By Rachel Holliday Smith – DNAInfo.com
A sprawling former military building in Crown Heights could become a hotel, business incubator, supermarket or recreation center, according to proposals the city’s Economic Development Corporation received for the space.
The Bedford Union Armory, at Bedford Avenue and Union Street, is currently empty, but for the past year the city has sought ideas from developers on what to do with the 138,000-square-foot building. The EDC held a community meeting on Sunday night to present some of the developers’ proposals and get feedback from residents.
“We have not selected a development team,” Lydia Downing, a vice president at the EDC, told the crowd gathered at Sunday’s event. “We have not started negotiations with developers yet. We have met with each of the development teams that responded…but no decisions have been made.”
While Downing wanted to hear the community’s thoughts, she emphasized that the plan for the armory must be financially viable in the long term.
“We’re going to make sure that the team that we move forward with is coming to the table and meaningfully investing in this community,” she said, “but one of the ways we can best set up this project for success is to include uses that can pay for themselves.”
Proposals developers have submitted so far include a hotel, housing (either sales or rentals), a performing arts space with ticketed events, office space for local businesses and retail space for a pharmacy or a grocery store, Downing said.
“No matter what uses we have in this armory, this is going to be an expensive project,” she said.
After the EDC’s presentation, small groups of residents brainstormed what they want to see at the building and submitted their top choices to the agency. The most popular ideas included mixed-income housing, a fitness center and space for job training and workforce development, an EDC spokesman said. The residents also made it clear they do not want the building to be turned into a hotel, he said.
Throughout the meeting, EDC officials said repeatedly that they would take the community’s input into consideration and contrasted the process with what Downing called “the elephant in the room,” the Barclays Center.
“One thing I want to be very clear about is that this is going through a different process. The Barclays Center project went through a state process that did not require as much community input,” she said.
The armory will go through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which requires reviews by the local community board as well as elected officials, Downing said.
Borough President Eric Adams, who will weigh in on the project during the ULURP, reassured residents that he was listening to their input.
“This is a beginning process,” he said. “No one is going to sell out this community.”
A second town hall meeting about the future of the Bedford Union Armory will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 21 between 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at the Friends of Crown Heights at 671 Prospect Place.
Your comment is plain ignorance. You need to get out more.
Why would anyone want a community center- to mix with goim? The next step being intermarriage.
Now the kinus can follow the Rebbe’s directive to have the banquet in Crown Heights.
Devorie Halberstam can help us make this into a commnuity center with a gym basketball court pool etc.
Mendy Hendel: here’s your cheder, elementary school, mesivta and dormitory all in one. Perhaps one wing is separate enough to turn into an additional men’s hotel for shluchim / kinus / Tishrei (Eishil could then be used for the girls/women in Tishrei).
BUT IF BUILDING PROJECTS INCREASE SUPPLY (DEMAND STAYING THE SAME) PRICES SHOULD FALL.
FOR RENTS TO GO DOWN BY HALF, RENTABLE UNITS MUST DOUBLE
i think we should telephone the person whose idea this was!
community center!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who else remembers the armory as the site for huge bazaars every year? I always loved to shop for the real bargains there. the place to me (as a kid) was so huge and overwhelming and marvelous…….
But It need to be renovated and accessible for all CH people ….make it nice resedetial housing for the expended park slope /willy yuppies they are mostly in need to be settled here ….and built few low cost projects for others in some places around to help everyone be settled .,.
A huge housing project. With lots of benches for the people what have no jobs who live there, is what we need. Make it happen!
or Costco. Or Shoprite. Or Whole Foods. Or…. a cool shopping Mall.
a community center would not be a safe place anyways. it would turn into these ‘cultural’ places
for the sake of crown heights, a great hotel/conference center would bring meetings, banquets etc to the neighborhood and business to the stores. CH is a great place to visit, but there is no where to stay Build a first class hotel/convention center. It will bring lots of jobs, opportunity, economic growth and lots of$$ for the local restaurants, businesses, etc. i vote hotel all the way.
It’s about time we have a state of the art gymnasium, pool, and other recreational things in our neighborhood!!!
We are fast becoming a minority in the neighborhood that we helped foster into what it is today. I don’t see any members of the Chabad Crown Heights community represented. If you want your suggestions to carry any weight show up at the next meeting..
More importantly, let the community politicos hear from you.
Pls give something tangible to all the Jews that voted for you
A community center is what crown heights needs!!!!! hotel is also great but community center is better!!!!I agree with#3!!!PLEEEAAASE!!!!!!😊
Well one thing clearly stated here is that who ever was there do not want a hotel.
So if Jews want a hotel, you are going to have to show up for the meetings!
Totally agree with no. 3……
A hotel would be great for Crown Heights.
crown heights needs a good hotel, there are people coming here from all over the world and there is no place to stay. having a hotel would bring people to crown heights, bring business here and money to the neighborhood. imagine business conferences here and the money it would bring to the shops.
Crown heights is from only communities without a community center with basketball courts pools arcades ice skating/roller skating gym a lounge etc. And is funded by the government and monthly memberships!!!
Please act!!
Pleaseeeeese
Crown Heights needs a kosher hotel and convention center!!!!!!!