So… speaking of never blending in… how about that thing going up behind the billboard? It’s “145 PARK PLACE,” a new 95,000-square-foot, 50-unit luxury condo building under construction on Flatbush. This is from our friend Transfer:
This is from MIHAI RADU Architects:
What… You were expecting it to be “architecturally correct?”
Ha, ha. Nice one. Welcome to Brooklyn.
That building at 145 Park Pl is actually a Canyon-Johnson fund, yes Magic Johnson’s development company. Read my stuff! -the shameless reporter
Magic’s kingdom:
NBA Hall-of-Famer buys Williamsburgh Bank tower
By Jess Wisloski
The Brooklyn Papers
He conquered the NBA, he’s a giant in the retail franchising field and now Earvin “Magic” Johnson towers above Brooklyn with his latest purchase — the Williamsburgh Savings Bank tower.
An investment fund led by the NBA Hall-of-Famer teamed up with a New York developer to purchase the building at 1 Hanson Place, the borough’s tallest, the partners announced this week.
They plan to convert the city landmark office building, which stands 34 stories and 512 feet tall, into luxury condominiums with ground-floor retail.
The Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, which incorporates Johnson’s development company —which also has another luxury condominium project in progress in Park Slope, at 145 Park Place — “focuses on the development of urban properties in under-served neighborhoods,” according to a press release by the company.
They teamed up with the Dermot Co. to purchase the building. One report had the price tag at $71 million, although that could not be confirmed by press time.
From the time it was built in 1929 until 1962, the Williamsburgh Bank building’s four-sided clock was the largest in the nation. A city landmark, the grand limestone building, which combines Romanesque and Byzantine elements, is overdue for a facelift. Besides HSBC bank, which sold the tower and will vacate its eight floors, the building houses the offices of many dentists.
A project manager for Canyon-Johnson, Bobby Turner, said he saw the Williamsburgh tower opportunity as “unrivaled” and “unbelievable.”
“The whole mandate of the fund that we manage is to revitalize densely populated and ethnically diverse communities, and look for unique opportunities to contribute in development,” Turner said.
“Here’s a building that was built in the 1920s that is unparalleled in its landmark status and architectural design. It has the fourth largest four-faced clock in the world, it’s got unobstructed views of Manhattan, we are strategically located at the front door of one of the largest business transit terminals [in the city],” he said.
“The amenities are all right there,” Turner added. “It really just provides us with a great backbone for urban revitalization.”….
What is supposed to go on the Flatbush side? Is that retail/commercial space?
That is the Flatbush side.
I’m not really sure what the Park Place side looks like.
“…focuses on the development of urban properties in under-served neighborhoods” Is the North Slope so under-served? Perhaps it has been under-served in its number of 8-story glossy, glassy condos. I have no doubt that the asking price will be one for the frequently-served.
I did some work for a contractor and the locally based developer on this project (Anderson)… and received payment in the form of a bounced check. I had to get a lawyer who had contacts at the Canyon Johnson Fund in LA to get him to pay me. Not a good scene. And, not surprisingly, I don’t have good feelings about this project.
when will the 145 park place condo be done
is the condo at 145 park place a magic johnson project.
what busniess are going to in the 145 condominium on park place and 7th aveune on the commercial floor