Hope for the vacant pit at Franklin Ave and EP?

Brownstoner reports the latest plans could look like this ^^, but cautions that plans have fallen thru before:

Is a large-scale development finally in store for the long-stalled site at 341 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights? This recently renewed building permit could lead one to believe so. In 2007 we pulled up this rendering for the site; however, a little Googling leads to another design (above) by IBZ Design. Still, there's no way to say for sure that construction is on the horizon, since new building permits for the site have been coming through sporadically since 2008.

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2011/05/restart_coming_1.php#comments

Wasnt there a million dollar condo sale (2 bedroom) last week in Crown Heights North last week ? This building is definitely doable....and could be quite a success

I agree.

Now we must convince the lenders and crunch some numbers

I just wish it wasn't so...ugly.

Fear not, you may get to look at murals on chipboard for quite sometime.

From a trusted source - financing is nowhere close to being obtained. The community should really pressure the owner to sell the project and move on. . . .

NYC has very low tax rates on vacant lots, so the owner has very little incentive to sell it unless he thinks it will depreciate.

CH continues to gentrify, so if I were the owner, I would think that time is in my favor. If the area becomes nicer, banks will WANT to lend to him. He won't have to beg.

Unless a member of the community is a Vice President for Lending, I'm not certain community pressure will make the process go faster.

...but community pressure could cause surrounding merchants to upgrade their stores, and clean up the streets. ....which may in turn cause the VP of Lending to take out his/her pen and sign for the loan a little sooner than they otherwise would have.