Developer Nixes Precinct Flip

By on November 29, 2007 8:56 am in News

This just in from the Brooklyn Eagle:

Brooklyn Eagle: Developer…: Regal Investments Inc., after several attempts to get its plans for the former 86th Police Precinct at 72 Poplar St. in Brooklyn Heights approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Department of Buildings (DOB), has abandoned efforts to convert the building to residential use.

Bill Punch, a partner with Maurice Laboz at Regal Investments Inc., the building’s owner, told the Eagle Wednesday that conversion is no longer economically feasible.

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  • Anon

    So do you know what that means for the building? If it’s not residential, what commercial use could it possibly be?

  • Heights97

    I don’t know, but we desperately need a school.

  • epc

    How about a homeless shelter?

  • Billy

    I think we need a homeless shelter and methadone clinic and
    violent offenders counseling center as well as a home for needy
    indigent sex offenders and maybe a small plutonium enrichment laboratory.

  • hick-up

    maybe it could be a police station.

  • nabeguy

    It’s a shame that the city let this go at auction instead of exploring the option of re-habbing it as a middle school, which as Heights97 points out, is desperately needed. Being adjacent to PS 8 makes it a no-brainer, but now they’ll have to buy it back at what is sure to be a healthy profit.

  • ABC

    altho they’ve had the 10mm in the bank for a while, and these sellers are dumb … so who knows. maybe possible. PS8 has asked to expand into it.

  • nabeguy

    True dat on their intelligence. How could you not know that BH is an historic district? Jeez, it was the FIRST historic district! Just read the signs on the lampposts! Maybe the city can work out some kind of sweetheart swap with them on some other development they have in the pipeline. Lord knows, the city has bent over backwards in just about every way they could to help developers; here’s an opportunity to actually benefit a neighborhood and not someone’s bottom line.

  • http://adsformyself.blogspot.com Tim N.

    It’s a bit small, but, yeah, a middle school there would be a slam-dunk, especially if they could expand it somehow.

    And Billy… dude, we don’t need those things, we’ve got Gristedes for crying out loud.

  • No One Of Consequene

    I’m getting a rumor today that Grosstede’s is moving to Montague…?
    Maybe into the Key Food space? hahaha

  • nabeguy

    Good one Tim…let’s not forget waste recycling plant.

  • Billy

    This is a depressing-looking old prison to put kids in, geez, weren’t you young once? a long time ago? This place is a mausoleum -wow I think I nailed the spelling- The middle school should be a beautiful, bright new building with nice big rooms. This is like, Sister Catherine Mary beats you to a pulp with her pointer. This building is so hideous the only thing it could be used for is million dollar condos. Give the kids a break. Build them a new school from scratch, OK?

  • No One of Consequence

    Where?

  • Billy

    well for heavens sake wasn’t someone offering to build a beautiful new state of the art school in DUMBO? Perfect!
    Who cares how ugly the rest of the building is? It’s in DUMBO!
    But it would give our kids, well actually I dont have little kids any more, but your kids a great, clean, modern, convenient new school. I thought it was very dumb-dumb to oppose that building because it clashes aesthetically with the on-ramp to the Bridge. I mean, Puleeze. I know, I’m a heretic. I’m logging off, so discuss among yourselves.

  • Jo

    Why not push LPC to ease up its restrictions and let them develop this sire which has been vacant far too long. e olwners as, as stated in previous articles, experience in development of LPC sites tat would be far better for PoplAr St

  • nabeguy

    Billy, Two Trees was not offering to build a brand new school in Dumbo, they were offering to give up space in one of their new condos to be used for a middle school, but only if the city would allow them to build it first. As to re-habbing the precinct house, you answer your own objection when you ask who cares how ugly the rest of the building is. If you could look beyond the exterior and use some imagination, the possibilitiues are there. Besides, what could be more perfect than a school with a built-in jail cell for the unruliest of students?

  • Curmudgeon

    Too bad the building will continue to be vacant. A vacant building is never good for a block. But please, please no school. It is bad enough that I have to pay for your kid’s education when you parents should be doing that – that is known as “parental responsibility”. My parents paid for my schooling and we were certainly not rich.

    So give up those plasma TVs and put your money where it belongs in educating and taking care of your own kids. Don’t use my tax dollars to subsidize your little monsters. You decided to have them – not me!

    Turn the building into an adults only condo with no kids allowed! After all, I pay for public parks (like Chapin Park) where adults are not allowed to go without a kid!

  • nabeguy

    Curmudgeon, I’m sure my tax dollars are also going to subsidize whatever mental health facility it is that you frequent, so don’t get started on how our tax dollars should be spent.