Apple Breaks Ground on Brooklyn’s Myrtle Avenue Development
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Red Apple has broken ground on the first phase of its Myrtle Avenue development project in the Fort Green section of Brooklyn, New York. When complete, the project will include three low-rise buildings bounded by Ashland Avenue and Prince Street, and a high-rise tower between Prince Street and Flatbush…
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Red Apple has broken ground on the first phase of its Myrtle Avenue development project in the Fort Green section of Brooklyn, New York. When complete, the project will include three low-rise buildings bounded by Ashland Avenue and Prince Street, and a high-rise tower between Prince Street and Flatbush Avenue. The first phase of the project includes approximately 85,000 sq. ft. of middle-tier market-rate residential apartments and approximately 22,000 sq. ft. retail space. The first phase is also expected to include a drug store and a neighborhood style supermarket. Plans for 50/30/20 affordable housing in the two adjacent low-rise buildings have been delayed by the current unavailability of tax-exempt bonds that are a vital component of financing such projects. Red Apple continues to maintain a dialogue with the New York City Housing Development Corp. concerning the future availability of these bonds. “By breaking ground, even in this difficult economic climate, Red Apple will put part of the property into productive use and fulfill a community need for neighborhood retail services rather than simply holding the entire parcel vacant until there is an improvement in the economic conditions that have caused many Brooklyn development projects to be either delayed or cancelled,” says John Catsimatidis, chairman and CEO of Red Apple RealEstate Inc. A long time New York City resident and investor in Brooklyn, Catsimatidis says, “I am pleased to make further investment in downtown Brooklyn. New Yorkers deserve the best quality of life possible and moving forward today with a development that will include a neighborhood supermarket and a drugstore to meet the needs of this underserved communityis the right thing to do and I am pleased that we were able to structure a transaction that will allow this to happen.”