Seven months after Irish pub & restaurant Eamonn’s In Brooklyn and the Hallmark store next door at 172-174 Montague Street were shut down, gutting has begun on the two-story commercial building for what is destined to be a highrise condo development. Workers were hauling away a mass of mess inside Hallmark on Monday; Eamonn’s meanwhile, so far remains locked tight.
The 8,150-square-foot property sold in June 2012 for $12 million. The building has a C5-2/DB zoning designation, giving it air rights of up to 60,000 square feet, since it does not fall within the Brooklyn Heights Landmark District and is not subject to its 50-foot height limit.
Residential rental building The Archstone next door at 180 Montague Street, built for $101 million in 2000, is 33 stories. Its 186 units range from $2,497-$3,037/month for 1 bedrooms, and $3,903-$4,128/month for 2 bedrooms.
As Heightsters well know, the Hallmark store is the site of gruesome local lore. In 2003, 37-year-old co-owner Barry Curwin killed himself with a handgun inside the store, which first opened in 1991. 
