163 Washington is moving steadily upwards. Now at floor #13, it almost dwarfs adjacent Kum Kau restaurant and neighboring low-rise homes. Five more floors to go according to the plans.

The Corcoran Group has now posted some units for sale in the Clermont Condominium up on its website, with listed one bedrooms starting at $409,000 (669 sf) and three bed, two bath units topping out at $865,500 (1323 sf). As many have noted, the building is attractive and well-constructed, and fits in considerably well with the existing Myrtle Avenue buildings in both scale and materials. With 52 units, this is the first new condo building of its size to go on the market within the Myrtle Avenue BID (Flatbush to Classon).

From the listing, it appears the developers have included some "green" features and some extra amenities, with "maple and bamboo together with thermal insulated 8 ft. windows, a high end energy efficient cooling/heating systems and energy efficient Jenn-Air stainless appliances. Amenities at the Clermont include: concierge service, underground parking, a fitness room, video intercoms, and a shared terrace with spectacular views."

We look forward to having these units sell and fill up, to bring more people to the Fort Greene side of Myrtle Avenue.

The six story condo building at 375 Myrtle / 150 Clermont that has been under construction for the last 2 years has released units for sale, including condos with one, two, and three bedrooms. The building's sales site is at Clermont Condominium, with floor plans and interior photos, though prices don't currently appear to be listed on the site yet. Units should be up on Corcoran's site later this week.

Over 200,000 square feet of retail is on the way for the long-planned Red Apple Group development taking shape on the south side of Myrtle between Ashland and the de-mapped Prince Street. Linda Collins at the Brooklyn Eagle has the full story and a break down of the retail space.

"As previously reported in the Eagle, the project, at 162-184 Myrtle Ave., between Flatbush Avenue Extension and Ashland Place, is a mixed-use development combining approximately 500 luxury residential units, more than 200,000 square feet of retail space plus underground parking.

The tri-level retail space includes:
• 61,000 square feet at street level with up to 23 foot-high ceilings;
• 79,000 square feet on the lower (below grade) level with 14-foot ceilings; and
• 89,500 square feet on the second floor with 15-foot ceilings."

As we've mentioned before, the Duane Reade will be back and relocating to the corner of Ashland. We've compiled a list of the many other businesses community members have told us they would like to see, and we are working with the Ingersoll and Whitman Tenant Associations to help ensure that their service needs are met. We have played at active role in recruiting businesses to the avenue for the last eight years, and plan to assist Winick Realty and John Catsimatidis where possible to secure tenants that are reflective of the community's needs. Please drop us a line if you have additional suggestions.

Rendering by Dattner Architects, courtesy of the Brooklyn Eagle

Condo applications are now available for 150 Myrtle Avenue. Forty two (42) units will be available at restricted prices for eligible buyers. Households that earn no more than 195% AMI ($138,255/year) are eligible to purchase these homes. There are 10 studios, 22 one-bedrooms, and 10 two-bedrooms being offered. Preference in the lottery for 50% of these units will be given to current residents of Community Board 2.

Further detail can be found on the developers' website: Myrtle Avenue Condominiums.

After a considerable amount of planning and negotiations, Pratt Institute has made its plans to build a second building on Myrtle Avenue official. Pratt will be building a 120,000-square-foot building at the former "KFC site", with 15,000 square feet of ground floor retail. The new building will further extend Pratt’s presence on Myrtle Avenue, joining the Prattstore, the Institute’s art supply and bookstore, which opened in 2005 at Myrtle and Emerson. Pratt will be aiming to achieve a LEED Gold certification for the new building, and recently received a $75,000 Kresge Foundation grant to help plan for integrating green building technologies. Green features currently being considered for potential application include a landscaped roof to help insulate the building and prevent water runoff, photovoltaic solar panels, and a geothermal climate control system.

Pratt's new building will house several academic programs and administrative offices, including the offices of admissions, financial aid, the bursar, and the registrar; the Pratt Center for Community Development, (formerly PICCED); the offices of the Institute’s Division of Development; The Department of Digital Arts and the Digital Arts Lab; and studios for graduate students.

The building is being designed by the multi-disciplinary architectural and engineering firm of Clinton Hill resident and Pratt alumnus Jack Esterson, Studio A and WASA. The firm is designing the new building to serve as a connection between Pratt’s campus and Myrtle Avenue with an atrium allowing views into and through the building from both sides.

Excerpted from Pratt's press release:

“We are committed to the idea that the building be exemplary, both as architecture and in its environmental performance,” said Jack Esterson, partner in charge at Studio A and WASA, who received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Pratt in 1975.

“The North façade is highly insulated and finished in brick and glass, in order to complement the 19th century commercial architecture of Myrtle Avenue without imitating it,” added Esterson. “On the South side, a glazed wall with ultra high-performance clear and translucent glass and solar shading is designed to bring daylight into the building year round, while keeping summer heat out.”

The firm’s Director of Sustainable Design and the point person for this project, Tony Daniels, is one of New York City’s most well known experts in sustainable architecture. His work has been recognized for excellence by numerous organizations, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the World Renewable Energy Congress, and the New York Society of Registered Architects, among others.

Pratt plans to break ground on the new project in spring 2008 with an anticipated completion date sometime in summer 2009. Stay tuned for further details, as the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership will be working closely with Pratt to integrate the new building into the commercial corridor, and to make major streetscape improvements along that part of Myrtle Avenue.

Today's New York Post provides a good overview of what is reported as $3.1 billion worth of real estate construction taking place along Flatbush Avenue between the Manhattan Bridge and the Williamsburg Savings Bank building. The construction includes almost 4,500 residential units, 645,000 square feet of retail, and 190,000 square feet of office space. More details at the link. We'll have more info in the near future on site numbers 7, 8, 9, and 12 from the map.

Our neighborhood blocks north of Myrtle have been getting some attention in recent days, both at Curbed and The Real Deal, much of it due to the recent announcement of the winners of HPD's Brig Site RFP and the expansion of Steiner Studios timed for late summer. While much of this attention strives to compare a future Wallabout to a current day DUMBO by speculating that the handful of large manufacturing buildings could someday become luxury housing, the fact of the matter is that these blocks between Park and Flushing Avenues are not the "industrial wasteland" that The Real Deal states. While we can appreciate the fun in speculating where the "next DUMBO" will be, the majority of Wallabout's buildings are occupied by a diverse mix of manufacturers, food distributors, industrial designers, artists, and warehousing companies, from Sweet'N Low to small furniture makers. While the area truly is a mixed-use zone in many senses of the term, it is currently zoned for manufacturing and is still viable as a manufacturing zone with a lot of the necessary infrastructure already in place. After all, Flushing Avenue is a designated truck route, there's easy access to the BQE, it borders the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and the subway access isn't great - none of which make for a destination residential district.

With the planned CB2 rezoning intentionally excluding these blocks from its scope, and the Mayor's Office of Industrial and Manufacturing Businesses likely to oppose any BSA variances for viable manufacturing space, we see this area more likely expanding on its current mixed-use foundation, with job growth coming from businesses that compliment Steiner Studios, specialty food manufacturers, industrial designers, and artists already based in the general vicinity of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

We'll be completing a survey of the existing manufacturers based in the area this coming summer in order to get a more accurate count of the number of firms and employees in Wallabout, so check back then for more info.

For those interested in more of the history and architecture of the area, check out our Wallabout Cultural Resource Survey.