Council approves 570 Fulton St. high-rise despite local objections

Apartments and offices planned for Downtown Brooklyn development

March 14, 2019 Lore Croghan

Sunshine brightens this rendering of 570 Fulton St., a development the City Council just greenlighted. Renderings courtesy of Slate Property Group

Shops and offices would fill the lower floors of 570 Fulton St., a development the City Council just greenlighted. Rendering courtesy of Slate Property Group

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A proposed 40-story high-rise in Downtown Brooklyn is a step closer to reality after the City Council greenlighted the project Wednesday, despite objections from the local community board.

Lawmakers voted on March 13 to approve zoning measures to allow Slate Property Group to build at 570 Fulton St. The design calls for about 12,000 square feet of retail space on the building’s ground and second floors, almost 90,000 square feet of office space on floors three through 16, mechanical space for functional equipment on floor 17 and 139 rental apartments on floors 18 through 40, the developer’s environmental assessment statement says.

Thirty percent of the apartments would be affordable-housing units.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has the final say in the review process, which is known as the uniform land use review procedure or ULURP.

Sunshine brightens this rendering of 570 Fulton St. Rendering courtesy of Slate Property Group

The wedge-shaped development site at Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue is in City Councilmember Laurie Cumbo’s district.

Cumbo supports the project, the Council’s Committee on Land Use Chairperson Rafael Salamanca said when that entity held a vote on March 7.

Slate Property Group co-founder David Schwartz said in a prepared statement that in conjunction with the 570 Fulton St. development, his company will contribute $550,000 for a design study by the MTA about how to improve its service in Downtown Brooklyn.

The Nevins Street 2, 3, 4 and 5 subway station is adjacent to the 570 Fulton St. site.

Slate Property Group is also the developer of the residential tower next door, whose address is 1 Flatbush Ave.

At the outset of the ULURP process last year, Community Board 2 voted 19 to 13 with one abstention to oppose the project. An October 2018 letter from CB2 to City Planning Commission Chairperson Marisa Lago said the board’s opposition to the project stemmed in part from dismay that the 2004 rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn has brought a forest of residential high-rises to the neighborhood.

“For many people, much of the appeal of Brooklyn has been its lower density and the ‘Manhattanization’ of the central business district and surrounding areas is distressing,” the letter noted.

Hill West Architects is the 570 Fulton St. project’s designer.

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