescendo, a glass installation in the East 105 Street subway station on the L line in Canarsie, is being honored in the arts and culture category.

The Floating Pool Lady, the public swimming pool which docked in Brooklyn Heights during the summer of 2007, will be honored, aptly, as “Brooklyn Innovator.”

The Brooklyn Public Library’s Grand Army Plaza branch underwent a $16 million renovation, including an overhaul of the front plaza and the construction of an arts and cultural center, and will be honored in the community facility category.

The interior education category will honor the library at P.S. 1 Bergen School, an elementary school located in the Sunset Park, a partnership between a non-profit organization and the New York City Department of Education. In new construction in the education field, Park Slope’s Poly Prep Lower School will be honored.

Boreum Hill’s Dig will be honored in the retail category. This garden store transformed a vacant storefront into one of the greenest – literally – in the borough.

The ambitious 14 Townhouses project will be honored in the neighborhood scale development category. The townhomes are the first phase of a two-acre urban renewal site and reflect a modern interpretation of the surrounding townhouses.

Finally, for the recreation category the Aviator Sports and Recreation complex at Floyd Bennett Field will be honored. The complex sits on 800 acres of a decommissioned airport, which is part of Gateway National Recreation Area.

Ceremony
The Building Brooklyn Awards ceremony and cocktail reception have attracted more than 400 attendees in years past, and grows in stature as one of the borough’s signature events showcasing Brooklyn real estate and development projects.  Attendees include a cross-section of real estate industry professionals – brokers, developers, finance, architecture & design, small business development, construction, government and other related industries.  The event will also feature a limited number of trade tables so companies can promote their products and services.

To learn more about this year’s Building Brooklyn Awards, sponsorships and ticket information, please visit http://www.buildingbrooklynawards.com/ or call Cheryl Gladstone, director of real estate & development at 718-875-1000 ext. 140.