The condo project at 20 Henry Street is at last hitting the marketplace after years of delays. Final polishes are taking place at the former Peaks Mason Mints building, known as the Candy Factory, with asking prices between $450,000 and $2.56 million for studios up to 4 bedrooms. The building includes 24 lofts (six of them penthouse units, at $2+ million), with an additional 14 units in an adjacent modern structure on Poplar Street scheduled to wrap by summer.

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal reminds us of the building’s history: The former industrial space was built in 1885 as the base of candy makers Mason Mints and Mason Dots. In the 1970s, it became housing for artists under the state’s Mitchell-Lama subsidized-housing program.

Artists lived in studios there until the program ended in 2004. Developers Urban Realty Partners bought the site in 2007, but weren’t able to finish a conversion to condos after the imminent financial crisis. Los Angeles-based Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund stepped in and took over the project in 2010, alongside plenty of legal drama.

When plans were first announced that the factory was slated to become a condo development, the Brooklyn Heights Assn. wanted 20 Henry’s garden to remain open space, the WSJ adds—which is now the site of the new 14-unit modern building. BHA executive director Judy Stanton says she still prefers the garden to the new building, but is glad the factory is finally ready for new homeowners: “I’m sure it will attract families.”

Brokerage firm Stribling & Associates is marketing the project, and says that 20 Henry St. already has an 800-applicant waiting list.

(Photos: Wall Street Journal)

Admission is $20 for a family of four ($5 each additional); and $10 for CAFF or Brooklyn Historical Society members. The meeting point is BHS at 128 Pierrepont Street.

Pre-registration is required. For tix, click here.

In the BHB post a week ago about the new 80-unit building at 75 Clinton Street & Montague (on right) going rental, a healthy debate blossomed here between the architectural charms of its facade versus the new 40-unit residential building one block down at 101 Clinton Street & Joralemon (left). You guys took each building to task, with typical opinionated passion.

So let’s put up your dukes, BHB followers. We invite a full-on discussion about the merits—or not—of each property. The Corcoran link for 75 Clinton is here. 101 Clinton doesn’t appear to have a dedicated site yet, since it’s still under construction. You are welcome to add whatever you’ve seen, heard or linked to.

Please keep it clean, friends.

The Brooklyn Paper: Preservationists hailed the city for protecting a slew of Romanesque Revival and Beaux-Arts structures, including the tiered co-op 75 Livingston St., which housed some of the designation’s most vocal opponents.

“We’re thrilled,” said Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, the powerful community group that helped push for the district. “The opposition exaggerated the negatives. This is going to be good for Brooklyn as a whole and very good for Downtown and Court Street.”

According to the Brooklyn Paper story, Council Members Steve Levin and Brad Lander, both of whom voted for the designation, received assurances that proposed changes to buildings within the district would be given expedited consideration by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and that the LPC will “be flexible” with requests from residents of 75 Livingston.

The piece goes on, “No one has claim to freeze New York’s ever-changing silhouette” and claims that the buildings’ “demolition and replacement would, frankly, be quite beautifying. Here is a landmark case of abusing the landmarking process.”

Good luck: Prices range from $2,800 to $7,000 a month. Marketing Directors VP of Sales Angela Ferrara, the building’s marketing firm, says Invesco decided to take advantage of the “booming” rental market.

Before plans were approved in 2007 to go residential, 75 Clinton Street was a bankruptcy court. Is there a waft of irony there, perhaps?

The article did however emphasize the luxurious chambers of the presiding Justice and the extreme competition for being selected to fill the upcoming vacancy.

According to the NYTimes: “Judges say there is such a backstabbing competition to get the attention of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who is expected to fill the vacant position by spring, that fully half of the court’s 19 judges have applied for the job.”

On a personal note, it was almost exactly 18 years ago today, that I was sworn into the New York State Bar on a very snowy January morning.  At least there is now a permanently installed ramp, which they didn’t have back then!

Key endorsements for the landmark designation—which runs along Court Street, from Montague four blocks south to Livingston—were voiced by the council’s Subcommittee on Planning, along with Councilman Stephen Levin, who represents the area.

In a joint statement with Councilman Brad Lander, who heads the subcommittee, Levin said, “After close consideration, we believe this new historic district will strengthen the character of Downtown Brooklyn, allowing for new development and growth like the new retail space planned for the Municipal Building [next to Borough Hall] while preserving the graceful, historic, early-generation skyscrapers that make it Brooklyn’s civic center.”

Lander and Levin added that they intend to ask the city to ease rules for storefronts and work with Livingston Street residents “without imposing hardships on co-operators.”

The district was first proposed to the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2010 by the Brooklyn Heights Assn. and other preservation groups and since, has fostered snarky opposition from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Brooklyn Law School, Court-Livingston-Schermerhorn Business Improvement District and similar groups.

Once again, REBNY president Steven Spinola tore the initiative to pieces in a New York Post article today: “Not only is this an inappropriate use of landmark designation, but it will end up costing the city much-needed tax revenue and jobs. This is another case of the city landmarking away its economic future.” As well, in a direct mail campaign blanketing the neighborhood, REBNY claimed, “In these economic times, when every dollar counts, landmarking threatens to send Court Street back to the ‘bad old days’ of empty storefronts and dirty streets.”

City officials refute that the designation only sets guidelines overseen by Landmarks to ensure that construction blends with the neighborhood.

The Brooklyn Paper: “There are a lot of people who want to keep it around,” said Lowy, who hopes to find a new home for the theater if the building can’t be saved. “It makes it easier to move forward knowing we have all this support.”

The story also quotes landowner Tom Caruana’s architect (not named) as saying “plans for the site are not yet ready to be shared.” Architectural historian Francis Morrone, author of An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn, who the article says “is working with the [Brooklyn] Heights Association on an in-depth history of the building”, is quoted thus: “It’s an intact piece of history, …A major part of what makes Brooklyn Heights what it is is this historical physical fabric.”

The plans of the development company that bought 72 Poplar Street, the former NYPD building (see photo), will be considered at the meeting of the Executive Committee of Community Board 2 tomorrow (Monday, January 23) evening, starting at 6:00, at the Library Learning Center, room 515, of Long Island University, at DeKalb and Hudson Avenues.

According to the developer, as quoted by C.B.2:

Application is to extend the existing fourth floor, construct a new fifth floor addition, set back the rear wall by five feet to achieve legal light and air requirements, construct new rear façade, install new accessible ramp at Poplar Street entrance, create new window and door openings at east and west facades, and construct a one-story rooftop addition on adjacent garage.

The Real Estate Board of New York is amping its drive to derail the still-tentative landmarking of 21 buildings in downtown Brooklyn, by sending out a mailing to thousands of area residents urging them to bend City Council’s ear against the newly proposed historic district. In addition, on Friday, REBNY sent a letter to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn urging the Council to rethink the decision.

All landmarked districts require final approval from the City Council and mayor within 120 days. The Council vote is slated for Feb. 1, with two hearings scheduled next week.

Preservationists had claimed victory last September when the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the “Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District,” a cluster of highrises built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries along Court Street and the corners of Joralemon, Remsen and Montague Streets around the already landmarked Borough Hall. Commission Chairman Robert B. Tierney noted then that “the buildings had a central role in Brooklyn’s development and illustrate an important chapter of New York City’s history.”

But a number of property owners, local landlords and developers were vehemently opposed, claiming it would drive up costs and impede retail redevelopment. Mike Slattery, SVP of the Real Estate Board of New York, sneered in September that the buildings “have little architectural and historic significance and distinction.”

In an article published in Crain’s Business New York January 18, Steve Spinola, president of REBNY, further belittled the district: “The city continues to landmark away its economic future. We want the people in the area to know landmarking will cause a lack of investment in buildings.”

Detractors argue that the designation puts a financial burden on landlords, who have to obtain additional permits and pay extra fees for any changes or upgrades on their properties. REBNY surveyed owners of roughly 750,000 square feet of space within the proposed historic district, and predicted property owners and retail tenants will incur $4.7 million in additional costs over the next several years as a result of landmark regulations and rules, according to the letter obtained by Crain’s.

“Some owners were prepared to make an investment in their buildings, but now they have a noose around their neck because it will cost them more money,” added Spinola.

Brooklyn Heights Assn. president Judy Stanton has stated that the landmark designation “is necessary to protect those buildings from being torn down—it does not prevent redevelopment. It has been a longstanding regret we did not get a district sooner.”

Evan Hughes will discuss his recently published book Literary Brooklyn, which examines the connection between writers and Brooklyn as a place and identity. Edgar Garcia will discuss Walt Whitman, one of the authors featured in Literary Brooklyn, particularly Whitman’s role in Brooklyn’s publishing history. This event is part of BHS’s spring series, Inventing Brooklyn, which examines key people that have influenced Brooklyn’s past and present and highlights cultural trends that have roots in Brooklyn’s rich and diverse history. This event is free and open to the public.

This Saturday, January 21, BHS will present a guided tour of their building:

Come explore our beautiful landmark building. Designed by architect George Post and built in 1881, Brooklyn Historical Society’s building was ahead of its time. Using the latest technology, Post created a magnificent structure with amazing craftsmanship. On this guided tour you’ll learn not only about the building as an architectural gem, but you’ll also find out the “more than meets the eye” history of one of Brooklyn’s premier cultural institutions. This tour is free with museum admission and open to the public. Admission is always free for BHS members. This tour is part of BHS’s Brooklyn Walks and Talks program series.

Museum admission (for non-members) is $6 for adults; $4 for seniors over 62, students over 12 (college students must show ID), and teachers; and free for children under 12.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Following what one person described as “an exhilarating” discussion on the value of contextual vs. contemporary architecture in a historic district, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) yesterday asked the design team of a proposed new five-story, five-unit building at 30 Henry St. in Brooklyn Heights to consider making some additional changes.

The story notes that Brooklyn Heights preservationist Otis Pratt Pearsall and Brooklyn Heights Association President Jane McGroarty and Executive Director Judy Stanton all urged the Commission to reject the proposed design and require something contemporary and distinctive. BHA member and architect Jonathan Marvel is quoted as saying, ““We implore you to inspire, to delight, to raise the bar on originality.” But Park Slope resident and preservationist Clem Labine said the site doesn’t need a “starchitect” building that would be “dissonant and disruptive.”

The Commission’s legal counsel said it didn’t have the power to require “a particular style.”

Brownstoner reports today on the release of the renderings for the proposed new building at 30 Henry Street. News of the new structure broke recently with word that CB2′s landmarks committee has given its OK while the BHA had asked for a more contemporary design after seeing preliminary renderings. Also, the the new complex will boast a waterfall.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission is scheduled to review the design tomorrow (12/20).

Brownstoner looks inside the very sweet reno at 69 Joralemon Street and it’s quite impressive:

Brownstoner: The risk-taking decor by Brooklyn-based interior designer Jennifer Eisenstadt might be called ‘bold traditional.’ Taken individually, she says, “Most pieces are fairly traditional. It’s the combination that makes it interesting.” Like Coburn, who often works in a modern mode, Eisenstadt is versatile; she doesn’t have a specific style. “I try to give clients the best of what they’re looking for,” she says, “and help articulate their tastes and visions in cohesive ways.”

Last month a BHB tipster sent us a photo and a question:

Attached are roof photos of 20 Henry. The structure in wood is about 12 feet and is an entry way for stairs. It is quite large and very bulky. I am not sure I ever saw this design. No rendition of the roof I found online had this structure. Of course, if you try to find anything on the LPC website it is pure luck. Maybe they approved it which is a surprise
considering the tight guidelines they gave the architect.

The BHB “iTeam” along with our pals at the BHA dug into the matter. Late last night we received a dispatch from BHA Executive Director Judy Stanton that included an explanation of the structure from design architect Sherida Paulsen:

The bulkhead is temporary protection over a stair that will be covered by a hatch at the roof. It should be removed as the roof is installed; I do not know what the timing is, but it is not part of the permanent plan.

Featuring nearly forty different projects focused on the areas of Brooklyn Heights, South Street Seaport, SoHo, and the Upper East Side, Context\Contrast explores how new buildings and historic districts have learned to coexist in New York, the country’s most culturally and architecturally diverse city. This traveling exhibition has been shown in New York, Washington DC, and Dallas, and concludes at BHS in Brooklyn Heights, the first historic district in New York. The exhibition will run from October 7 to December 31.

The image is of one of the new buildings featured in Conetxt\Contrast, 43 Love Lane in Brooklyn Heights, completed 1999, designed by DeLaCour and Ferrara Architects. The photo is by Elizabeth Felicella.

Update: I didn’t know it at the time, but the bald man in black sitting on one of the carousel benches is the architect Jean Nouvel, designer of the pavilion that encloses the Carousel.

Clustered along Court Street and the corners of Joralemon, Remsen and Montague Streets around the already landmarked Borough Hall, the majority of Romanesque Revival and Beaux-Arts buildings were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Still, a number of property owners and developers raised sand over the designation, claiming it would drive up costs and impede retail redevelopment. Mike Slattery, SVP of the Real Estate Board of New York, actually said with a straight face that the highrises “have little architectural and historic significance and distinction.”

The landmarks designation has been in the works for five years, after nearby St. Francis College demolished its elegant 19th-century McGarry Library. “It has been a longstanding regret we did not get a district sooner,” said Brooklyn Heights Assn. president Judy Stanton. “(This) is necessary to protect those buildings from being torn down—it does not prevent redevelopment.”

Commission Chairman Robert B. Tierney noted in the press that “The cluster of tall office buildings that form the district had a central role in Brooklyn’s development and illustrate an important chapter of New York City’s history. These skyscrapers of their day gave Brooklyn not only a commercial heart, but also a new skyline.”

The newly designated buildings include the Franklin Building at 186 Remsen Street, completed in 1887; the 13-story Temple Bar Building at 44 Court Street; a 22-story limestone, granite and brick Colonial Revival style building at 32 Court Street; the 35-story Montague-Court Building; as well as three buildings of at least 30 stories along Court Street, once the borough’s definitive skyscraper row.

In addition, the 32-story coop at 75 Livingston Street is now landmarked, whose board was among those claiming its costs would skyrocket. Considering that the building boasts maintenance in the $3,000s, perhaps they accomplished that before Landmarks came calling.

The City Planning Commission and the City Council must grant final approval within the next 120 days.

Karl gives us scenes from, and commentary about, two parks designed by award winning landscape architect and Brooklyn Heights resident Michael Van Valkenburgh. One of these, of course, is Brooklyn Bridge Park. The other is Teardrop Park (see photo) in Battery Park City, which is part of your correspondent’s morning walk (long version) that starts on the Promenade, continues across Brooklyn Bridge, then across lower Manhattan to Battery Park City, traversing Teardrop Park and continuing to the World Financial Center, then back through City Hall Park to the Bridge. Video after the jump.

While the new design for 27 Cranberry Street by local starchitect Tom van den Bout has LPC approval, it still has some preservation minded Brooklynites wringing their hands. The new design substitutes brick for brownstone and zinc for bronze elements but some think the home is still too big for its humble block.

However, this process and discussion around this project is a perfect real-time example of the search for “authenticity” outlined in Suleiman Osman’s The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn.

If both plans were equal in scale, how “authentic” is the new approved brick facade versus van den Bout’s original vison of real brownstone (from the original quarry) frontage? It’s equally plausible that “back in the day” a builder may have chosen to build a brownstone on that lot.

What do you think? If the argument is based on scale, is “historical” relevance no longer in play? Are we now in the business of arguing over which imaginary “past” we’d like to embrace in future construction?

Brooklyn Paper: “We wished he would build a small house instead of what he’s entitled to build — but it’s still impressive,” said Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, which unsurprisingly supported van den Bout’s original plans. He is a former president of the association, after all.

Simeon Bankoff of the Historic Districts Council, who opposed the townhouse from the start, said he’s resigned to the new plans.

“It’s too big,” Bankoff said. “Cranberry Street is specifically low scale so it’s a tough site. This might have worked if it was on another block in Brooklyn Heights.”

We received word that the Landmarks Preservation Commission Approved the redesign for 27 Cranberry Street. According to our source, They called it “inventive, harmonious with streetscape and of high quality. They agreed that the use of roman brick completely resolved the scale issue.”

Architect Tom van den Bout tells Brownstoner:

…the 5,000-square-foot house is “massed to appear smaller from both the street and the rear gardens” and “rendered in humbler material in a less formal composition.” There are a bunch of specific changes—including the use of roman brick rather than brownstone and zinc replacing bronze for the metal cornice and bay—that helped it pass muster with Landmarks this time around; click through for all of them.

The Columbia Heights Sgraffito Restoration Project officially has begun! As mentioned a couple of times before here at Brooklyn Heights Blog, the building’s co-op board had been looking to restore the unique sgraffito façade for years. With financing finally in place, and permits signed, the project commenced last week — starting with removing layers and layers of paint from the second level of the façade. The restoration will be done by the skilful hands at G & L Popian, who have been patiently working with the building on getting this project off the ground.

Here’s a current view, after the paint has been removed:

For reference, here’s the “before” picture:

And here’s the “before before” picture:

Much work will need to be done, particularly on the ground level portion of the façade. The project is planned to take around 5 months to complete, though it is my personal dream to see it finished before Halloween.

Here’s a close-up of a section:

The Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street (corner of Clinton), is offering guided tours of its historic building, completed in 1881 and designed by architect George B. Post, whose other commissions include the New York Stock Exchange and the Wisconsin State Capitol. In addition to the architecture, the tour will reveal the “hidden history” of the BHS and its museum. The tours are free with museum admission, which is $6 fSor adults; $4 for seniors (62 and 0ver), teachers, and students; and free for BHS members and children under 12. The first tour will be this Sunday, July 10, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Subsequent tours will be on Sunday, July 24 and Saturday, July 30, starting at the same time.

BHS is about to undertake a major renovation of the main and ground floors of the building, which will restore to use the beautifully tiled main entrance and expand gallery and function space. The society and museum will remain open during this renovation.

Hick Street resident/guest blogger Jeremy Lechtzin writes us, “This afternoon the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously denied the application [for new construction at 27 Cranberry Street].”

He adds that one LPC member suggested to the 27 Cranberry applicants “it’s time for a major rethinking” of their proposal.

Lechtzin adds that,  ”LPC objected to the size (both height and depth), materials (brownstone, metal elements) and design (window placement, penthouse, etc.) so essentially he needs to come up with something completely different.”

BHB obtained photos of the planned design back in April. View them here.

DEVELOPING…

Stuck in town for the weekend? Or, perhaps, you simply enjoy being in town on holidays, when things are a little less crowded and fast-paced. If beach volleyball isn’t your thing, you could take a tour of the Brooklyn Historical Society’s historic building, starting tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. It’s free for BHS members, and the cost for others is museum admission: $6 for adults; $4 for seniors (62 and over), students over 12, and teachers; and free for kids under 12. Another option is the Brooklyn Navy Yard tour jointly presented by BHS and Urban Oyster on Sunday from 1:45 to 4:30 p.m. Advance ticket purchase is required; go to the Urban Oyster website to purchase tickets, which are $30 each. If you’re a BHS member, you get a 10% discount; call 718-222-4111 x250 for your discount code. And then there’s Fleet Week.

168 Montague Street

What do you think?