Starwood & Toll Brothers Chosen to Develop Hotel & Residential Near Pier One

By on June 19, 2012 2:20 pm in brooklyn bridge park, Commercial Real Estate, Development, News

As anticipated, Mayor Bloomberg’s office announced today that the proposal for a hotel and residential complex on the space between Furman Street and Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park submitted by Starwood Capital Group and Toll Brothers has been selected. The image (thanks to Curbed) shows how the buildings will look from the Promenade. As you can see, they will partially obstruct the view of the Brooklyn Bridge and largely obscure the view of Pier 1.

According to the Curbed article linked above, the hotel will have 200 rooms and the residential portion will have 159 units. The article also quotes from the Mayor’s press release:

The proposed building plan will feature nearly 16,000 square feet of restaurant space, 16,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space, 2,000 square feet of retail space, a 6,000-square-foot spa and fitness center and 300 parking spaces. It also includes park restrooms as well as maintenance space for park operations.

The hotel will be named Hotel 1.

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  • Chris Vigarito

    I’m really not a fan of this and I’m happy I’m moving. Another area the city has to ruin and overbuild on. The crowds are going to kill the area and the view from the Promenade will forever be destroyed. Why couldn’t they just develop great outdoor park. More space for the rich, less for the middle class and poor. I’m surprised more people aren’t outraged over this.

  • Crabby

    Now, if the Witnesses have sold the Bossert, so that it can become a new hotel, what on Earth does our neighborhood need another 200 hotel rooms for?! And 16,000 sq. feet of restaurant space?!! Oh dear.

  • resident

    @Chris: For about the 1,000th time on this board, nobody was going to pay to “just develop a great outdoor park.” Wasn’t going to happen without a dedicated maintenance funding plan. The only reasonable alternative was completely dependent on the Witnesses selling their property, a very speculative proposition. All of you that don’t want this to go forward should really start reading about the problems the Hudson River Park Trust is having now that NIMBYs have completely killed the revenue generating portions of that park.

    @Crabby: There was a recent article in one of the papers about how outer borough hotels are booming right now, specifically in Queens and Brooklyn. It comes from a combination of tourists being priced out of Manhattan and Brooklyn having wonderful offerings in its own right. I doubt either the Bossert or this new hotel will have any problems making money.

  • resident

    @Chris: Oh, and the view from the Promenade will be the same as it was just a couple of years ago. The only view being destroyed is the temporary view of pier one created by the demolition of the old warehouses, which were only torn down to specifically make way for this development.

  • Elmer Fudd

    The “Park” and all of the development should have been down-sized for the public good. Corruption has won again.

  • Nabeguy

    The Toll Brothers? Please, tell me I misread that. Although, looking at the pictures, it’s clear that’s who was chosen. Hotel 1? Looks like number 2 to my eyes.

  • http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com Flashlight Worthy

    While I’m excited for a hotel to come to the neighborhood, I bet the Bossert never becomes a hotel — I bet the developer turns it into a dorm. Which will be his legal right as it’s the same zoning for a hotel or dorm. :-/

    And ditto to what “resident” says about the view — while it would be better to have a view of a lovely green park, the view after this is built won’t be any more “blocked” than it was previously. In fact, I’m 90% sure these buildings are a bit lower.

  • Neighbor Hood

    @resident, for the 1000th time the “park” was a real estate scam from the get go. The city could have funded a much simpler real park if its goal was to build a park on the waterfront for the people. It wasn’t. It’s elaborate landscaping for the development of hotels/condos which will make a very few well connected developers a very large profit while destroying the neighborhoods they are built in (see Atlantic Yards). I like the way the pro building folks always begin their argument from the premise that “you can’t just build a park without it paying for itself” That’s a very recent aberration championed by Bloomy and his developer cronies.

  • Villager

    Can’t they just have hot dog guy?

  • resident

    @NeighborHood: My “1000th” time is supported by a year long study as well as years of inactivity when nobody was willing to fund the park. Yours is just a foolish conspiracy theory.

    I have no idea how in the world a beautiful park with limited development next to it is going to destroy Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo. I really would like to be enlightened on this. It seems to me that ever since Pier 1 opened, nothing but good things have happened in the area. The area is more vibrant, both neighborhoods are developing a better restaurant scene. An everyday ferry service has developed and thrived. I really can’t name one negative. But I’m sure you’re right. This is all Bloomie and his cronies pocketing millions and cackling with glee all the while as their double secret plan to DESTROY the neighborhood progresses.

  • Neighbor Hood

    @ resident..what’s with all the “conspiracy” crap..it’s all pretty obvious and out front. And nothing double secret about the extra cozy relationship between this administration and his developer friends. The groups “studying” the park development have always been stacked in favor of the desired outcome. I never said they had a secret goal of destroying the hood, they just don’t give a damn what happens to it as long as they make their $$$ upfront in their real estate grab. That’s the point, they profit we suffer. Check out the drawing submitted of the hotel complex. I count 23 people…23! spread out along the entire “park” area in front of the hotel/condo complex. Yeah…that’s realistic as to what the influx of people and traffic will look like. Give us a break. I will bite on one ‘conspiracy” front…you’re not in way on the payroll of any group connected with this development or the administration are you, your just terribly naive right?

  • http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com Flashlight Worthy

    Resident, it’s not just the Pier 1 end of things that have thrived since the park has arrived but the Pier 6 end as well: Iris Cafe, Iris Takeaway and River Deli all moved into long-vacant locations, numerous new places have opened on Atlantic Ave as well (Colonie, Chez Moi, the upcoming Red Gravy, and the new children’s clothing store down below Hicks), the free ferry to Governor’s Island every weekend, not to mention the popular volleyball and insanely popular water park within the park itself.

  • Elmer Fudd

    FW – that happened without future residential condos, or hotels.

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    Chris Vigarito,
    I’m moving too in early Spring of next year. I have seen many changes in the few short years that I have lived here on lovely Willow Street but I cannot imagine how the neighborhood will look after a 200 room hotel is built plus residential housing. It’s become difficult enough to get into a decent restaurant already without the influx of people that a hotel and residential housing will bring. I used to feel flattered when tourists parked themselves on brownstone stoops in order to take pictures. Now I find it annoying. Real people live here but more and more it’s become a tourist attraction.

  • BklynJace

    If what we’ve seen from BBP so far — beautiful green space, kayaking, movies in the park, places to eat, bike/jogging path, ferries, playgrounds, etc. — is suffering, please keep me chained to the rack for the next few years.

  • Mr. Crusty

    Oh the hand wringing is precious. The replacement of dilapidated warehouses and rusting piers by a luxury hotel and a huge world class park circling the Brooklyn waterfront is somehow the destruction of the neighborhood. Give me a break.

    I thank the government and community officials responsible for getting this done and not succumbing to the perpetual and predictable naysayers who, if we listed to, would prevent anything from ever getting done. If it were up to them we would be looking at the rusting abandonded piers for the next decade.

  • Park Lover

    I’m much more concerned about the Walentas tower going up virtually under the Brooklyn Bridge….. The Park has been a work in progress for 20 years, and it was always conditioned on being able to handle its own operating costs. I don’t agree with this as a matter of public policy, but we’re stuck with it, and so far, the developments have been thoughtful. Of course, I’d be much happier if the Witnesses were able to sell their property so we don’t end up with more highrises at Pier 6!

  • Jorale-man

    They’re basically turning the Brooklyn waterfront into Miami Beach with this thing. Until we get our legislators to commit to a percentage of our tax dollars dedicated to public parks this city will never build a great park for the people again.

  • Mr. Crusty

    Miami Beach lol. One 10 story hotel and 159 residential units and acres and acres and acres of beautifull waterfront parkland stretching from Williamsburg to Atlantic Ave but to some that is Miami Beach. What silliness.

  • Anon

    Amen Joralemon. Plenty of money if they commited to spending exactly what pre-Koch spent – 1% of tax dollars fixed rate to pay for parks. That is money well spent. But the real estate
    lobby is too strong. Hence,we get a sidewalk along the waterfront
    and the developers get all the rest. Raw deal for us.

  • Mr. Crusty

    A sidewalk along the waterfront and the developers get all the rest? Listen you are certainly welcome to your opinion but you can’t just make s*** up. The area for private development is less than 10% of the project site as the below information demonstrates.

    Why do some people believe they should have it entirely 100% their way? This intransience and unwillingness to compromise is destroying our ability to get things done in this country. Thank God NYC has overcome these tendencies and we are going to get an incredible waterfront park as a result. I salute their efforts and hard work while the armchair city planners throw their brick bats.

    From the BBP website:

    All in all, the development program occupies approximately 8 acres of the project site, or less than 10% of the total land area.  Currently, the park is generating operation and maintenance funds from One Brooklyn Bridge Park. The remaining development sites will be developed in phases as construction of the park continues and additional operation and maintenance funds are required. The development site will be offered via a public Request For Proposal (RFP) process.

    http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/progress/project-development

  • John Q

    Unfortunately Mr. Crusty the other 90% is landscaping designed to sell the condos. However, I do agree with you about compromise– maybe it’s time for you to consider giving it a try!

  • Mr. Crusty

    John Q: Unfortunately Mr. Crusty the other 90% is landscaping designed to sell the condos”

    Hogwash.

  • Montaguein

    Jesus…if you want things to stay the same then move to the ‘burbs! This is New York City, things change. Is it perfect, nope, but is anything? This is a great compromise to get world class park, some added vibrancy and from what I hear some great new businesses. In ten years people will completely forget these conversations were ever taking place…

  • Curmudgeon

    I think that the people who live in park housing and the hotel owners will have the same sense on entitlement (ie “this is OUR park”) that goes on in Battery Park City. BBC was the development that was supposed to be for middle class housing – so the Wall Street secretary could walk to work. That worked out, didn’t it? And they used our tax dollars for it also.

  • Mr. Crusty
  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    Curmudgeon,
    Relatives visited over the weekend. We took them to Jane’s Carousel and BBP. Someone remarked “this is Brooklyn Heights version of Battery Park City”.

  • Big Dave

    Just have to write that the view from the Promenade was never oriented towards the Brooklyn Bridge. And isn’t the park for people to use? Don’t people get a lot of use out of the park? And cannot all that acreage absorb whoever uses the park who are hotel guests?

  • resident

    I hope that all of you complaining really do move. If there’s a “mass” exodus, maybe it will help counteract the property value boost coming from the park and allow those of us that don’t already own to be able to still afford to live here.

    I also can’t understand the “landscaping for development” argument. Do any of you ever go down to the park? It’s awesome! I for one am certainly going to continue to use everything in the park, and look forward to using the new “landscaping elements” such as the basketball courts and soccer fields. Pretending that it’s just landscaping for the developments is like pretending that Central Park is just landscaping for everyone that lives on the park below 96th St.

  • Bette

    I don’t think it will be a very successful hotel. Tourists don’t come to NYC/Brooklyn to look at a pretty park and water, and then have to spend 45 minutes to an hour to get into Manhattan.

    It would be a very successful condominium.

    But if it’s anything like the drawing, it’s remarkably ugly. Have the Toll Brothers ever built anything that had the slightest attention to detail, and an eye for beauty? No seriously, have they? The things I’ve seen their names connected to all look like institutions. That’s worse than the (bad) news that there will be a building there.

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