DUMBO-based developer Fortis Manor, which purchased the homely one-story Brooklyn Eagle Building at 30 Henry Street & Middagh in November 2011, paid $3.5 million for the property, according to a post today on Brownstoner. Broker Massey Knakal confirmed the figure, which is $500K over its asking price of $3 million.

That comes out to a cost of $209 per buildable square foot. Brownstoner notes that the site allows for a total of 16,740SF on the site. As previously reported, a six-story red brick building is slated to take its place.

The Brooklyn Eagle building was constructed in 1963 and was thus landmarked, but it has already been approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for its new incarnation. A rendering for the future building is below.

(30 Henry Street photo: Brownstoner)

Elizabeth Stribling, founder of Stribling & Associates real-estate brokerage, made headlines in 2008 when she relocated from the Upper East Side’s East 84th Street to Brooklyn Heights, in a record-setting $6.6 million 12th-floor 3,442SF pad at One Brooklyn Bridge Park. This month, she is profiled in The Real Deal in a story titled “Stribling: The Next Generation,” which focuses on her company’s “branding overhaul aimed at modernizing the 32-year-old firm’s somewhat stuffy” persona.

In the piece, Stribling reflects, “No one could believe I was moving to Brooklyn,” although she has certainly developed an affinity for the borough. In addition to selling out the residences at the storied Plaza Hotel and peddling Brooke Astor’s Park Avenue apartment for $21 million, the brokerage’s Stribling Marketing & Associates arm is also repping the 24-unit condo at 20 Henry Street in the Heights—which is 50% sold.

Steven Rutter, who heads Stribling’s Marketing division, tells the Real Deal that while Manhattan projects still make up 85% of the firm’s new development listings, it is “gaining a foothold in Brooklyn, with more of a downtown feel.”

Likewise, top-producing Stribling broker Alexa Lambert, notes, “Now, someone who lives on Park Avenue could much more easily want to [move to] Tribeca. Brooklyn has also become much more attached to Manhattan. People think of it the way they would have thought about moving to the Village or the West Side a few years ago.”

Elizabeth Stribling founded her firm on the Upper East Side in 1980, with eight brokers. Today, she has more than 250 agents and offices in Chelsea and Tribeca, in addition to a Madison Avenue flagship. See the full Real Deal profile here.

The Montague Street Business Improvement District is calling on all Brooklyn Heights Blog readers and area residents to participate in a survey to collect info on what folks think about programs & services in the nabe’s primary retail destination, as it strategizes future goals.

Four survey respondents will be randomly selected by BID to receive a $50 gift certificate at the Montague Street business of their choice. Housing Works, here I come! What are you waiting for? Access the questionnaire here.

Among the 18 questions:
What business, or types of businesses, would you like to see on Montague Street?
What do you like most about Montague Street?
What is the single most important issue facing Montague Street?

Following Downtown Brooklyn’s gentrification with the recent arrival or soon-to-open Shake Shack, Gap, Panera Bread, H&M and T.J. Maxx along Fulton Mall, the latest retailer committing to the rapidly expanding shopping destination is Century 21 Department Store.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the high-end label discount retailer has signed a deal to open a 125,000 SF store in the City Point development: the first new department store in Downtown BK since the 1970s.

“By landing Century 21, developers said they would be able to break ground this summer on the bulk of the City Point development—675,000 square feet of retail and commercial space and 690 new market-rate and ‘affordable’ apartment units at Dekalb and Flatbush avenues,” WSJ says. Century 21′s store is scheduled to open when construction of the 1.3 million-square-foot City Point’s second phase is completed in fall 2015.

WSJ adds, “The transformation of Fulton Mall from a Downtown Brooklyn den of cheap cellphone outlet and fast-food joints into a more upscale shopping hub is set to take a significant step forward.” See the full story here.

The new Starbucks location at 134 Montague Street opens for business Saturday May 12, as the windows at the previous store at 112 Montague were covered in brown paper Friday night, with an arrow pointing up the street.

As previously reported, the new space at the former Nine West shoe store will sacrifice major window vistas along the front, although the folks at Heights Vision next door told BHB that it is deeper and offers more square footage. Here’s a first look inside the new store.

Starbucks decided to relocate because the one-story building at 112 Montague was a constant source of roof leaks and plumbing issues. Its new destination at 134 Montague has been completely gutted and rebuilt, including the residential above.

(Photos: Chuck Taylor)

The new nine-story 75 Clinton Street at the corner of Montague, which posted a short promotional video April 4, has begun leasing its 74 units. Nearly a dozen studio, 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments are listed on Streeteasy. Monthly rent: from $2,362 to $11,000(!). See interior shots here.

The building, marketed by Milestone Property Management, shifted from condos to rentals in late January.

(Photo: Chuck Taylor)

Carroll Gardens’ Area Yoga & Spa Center, which we reported March 4 will open a second location in Brooklyn Heights, has posted signage on the windows at its new store at 144 Montague Street, alongside a sidewalk chalkboard announcing it will open in May.

The new digs—on the second floor above Bentley’s shoes (in the former location of Spring Thyme spa)—will offer a focus on balance, strength, awareness and relaxation. Alongside open level and basics classes, Area offers restorative, prenatal, power, yin, intermediate/advanced and Forrest yoga, with a treatment room for organic facials and massages.

Area Yoga was founded in 2000 by Loretta Gendville. Its other location is at 389 Court Street in Carroll Gardens. Read a piece in The New York Times that includes the studio here.

(Photos: Chuck Taylor)

On Thursday, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Forest City Ratner Cos. Chairman/CEO Bruce Ratner to rally around the 2,000 jobs they insist will be created by the fall opening of Downtown Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Markowitz said, “Bringing the Nets to Brooklyn means more than exciting in-your-face basketball with a Brooklyn attitude: It will create 2,000 sorely needed full- and part-time opportunities for jobseekers, with priority placement for Brooklynites in the neighborhoods and NYCHA housing surrounding Barclays Center.”

Scheduled to open September 28, the Barclays sports and entertainment venue across from Atlantic Terminal will offer 18,200 seats for basketball and 19,000 seats for concerts. It also boasts 100 luxury suites, four bars/lounges, three clubs and a restaurant.

Pictured from left: Department of Small Business Services Commissioner Robert W. Walsh, Markowitz, (a typically grim) Bloomberg, NYC Housing Authority Chairman John Rhea and Ratner.

(Photo: Kathryn Kirk)

Numerous Open Thread comments have queried about the future ground-floor retail space at 101 Clinton Street & Joralemon, whose six-story, 40-unit building is nearing completion as a residential rental.

The former Clinton Food Market was a favorite of many residents, and obviously was shuttered when rehab began on the 1930′s building nearly two years ago. A sign appeared in the window this week offering the first-floor retail space for rent… meaning that the market is obviously not being given first dibs at returning.

Meanwhile, the building appears to be testing the waters with one rental on the market via CitiHabitats: Apartment 6B, a top-floor 3 bedroom, 2 bath for $5,200 a month (see interior shots with the listing).

(Photos: Chuck Taylor)

The No. 1 attraction of Brooklyn Heights, according to any tourist guide, is the dramatic view of Manhattan over yonder from the Promenade. Of course, more than a decade ago, we lost a primary component of that cityscape, on 9/11/2001. The Wall Street Journal offers an update on construction of One World Trade Center: It is now 100 stories tall, just 5 stories from topping out.

Tishman Construction, the New York-based builder that has overseen the project, says it will be the nation’s tallest building, with the coming addition of a 400-foot spire atop the 1,368-foot tower. The company’s Mike Mennella tells WSJ that One WTC will surpass the height of the Empire State Building in the next week or so “on the way to 105, and we’ll go to the antenna above that.”

Below are renderings of the finished Tower, and its progress as of April 1, 2012.
(Photos: WTC.com)

Is the sloooowly buregoning Brooklyn Bridge Park designed to encourage the interaction of those who visit the waterfront oasis—or is it little more than a handsome front lawn for wealthy homeowners, alienated from the surrounding community and lacking those things that make urban public spaces dynamic? That’s the question posed in a Wall Street Journal story Monday, titled “Conflict In Park Plans.”

The piece leads a more or less academic discussion over aesthetic disagreements between developers of the half-completed park’s future. Portions of Pier 1 and Pier 6 opened in 2010, with a new pier and footbridge slated for the latter part of 2012—while a majority remains on the drawing board.

The WSJ explains, “On one side is Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the firm designing the park’s outdoor spaces, including man-made wetland areas, artificial hillsides and meadows and pathways lined with non-native vegetation that resembles beach grass.” He comments in the article: “We’ve created a calm foreground that allows you to appreciate the sublime beauty of the industrial urban setting.”

An opposing view comes from non-profit Project of Public Spaces (PPS), whose William H. Whyte believes that public spaces should “be designed to encourage the social interactions of the people who use them, rather than for their aesthetic appeal.” His view is that the design of BBP overrides the everyday needs of city dwellers.

The story goes on to describe the playground at Pier 6 as “better looking than for playing.” PPS President Fred Kent adds that “a better park” would allow for multiple uses woven together in a simple welcoming space. “Elderly people would be able to sit on a bench, eat a sandwich and watch the children play, while young couples stroll by on the Promenade, waiting for the sunset over the park’s breathtaking view of New York Harbor.” He calls BBP “one of the deadest waterfronts ever designed.”

The WSJ concludes that on some counts Kent is right, “but in other ways, Brooklyn Bridge Park succeeds magnificently at being a space people want to make their own. Pier 1 is an assemblage of placid meadows and grassy, sloping grades that make the perfect setting for picnicking and taking in the view.”

The full Wall Street Journal article is here. Note that it requires subscriber log-in.

How does Karl love LPQ? Let him count the ways…. Video after the jump.

New women’s apparel boutique Ruby & Jenna is coming to 130 Montague Street, above beauty salon Dashing Diva. According to a listing with Massey Knakal Realty Services, the new store is scheduled to open in June.

According to the store’s website, it offers “trendy, contemporary clothing reasonably priced, without sacrificing style,” with current locations in Manhattan (a pop-up at 1282 Broadway & 33rd) and in Brooklyn at 1308 Kings Highway, as well as Plainview, N.Y., Greenwich, Conn., Hoboken and Westfield, N.J., with another opening this summer in Southampton.

Located between Henry & Clinton streets, the building at 130 Montague is also on the market for sale, with a price tag of $5.75 million. It offers the two retail units and nine residential apartments over five stories—all of which are all rent stabilized, averaging $1,200/unit per month.

In total it comprises 11 units grossing about $450,000 in annual revenue, according to Massey Knakal (which provided the image). More detail about 130 Montague Street is available here.

The new Le Pain Quotidien at 121 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights is scheduled to open its doors Monday, April 16, according to a conversation BHB had with the “bakery and communal table” manager this afternoon. He’s a local who lives in Carroll Gardens, and says in his five years with the company, he has been pleading for a Brooklyn location. Delivered! (See first interior photos below the jump.)

The manager also shared that because of the property line of the building, outdoor seating for up to 18 is available along the storefront’s sidewalk, with no permit required. Inside, the restaurant seats about 100. In addition, the Heights menu will offer items that aren’t available at Le Pain Quotidien’s Manhattan locations, including Six-Vegetable Vegan quiche, Quiche Lorraine, Vegetarian Quiche, Warm Moroccan Chicken Salad, Vegan Seared Quinoa Cake and Mushroom Lasagna. Add that to a selection of soups, tartines, salads, platters, breads & pastries, breakfast dishes and organic beverages.

We’ve come a long way since the first whiff of Le Pain Quotidien opening in January at the long-deserted former location of Jennifer Convertibles.

(Photos: Chuck Taylor)

The standout Gothic Revival three-story brick row house at 52 Livingston Street (between Court & Clinton streets) has changed precious little since this Brooklyn Public Library photograph was taken in 1953, nearly 60 years ago. (Then & Now pics below the jump.)

Among few changes following its construction in 1846 (despite conflicting reports of it being built in 1901), according to Clay Lancaster’s 1979 book “Old Brooklyn Heights: New York’s First Suburb,” are the addition of the structure’s humble third story and the signature Romantic-style lace-like ironwork, cornice, porch and fencing, likely added in 1854 to complement the Packer School, being built across the street at that time. The stucco facade was also removed post-1953.

Lancaster notes that the 1847 City Directory says it was home then to “widow Matilda Brown.” Another resident at the turn of the 20th Century was Dr. Mary DeBooij Ingram, a female physician who died in 1932, at the age of 81. She was born in Scotland, received her education in Edinburgh, London and Paris, and ended up in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Training School for Nurses. Ingram earned a degree in medicine from the University of Michigan and practiced in Brooklyn for more than four decades.

Today, according to Trulia.com, the 4,500-square-foot building is a duplex, with two residential units, valued at $4.4 million. In 2006, a 1-bedroom unit with separate entrance and shared garden was listed for rent by Corcoran for $2,000 a month. The entire building changed hands in December 2010.

Livingston Street, meanwhile, was named for Philip Livingston, one of the four signers from New York of the Declaration Of Independence, says Leonrd Benardo & Jennifer Weiss in their 2006 book “Brooklyn By Name.” It was at Livingston’s 40-acre estate in Brooklyn Heights that George Washington and his officers agreed to retreat from Long Island. Livingston fled the estate when it was occupid by British forces, transforming it into a brewery and hospital. It was later acquired by Teunis Joralemon, among the neighborhood’s elite landowners.

(Photos: Brooklyn Public Library, Chuck Taylor/February 2009)

The Watchtower residential property at 161 Columbia Heights that closed March 20 after a $3 million sale to investment and management firm Sugar Hill Capital Partners, is back on the market less than two weeks later as a rental. According to Curbed, after a quick renovation, the newly named five-story walk-up “161 Heights” offers one bedrooms starting at $2,995 a month; one studio for $1,995 a month; and one 2BR, asking $4,100. Amenities include laundry and storage space. Occupancy begins 4/1.

The listing is managed by Massey Knakal Realty Services, which also sold a Johovah’s Witnesses-owned multi-residence at 50 Orange Street, to the same buyer in January for $7.1 million. At closing, Knakal told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle that 161 Columbia “has been immaculately maintained since the prior owner purchased the property in 1988.”

In all, the 6,273-square-foot building contains seven fair-market, one rent-stabilized and two rent-controlled units. See the property’s website here.
(Building photo: Brownstoner)

As BHB tipped in February, Starbucks is relocating eastward on Montague Street, from 112 to 134, site of the former Nine West shoes, which closed in July 2010. Today, signage appeared outside the new store, which a construction crew member told us will open in May. Below: First look inside.

While the new space will sacrifice major window vistas along the front, the folks at Heights Vision next door told BHB in February that it is deeper and actually offers more square footage.

It decided to relocate because the one-story building at 112 Montague was a constant source of roof leaks and plumbing issues. Meanwhile, its new destination at 134 Montague is being completely gutted and rebuilt, including the residential above.

(Photos: Chuck Taylor)
Above, Starbucks new location at 134 Montague Street. Below, so long, 112 Montague! Bottom: February 2012.

It was back in January when we first caught a whiff of Le Pain Quotidien opening at 121 Montague Street in the long-deserted former location of Jennifer Convertibles. As of the first week of February, framing for new front windows was in the works and a month later promotions appeared in the windows.

Today, workers hung the banner signage for Le Pain Quotidien, while a construction crew member on-site shared with BHB that he was told the “bakery and communal table” is set to open for business in the next two to three weeks. That gives it a target of April 9-16.

If you can’t wait, take a look at Le Pain Quotidien’s menu here, which on its website says it offers “farm fresh produce, fragrant herbs, artisanal cheeses and, of course, our handmade organic breads.” In New York City, the locale has about 27 locations.

The former La Traviata cafe at 139 Montague Street, between Henry and Clinton, is going to be replaced by an Irish pub and restaurant. The 30-year-old Italian eatery along Brooklyn Heights’ primary retail enclave shuttered suddenly in November 2011, and BHB reported in February that a sign in the window alerted us then that “RDR Bar & Restaurant Corp. plans to open a Tavern-Restaurant” in the space.

Brownstoner now reports that last week Community Board 2 supported the business’ request for a liquor license for an Irish-style bar with a large menu. No word on an opening date.

The long-stalled Downtown City Point Towers retail and residential complex in Downtown Brooklyn is aiming for the clouds. The Brooklyn Paper got an exclusive look this week at new mock-ups presented to Community Board 2, showing two potential horizon-altering skyscrapers at the site of the former Albee Square Mall, on the Flatbush Avenue Extension between Willoughby Street and DeKalb Avenue.

One of the two towers could reach 65 stories or more, with a targeted completion of 2015, while the second would be wrapped in 2016, said Paul Travis of developer Washington Square Partners. That would make it Brooklyn’s tallest building, period. The project’s first building at Albee Square, City Point Mall, is slated to open this June with 50,000 square feet of retail, although no anchor tenant for the building has been announced.

Architect GreenbergFarrow, told The Brooklyn Paper that the 1.9 million square foot development on a 2.75 acre site would feature 500,000+ square feet of retail, around 280 hotel rooms and 800 residential units, and 250,000 square feet of office space.

The proposed 65-story tower would trump the 58-story Avalon Bay residential tower on Willoughby Street (between Bridge and Duffield streets), which is aiming to rise to 56 stories; while that building excels over the new Brooklyner 51-story rental tower. All three edge out the iconic Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower at One Hanson Place: Brooklyner is a mere 2 feet taller.

The Downtown City Point Towers mixed-used plan has a long way to go before Brooklyn Heights residents might see it peaking over the horizon: It needs approval of the city before it can even begin to move forward.
Above, the proposed Downtown City Point Towers; Below, City Point Mall. (Photos: The Brooklyn Paper)

A poster has lit up the window of a storefront at 115 Court Street between Schermerhorn and State streets on the border between Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn, promoting upcoming frozen yogurt shop iCrave, promising to be “swirling soon” with “21 fantastic flavors” and “savory smoothies.”

Brownstoner reports that the space has turned over numerous times in recent years, including a previous frozen yogurt joint, Yogo Monster. A few doors down there’s already competition, at Red Mango.

(Photo: Brownstoner)

The sweet red brick building at 156 Henry Street at the intersection of Love Lane in Brooklyn Heights holds a modicum of mystery. Despite hours of research, I could find little info on when it was built or why it stands alone as a quaint two-story structure among so many multi-story apartment buildings on all sides.

What I do know is that throughout its life, the street level has housed at least three businesses: two supermarkets and now, a CVS. First was Bohack, which opened its first family grocery on nearby Fulton Street in Brooklyn in 1887. After going public, the chain expanded into Manhattan and the Bronx until its demise during the recession of the mid-1970s. The last store shuttered in summer 1977.

Next in the location was well-known New York supermarket chain D’Agostino, first opened in 1932 during the Great Depression on the Upper East Side. By 1981, the grocer operated 15 Manhattan locations and one in Brooklyn—at 156 Henry Street. The store was obviously in place long enough to update its logo signage, as seen below.

Within the past decade, D’Agostino departed Brooklyn, making way for CVS to mark its territory in the Heights, competing with drugstore neighbors Duane Reade and Rite Aid.

Above the store, there’s a one-bedroom rental apartment, last listed by Corcoran (date unknown), described as: “Sunny, quiet, beautiful 1BR in the heart of Brooklyn Heights, steps from restaurants, shops, subways. Near Brooklyn Heights Promenade. Kitchen & bathroom totally renovated. Beautiful decorative fireplace & gorgeous wood floors. Pets welcome.” No price was listed on the site. Pics from the listing of the upstairs unit below…

Finally, a little perspective about Love Lane, across from 156 Henry… In pre-Colonial times, it was an Indian trail leading to the nearby East River. When the Dutch arrived in Brooklyn, it became a popular path for romantic walks, thus the name. An 1894 New York Times article hints, “The oldest residents remember a time when there was a cool, shady path leading down ‘Lover’s Lane,’ where plump, rosy-cheeked Dutch maidens, with their sweethearts, meandered on summer evenings out through the turnstile and down the grassy bank to the water’s edge.”

Today, the closest you’re going to that blush get is a flash of your CVS bar code, hoping for bountiful bargains… and a sentimental feeling standing in a space with such robust history in beloved Brooklyn Heights.

An intriguing comment comes from a BHB reader, remarking on the March 15 Blog post, “Is Sephora Coming To Brooklyn Heights?”

Amid frequent discussions that blanket the Brooklyn Heights Blog about chain retailers vs. local shops, AEB writes:

I sometimes feel we’re all in the grip of a mass delusion that BH will become the home of high-end specialty shops ‘curated’ by hip folks who have dernier cri taste, etc. Ain’t gonna happen, much as I wish it would. BH is too small, its real estate too pricey and its live-in ‘audience’ is too old/square. Sorry, I live here too, but…

Interesting thought, yes? And you? Feel free to add your thoughts to this ever-pertinent push-and-pull discussion…

(Photo: Chuck Taylor)

After 12 years at 72 Henry Street, Diva Salon and Spa is more than tripling its space with a move down the block to 60 Henry Street. Owner Michael Malayev tells BHB that its expanded location will more than triple Diva’s current square footage, from 450sf to 1,500sf, allowing for additional spa services and a fresh new layout.

The new digs at 60 Henry between Orange and Cranberry streets are targeted for a June 1 opening in space that once held the Blue Pig Ice Cream and Baja California Grill, among others.

(Photo: BHB archives)