Brooklyn
Bruce Ratner’s 80 DeKalb Avenue by Costas Kondylis
Designed by Costas Kondylis, Bruce Ratner’s 80 DeKalb Avenue will be the developer’s first residential tower to rise in Brooklyn. The controversial Mr. Ratner will seek LEED certification for the $200 million project, claiming that the 34-story tower will incorporate a variety of low-VOC materials and use low-flow plumbing fixtures. The project broke ground back in July; earlier this week, Mr. Ratner closed on hard-to-obtain $110 million in tax-exempt bond financing from the New York State Housing Finance Agency for the tower, which will feature 73 affordable and 292 market-rate units. Ratner plans on opening the project for leasing sometime next summer; the majority of the units will be studios and one-bedrooms.
Popularity: 19% [?]
22Aug2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Galapagos Art Space Opens Green Doors in Dumbo
The Galapagos Art Space- formerly of Williamsburg- opened last night at 16 Main Street in Brooklyn. The 10,000-square-foot performing arts space will no longer be hosting rock bands, but expect a mix of theater, cabaret, dance, orchestral music, and puppetry in the coming weeks. Galapagos includes a 1600-square-foot indoor lake that helps cool the space and a major design focus was recycled-content material; 90 percent of steel used in construciton was recycled while poured concrete includes 30 percent recycled material. The project is in the midst of pursuing an unspecified LEED rating; when conferred, it would be the first for any performing arts venue in New York City.
Popularity: 15% [?]
6Aug2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
New York City’s First Green Firehouse Under Construction in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park
Construction recently began on a $6.8 million, RKT&B-designed firehouse for Engine Company 201 at 5113 Fourth Avenue in Sunset Park. The three-story building features a glass facade and is taking the place of an older, 2-story firehouse structure that was recently razed. The project is one of the first in New York City to be constructed under the Department of Design and Construction’s (”DDC”) Design Excellence Program, which Mayor Bloomberg established back in 2004. Although the project is not seeking a LEED rating, green features do abound, ranging from dual-flush toilets and low-flow water fixtures to a water drain heat recovery system. Occupancy sensors and an 85 percent-efficient, conventional single boiler will contribute to maximize the firehouse’s energy efficiency.
Popularity: 17% [?]
24Jul2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Brooklyn’s First Boutique Hotel Goes Green in Boerum Hill
Hersha Hospitality’s Nu Hotel, which opened earlier this month, is Brooklyn’s first boutique hotel. Located at 95 Smith Street, the 93-unit property is Hersha’s third hotel after the Duane Street Hotel in Tribeca and Philly’s Independent. Although it’s unclear whether the hotel will seek any LEED or other third-party green building certification, it does offer various eco-friendly features, ranging from organic bedding to custom furnishings crafted from sustainably harvested and FSC-certified teak wood, as well as cork flooring in each guest room. Hersha is also offering bike rentals and storage for guests that are serious about their carbon footprint.
Popularity: 17% [?]
22Jul2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
ML: Gold Weeksville Heritage Center by Caples Jefferson Breaks Ground in Bed-Stuy
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Pamela Green, executive director of the Weeksville Heritage Society, along with other Brooklyn and city leaders, broke ground in a ceremony last Wednesday on a new 19,000-square-foot educational and cultural center at 1698 Bergen Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The $19.5 million Weeksville Heritage Center, designed by architects Caples Jefferson, will seek a LEED Gold rating from USGBC. Weeksville- now known as Bedford-Stuyvesant- was an African-American community that began in Brooklyn in 1838 as a refuge for slaves fleeing the South.
Popularity: 13% [?]
14Jul2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Sales Proceed at Green SOM-Designed Toren Condos in Brooklyn
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Toren (Dutch for “tower”) opened its sales office back in April and is offering 241 condominium and affordable units at 150 Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene. The 38-story, silver-blue aluminum and glass tower is being developed by BFC Partners and is selling at $750 per square foot. BFC head Don Capoccia told The Real Deal last week that the firm has 32 executed contracts and 11 out for Toren’s 199 market-rate units, while a whopping 1300 applications have been submitted for the project’s 42 affordable units. The Toren is aiming for a LEED Silver rating from USGBC and will feature its own cogeneration facility, rooftop gardens, and (presumably) the other LEED-standard green design features.
Popularity: 37% [?]
10Jun2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Navy Yard’s Perry Building to Feature Renewable Energy Pilot Program
The Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Perry Building will be home to art restoration firm SurroundArt once it opens up this summer. Interiors for the 89,000-square-foot space, which is aiming for a LEED Silver under USGBC’s Core and Shell program, were designed by Steven Kratchman Architect, while the exterior of the building is being executed by Stantec. Last week, Stantec announced some details on the project’s renewable energy features, which will include a photovoltaic and wind power pilot program. The firm is partnering with National Grid Energy Services in order to install a number of solar panels and wind turbines on the Perry Building’s roof.
Popularity: 24% [?]
29May2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Monday LEEDoff: BCUE Unveils Green Gowanus HQ
On Saturday, the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment held the grand opening of its new headquarters between Second and Third Avenues at 168 Seventh Street in Gowanus. The project is seeking Gold under USGBC’s LEED for Commercial Interiors rating system and consists of 18,000 square feet across two floors at was once a doll factory. For the past thirty years, BCUE has been creating programs for over 300 New York City public schools relating to sustainable urban environmental practices.
Popularity: 12% [?]
12May2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | Continued
Brooklyn Named to List of Top 10 Green Roof Cities
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (”GRHC”) recently released the results of its 2007 Green Roof Survey, which collects data on the size, composition, and location of green roofs in North America. The survey, which GRHC has been conducting annually since 2004, placed Brooklyn at number 4 on the list of the top 10 green roof cities, with 102,908 square feet of green roofs implemented in 2007. Chicago came in first for the fourth year in a row with 517,633 square feet. GRHC points to Chicago’s policies that support the creation of green roofs, such as F.A.R. bonuses and tax increment financing, as the reason for their repeated superior ranking. The survey also found that green roofs grew thirty percent in overall square footage in 2007. The full top ten list can be found after the jump.
Popularity: 9% [?]
25Apr2008 | Meredith Taylor | 3 comments | Continued
Carbon Neutral Nets Can’t Offset Fan Skepticism
Back in January, I wrote in this space about the Nets Go Green initiative, in which the NBA’s New Jersey Nets announced their intentions to push for carbon neutrality, “adopt sustainable practices” wherever possible, turn off the lights when they weren’t in the room, et cetera. In retrospect, much of my skepticism regarding the initiative was obviously a result of my broader cynicism about the team’s current ownership group. It doesn’t mean I was wrong to doubt the Nets’ commitment to sustainability, but…I don’t know, I’m trying to have some insight. My relationship with these guys is complicated.
Popularity: 9% [?]
3Apr2008 | David Roth | 0 comments | Continued
Monday LEEDoff: A Peek at Brooklyn’s First Living Wall in Williamsburg
Consulting team Sphere Trending recently posted some photos on its blog of the Oulu Bar & Eco-Lounge in Williamsburg, home of Brooklyn’s first living wall. The wall covers the front façade of the 2500-square-foot building, which is aiming for LEED Gold certification and was designed by architect Evangeline Dennie. Dennie has some amazing installation photos of the vegetal wall in her online portfolio. Having dealt with these kinds of wall installations a little myself, I can tell you they’re not easy to mount or maintain, so my hat goes off to Dennie for making this one look so good. Some of Oulu’s other green features include biodegradable ceramic tile on the walls, water-based grout sealer in the bathrooms, natural Mica panels promoting light exchange, sheetrock exterior walls made of recycled material and post-consumer recycled paper, and a garage door that provides natural ventilation.
Popularity: 10% [?]
24Mar2008 | Meredith Taylor | 1 comment | Continued
Monday LEEDoff: Poly Prep Lower School Expansion at 50 Prospect Park West (Tour on 3/11)
Last fall, the Poly Prep Lower School at 50 Prospect Park West in Brooklyn completed an 18,000-square-foot expansion project, designed by Sam White of Platt Byard Dovell White Architects. The $2 million effort expanded the school’s original 21,800-square-foot space in the adjacent Hulbert Mansion- which was reconfigured as part of the expansion- and is aiming for the first LEED certification awarded to any school in New York City. Contractor RCDolner built the addition in a scant nine months; it was the firm’s first LEED project and involved a number of significant design challenges.
Popularity: 8% [?]
10Mar2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Progress Towards Platinum: Update on Mark Helder’s 439 Metropolitan Avenue
Next Monday, March 10, Brooklyn Independent Television will air an episode of Brooklyn Review featuring the Reclaimed Home blog’s interview with architect Mark Helder, whose 439 Metropolitan Avenue project in Williamsburg is aiming for Gotham’s first mixed-use LEED Platinum rating. The segment will be part of the news magazine program’s A Walk Around the Blog series, which profiles different Brooklyn bloggers. We presented Mr. Helder’s project a few weeks ago here at gbNYC in relatively little detail, noting that it will house his architecture studio, two duplex condominium residences, a ground-floor art gallery, and feature passive solar design, radiant flooring, photovoltaics, and indoor air quality reaching HEPA standards.
Popularity: 4% [?]
6Mar2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued-
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