Downtown Brooklyn: ‘Hottest Neighborhood In The Borough’?

By on August 8, 2012 12:43 pm in Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Profiles, Real Estate

The New York Daily News offers its take on the burgeoning growth taking place in Brooklyn Heights’ adjoining neighborhood, titled “What’s behind Downtown Brooklyn success story?” It concludes that an influx of college kids at 11 area schools, trendy stores, novel restaurants and tech start-ups “taking advantage of short-term leases” have fueled an economic boom “in once-gritty spots.”

The piece alludes to strong growth “over the last 10 years, according to local firms and economic experts,” with a quote from Brooklyn Heights’ Ingram & Hebron Realty partner Robert Hebron: “There’s gigantic momentum to create professional gentrification” that has led to intense local competition for new tenants. He adds that in an effort to convince startups with low capital to move from chic DUMBO lofts into more traditional downtown offices, landlords have been asking for lower security deposits and are dropping other standard lease requirements.

The News adds that Downtown Brooklyn is one of the only spots in NYC where no private sector jobs have been lost since 2003, with major growth in the health care sector. Overall, Downtown Brooklyn’s office vacancy rate improved to 7.4% in 1Q 2012, down from 11% last year, citing a report issued July 26 by state Controller Thomas DiNapoli. It also says that the surrounding nabes—Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO/Vinegar Hill, the Navy Yard, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Boerum Hill—have grown in population by 15,000 since 2005.

Downtown Brooklyn Partnership President Tucker Reed calls the area “the hottest neighborhood in the borough, and the fastest-growing and strongest economy of any downtown in the state and the nation.” James Parrot of the Fiscal Policy Institute adds, “Downtown Brooklyn is benefitting from a number of broader trends; it’s part of an urban revitalization story.”

Read the article in the New York Daily News here.

(Photo: Chuck Taylor)

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  • Ari

    I really miss the dollar a slice pizza/bakery place that used to be on Bridge street. Same with the bagel store a couple of stores down on Willoughby. Thanks a lot gentrification, I got my fingers crossed for another Duane Reade or a Wells Fargo ATM please!

    The real question is will any of this help get that scaffolding around the MTA building on Jay Street get taken down? It has been up since 1995…….nineteen ninety five….I was using dial-up back then, also very apprehensive about those weird metrocard things they said we’d have to start using. Does anyone even remember what using subway tokens were like?

  • Mr. Crusty

    I remember when subway tokens were 15 cents. A ride on a bus with a school pass – 5 cents. Damn, I’m old.

  • DrewB

    I’d be happy for some gentrification on Fulton Mall. In the 15 years I’ve lived in BH that place has been mostly useless, unless you need sneakers. With the young folks movin’ in, maybe we’ll actually get some nighttime businesses down there. Restaurants, Bars, A Music Venue. With little residential in the immediate area it is perfect for that type of activity. And some nighttime action would make the whole area less desolate and more safe after dark.

  • No sleep till Brooklyn

    @Ari in 1995, I was a child and wouldn’t be caught on Jay Street alone. Hope that one day it’ll be different and Downtown Brooklyn is taking a small step in the right direction.

  • Yo

    Actually between Starbucks and Shake Shake there is actually a fair amount of action on the tip of Fulton Mall even after dark.

  • Mr. Crusty

    It’s amazing how the “good old days” look so much better after a few decades.

  • Jorale-man

    The evidence the article cites (job growth, real estate vacancy rates, etc.) is all promising but the fact remains Downtown still has a long way to go.

    I sometimes wonder who exactly shops on Fulton. The street is probably not drawing much from the surrounding neighborhoods of the Heights, Cobble Hill, Dumbo, etc. Do the shoppers come from farther out in Brooklyn? Fort Green? The stores there seem to do a good business at any rate.

  • carol

    Oh Jorale-mon, if you wonder who shops on Fulton Street, spend a little time there. You’ll see people and families who don’t have a lot of money (minimum wage – that our Mayor doesn’t want raised) shopping for clothes, shoes, cell phones, jewelry. Parts of Brooklyn don’t have much in the way of local retail so coming downtown to shop is often necessary just as it was to previous generations who shopped at A&S or Martins. The thing is that not everyone can afford Gap or Ann Taylor so Fulton Street, while perhaps not your cup of tea, serves many Brooklyn residents quite nicely.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Fulton Street has always been a dump and will be for the foreseeable future.

  • http://commoncharges.com bkdowntowner

    amazing momentum in downtown brooklyn, and with so much more to come we’re really excited these days for the future!

  • C.

    “Fulton Street has always been a dump and will be for the foreseeable future.”

    You must not get out much. Fulton Street is changing my friend. Take a walk down it once in awhile and witness the development. It will be a showcase street for this borough in 5 or 6 years max. Probably sooner.

  • yoohoo

    Jorale-man, Fulton Street is the only shopping mall except Kings Plaza where low-income residents, specifically from Central Brooklyn, find what they want and need.

  • yoohoo

    Chuck, what’s with “one of the only spots?” It’s either the only one, or one of few. or one of several? As a journalist, you ought to know!

  • Bette

    Downtown Brooklyn Partnership President Tucker Reed calls the area “the hottest neighborhood in the borough, and the fastest-growing and strongest economy of any downtown in the state and the nation.”

    Tell that to my neighbors who have averaged 6 months to a year to sell their places (studios, a one bedroom and several two-bedrooms) in our building in the heart of the Heights!

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    Bette,
    Someone sold a 2 bedroom apartment in my building on Willow Street in a very short period of time. I think they even had multiple offers. What gives with your neighbors? I am interested because I am selling my apartment at the end of the year or early 2013. I thought the market had picked up a bit.
    I have sold three other houses in the past 30 years and if priced correctly, they sell right away. I sold two houses the first day they went on Multiple Listing. They were priced to sell.

  • She’s Crafty

    Bette, I wonder if you live in my building!

  • She’s Crafty

    @yoohoo, no you don’t. Flatbush Avenue mimics Fulton in its stock and store chains. Fulton is not the “only” place for people to shop in Brooklyn for inexpensive merchandise give me a break! This is an argument It just happens to be close to a lot of businesses and the Courts as well as the Social Security and Benefits offices, no class insult intended there, just that it brings a lot of foot traffic to the area on a daily basis.

  • Teddy

    @C.

    “Fulton Street has always been a dump and will be for the foreseeable future.”

    You must not get out much. Fulton Street is changing my friend. Take a walk down it once in awhile and witness the development. It will be a showcase street for this borough in 5 or 6 years max. Probably sooner.

    Fulton Street is changing, but it’s a slow, fragile change that could be reversed very easily. Fulton St. reminds me of Atlantic City.
    Every attempt to turn it into Las Vegas on the Atlantic turns into a failure.

  • Still Here

    Bette,

    In my building the apartments that have sold in a reasonable time had prices that aligned with comps in our area.

    There are several that are 10-20% above comp rates, or even against identical apartments in similar condition, and they languish. DUH! Many of these have had several brokers – whom they blame for the lack of sales.

    Interesting fact – The apartments that were ‘staged’ by professionals sold quicker and some at better prices.

    And prices are trending up, but gently.

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    Bette,
    Trying to sell an apartment 10-20% above market is why those apartments are languishing. Maybe in a better real estate market a person could get away with it but buyers are smart and do not want to overpay. (obviously)
    Lots of times brokers try to be realistic about setting the price but the buyer is not reasonable. When I sell my apartment it will be “priced to sell”.
    As far as staging goes, removing clutter, cleaning up the joint, freshening up the paint and pricing it to sell will generally do the trick.

  • Gerry

    In the 1980s when MetroTech was going up and The Fulton Mall was supposed to become upscale – Ann Taylor, Brooks Brothers, Pottery Barn, Starbucks, etc.

    I supect that much of MetroTech is empty and so no employees who have pay checks are within reach.

    And so the Fulton Mall gets no business on payday? With all those jobs in the MetroTech area this prime spot is not thriving?

    Why is Fulton Mall so crummy?