Armory Being Sold, Converted

By Rachel Holliday Smith, DNAinfo.com

Private townhouses, affordable and market-rate apartments and a new recreation center are coming to the Bedford-Union Armory in Crown Heights, according to multiple people familiar with a plan by the city’s Economic Development Corporation.

Since the military vacated the armory in 2011, the building has been used primarily for large-scale events such as local conventions, fundraisers and weddings (including Chabad’s Kinus Hashluchim convention and Satmar’s annual celebration).

Part of the 138,000-square-foot former military facility — built in 1903 and acquired by the city in 2013 — will be sold to a private developer to be converted into 12 private townhouses built inside former horse stables located on President Street along the building’s south side, the sources said.

Space on the armory’s east side currently used as a parking garage will be replaced by a new building to include market-rate and affordable rental units, those with knowledge of the plan said; 50 percent of the planned units will be market-rate, 30 percent will be set aside for middle-income residents and 20 percent for low-income residents.

The size of the proposed apartment building is unclear. Land use rules allow for up to 13 stories.

In addition to the housing components, the armory’s main building — with its distinctive domed drill hall on top — will house a new recreational facility, including a swimming pool, three basketball courts and an indoor soccer field, sources said.

The yet-unnamed developer will operate under a 99-year lease on the majority of the property, sources said. However, the President Street portion set aside for the new townhouses will be sold outright to the developer by the city, the sources said.

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