807 Washington (between Keyfood and EP) looks like it is being stripped

A few months ago, Ms. Whynot and I visited an open house at 807 Washington, located next to the KeyFood near Eastern Parkway. As we were greeted, we suspected that some of the hosts of the open house were the actual family members. It was a large house, and had clearly been in the same family for generations. It had a garage out back and was on a pretty big lot. The house needed some updating, and we said quietly to each other "this house will likely be torn down, as this property could probably host 10 condos." The price ($1.6M) made this fate less than certain, and we politely acted interested in seeing the bathrooms:

http://www.forsalebyowner.com/property/807-Washington-Ave-Brooklyn-NY-11238/86751572
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/807-Washington-Ave-Brooklyn-NY-11238/30590881_zpid/



Today, a banner for Brooklyn Capital has been affixed.   Zillow reports it sold for $1.75M on Feb 10th

Brookland Capital specializes in niche development in gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhoods. These unique investment opportunities produce exceptionally high cash-on-cash returns. Our expertise in analyzing Brooklyn’s real estate market combined with disciplined leadership is the key to our superior investor profits."

http://www.brooklandcapital.com/



A chain appears on the door, and there are signs that salvageable items are being removed.

I wasn't able to located any work permits on file with DOB, so it isn't certain whether this will be a complete tear down or just a massive addition.

Stay tuned....

Oh how depressing! I've always liked that building and noticed that the family was having an estate sale in the fall. I was keeping my eye out for a listing but missed it.   I have a soft spot for those misfit single family houses in the midst of bigger scale buildings.  There it is next to Adelphi Hall from the 20s.

Let me guess...the house isn't landmarked.

I did a little digging, and found that plans are presently being reviewed for a 7 story building on the site.

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByLocationServlet?requestid=1&allbin=3029644&allstrt=WASHINGTON AVENUE&allnumbhous=807

This part of the application seems to have been filed this morning:

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=2&passjobnumber=320595030&passdocnumber=01

here's a different view of what is about to disappear

Brownstoner covered the story today.

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2014/03/brookland-to-replace-crown-heights-townhouse-with-seven-story-building/#comments

....and cited us.

Water and sewage is being disconnected today. The end is near.

Demo permit approved:

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=2&passjobnumber=320977608&passdocnumber=01

Last photo:

10001572_10202735824550513_4835428089375981414_n.jpg

BTW, the owners of Key Food have received numerous offers for their property but have SO FAR turned them down.

I did a little digging to see if I could figure out why demolition has not yet begun.

I learned that the proposed 7 story building was not approved by DOB.   

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JobsQueryByNumberServlet?requestid=5&passjobnumber=320595030&passdocnumber=01

They will likely just need to tweak some part of the design in order to get approval.

Tweak completed back in October, new plans approved.

Demolition and 7 stories on the way.

Seven big dwelling units when then they are done.

After much delay, the plywood fence arrived today.

Seven freakin' stories???? Ugh....

I'm sad- I always liked that house.

On another note, Daver noticed the supermarket guys washing their Bentley in front of the store the other day. I really, really despise them and wish they would either go away, get bought out, get some fierce competition, or die. Not necessarily in that order.  

I find the most interesting part of this development not to be its height, but that they will only have one unit per floor.

This development will have 11000 BSF, creating units that are 1600 SF each.

When complete, the units might fetch $2M a piece.

It's only a matter of time before the Key Food bites the dust. A big residential
building would do well on that corner lot.

From your mouth, Brooklyneya! 

And you'd think, right?? But they've been there for SO long and they're SO greedy....they fly under the radar of corporate. I've complained and Key Food just does not seem to care. 

I have talked with the owners of "our" Key Food on a few occasions. They receive offers for the building regularly, but have an interest in continuing to employ their family members.

Once they sell, I assume that a few family members will divide a pot of money, which is not the same as being able to employ many "entry level" family and friends.

Dirt bags. Well, there's like one guy in the family I can deal with. And when the DAD is there, everyone's on their best behavior. 

Dirt bags. Greedy dirt bags. 

I'm not saying I want a big residential building to take its place, just that it's inevitable. Though their reason of wanting to provide jobs for family rather than come out with a good profit for themselves makes them sound less demonic. I don't shop there so my only impression of them is from you all.

If I had a preference for a type of development for that spot, a big retail store or retail center with multiple stores would be nice.

Dumpster has arrived. Next act: Guys with demolition tools

Guys with demolition tools have now removed the windows and large sections of the roof.

They might be able to start on the brick work next week.

Gone.

In case you are wondering where Brookland Capital (the firm financing this development) gets its funding.    The Tel Aviv bond exchange

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/11/16/brookland-plans-another-tel-aviv-bond-offering/

"The capital will go toward purchases of development sites and construction of the condominium and rental properties in neighborhoods such as Crown Heights, Bushwick and Bed-Stuy. Brookland is one of the most active in the borough, with 16 buildings under construction, 16 in the planning stages, and 15 completed to date, according to Brett Kaplan, the firm’s head of business development"  

Brookland is not the only developer tapping the Israeli bond market. As the linked article explains, even such luminaries as Extell and Moinian are placing debt in Tel Aviv as a cheaper substitute for mezzanine financing. Here' s Reuters piece explaining the phenomenon: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/01/israel-bonds-realestate-idUSL5N0ZE05O20150701

Foundation now being dug. Pile driver on site.

Aforementioned drilling - pile driver thing.

rendering of new building to rise at 807, thanks to @james131