What’s About To Happen At 153 Remsen Street In Brooklyn Heights?

By on January 20, 2014 6:30 pm in Brooklyn Heights, Development

Looks like the Quinlan Development Group is starting to move on its purchase of 153 Remsen Street. The Brooklyn Eagle reports that sidewalk shedding will be erected there soon, a sign that is usually a “prelude for demolition” the paper says. The paper adds that Wi-Pie Pizza at 155 Remsen recently closed as well paving the way for the properties to be developed.

Brooklyn Eagle: The city Buildings Department issued permits on Jan. 10 for sidewalk sheds for 153 Remsen – as well as for 155 and 157 Remsen St., two neighboring five-story residential buildings with retail spaces.

The city requires the installation of sidewalk sheds when a building more than 25 feet high is demolished or a building more than 40 feet high is constructed. Two-story 153 Remsen is 29 feet tall.

Because the buildings are short, they are not subject to a city requirement that’s the cause for many sidewalk sheds’ installation – the one that requires landlords to hire engineers every five years to inspect the facades of buildings more than six stories tall.

The firm also purchased its neighbors 155 and 157 Remsen Street. The Eagle speculated last year that since the buildings sit outside of the Brooklyn Heights historic district, the sky is the limit for any development on that site.

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  • HeatherQuinlan

    Wow, a branch of the family that actually makes money.

  • Jorale-man

    These appear to be the last vestiges of the brownstone architecture that used to dominate this block east of Clinton before St. Francis College demolished a good chunk of them in the 1960s. If you look at old photos from the early 20th century, the whole block used to be of this scale. No longer. Developers will push things right up to the edge of the historic district without regard for context, scale or impact on the local area.

  • Andrew Porter

    As I posted on the Eagle and Curbed sites, before the Great Recession, there were plans to build a 40 story apartment building here, but they were cancelled. 153 was originally bought, then put back on the market. Now, the plans are once again in place. Ironically, the new building will likely block the southern views from the Archstone on Montague, which is already losing the views from its western facing windows, as the 19-story building is constructed next to it.

    153 has been decrepit for a long time because whenever the second floor windows were fixed, they were immediately broken again by a homeless person who was living there.

  • HicksOnHicks

    Developers, like all entrepreneurs, for profit companies and sales people, are motivated by $$$. If it wasn’t for Adam Smith’s invisible had, we’d still be living a subsistence life style.

  • jen

    I’m prob wrong but think that the Archstone purchased some or all of the air rights from those buildings so they might be able to add additional sq. ft. but not sure how much.

  • Anon

    “There’s more to life than money, sir.”
    – Mr. Fezziwig “A Christmas Carol”

  • HicksOnHicks

    Eat dreams