Redefining the Brooklyn Waterfront: Analysis and Discussion of Brookfield’s Greenpoint Landing
By: Tom Rosky
The neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn is changing. Once a largely industrial, working-class immigrant community known for its iconic plastic-sided townhouses, today, the Brooklyn neighborhood is home to one of the most prominent up-and-coming scenes for food, culture, and nightlife in New York City. This change is best visualized in the rapid transformation of the Greenpoint Waterfront. Since Greenpoint’s rezoning in 2005, along with nearby neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, many older industrial and brownfield sites have been redeveloped into amenity-rich luxury multifamily buildings. While many of New York City’s top developers have entered the to Greenpoint market over the past decade, one of the largest and most architecturally unique developments is Brookfield’s Greenpoint Landing. To learn more about this exciting development project that has changed the Greenpoint Waterfront, I sat down with Charlie Howe, a Vice President at Brookfield and an Adjunct Professor at Schack, to discuss Greenpoint Landing, his work at Brookfield, and other exciting developments changing the waterfront of New York City’s outer boroughs.
Disclaimer: This conversation wasn’t recorded and reflects notes taken and paraphrased language between Charlie Howe and myself.
Tom: Could you please discuss Greenpoint Landing and your role in its ongoing development?
Charlie Howe: I work within Brookfield’s Investments group and have been involved in various development and acquisition activities in the New York City area. Greenpoint Landing was one of the first projects I worked on when I joined Brookfield back in 2017. Since joining, I’ve worked on many of the developments within Greenpoint Landing’s master plan, the first of which we began leasing in 2018. Greenpoint Landing has been a massive redevelopment of the Greenpoint waterfront, including the esplanade, which opens up scenic walking paths with views of Midtown Manhattan. The esplanade also doubles as a resiliency effort in combatting flood surges. The entire development consists of 11 residential towers with over 5,500 housing units.
Tom: The Greenpoint Waterfront has seen major changes in recent years with new multifamily high-rise development. What are some of the key drivers of this growth?
Charlie Howe: Firstly, all of this high-rise redevelopment was made possible through the rezoning that occurred back in 2005. That’s when you really first started to see this kind of development coming to the Brooklyn Waterfront. In Greenpoint, you had all these incentives to redevelop this industrial space into a residential space. Besides the availability of space for relatively lower prices when compared to places like Manhattan, you also have the great retail and cultural corridor of Franklin Avenue. People want to be close to the shops and restaurants. You also saw Williamsburg, where rents, at least along the waterfront, either rival or surpass the rents you see in similar properties in Manhattan. Greenpoint also provides great transportation access, especially along the waterfront, with access to the ferry system, which gets you to Midtown Manhattan. You also have the G train to transfer to the 7 in Long Island City to get to Grand Central. The culture, the quality of the developments, and the access to the rest of New York City all make the area very attractive. I think we’ve seen a lot of growth in the area, and that’s only going to continue.
Tom: What were some of the challenges and benefits of developing in Greenpoint, and how does this differ from developing in Manhattan?
Charlie Howe: I think some of the benefits are, as I mentioned, the cost – you’re able to get the land for cheaper when compared to similar sites in Manhattan. You also see a lot of demand in the area, which serves to drive rental growth and just makes the area a very attractive investment.
In terms of challenges, with many of these waterfront sites, you’re dealing with brownfields and industrial sites that are being converted to residential. So, you need to really put a lot of work into the remediation process. This can all be very time intensive and costly but given the location access to culture and really phenomenal retail space, we’re still seeing solid rental growth in these areas. Overall, if you’re able to keep the costs in check during development, you’re able to see a lot of upside in these developments.
Tom: Eagle + West has such a beautifully distinct design and is a unique addition to the Greenpoint Waterfront. Could you please elaborate on what was the motivation of the use of many cantilevers on such a project, what were some challenges of its construction and how it benefits the overall development?
Charlie Howe: Our partners on the development, The Park Tower Group, and OMA, the architects, first envisioned the design, and we were confident in its construction and vision. One of the difficulties when it comes to the design and construction of a building like Eagle + West is that you need to go above and beyond to ensure the durability of the construction as well as the safety of its design. While this is an important factor in any development, it is even more important when developing a building like Eagle + West. We’re really happy with not only the finished design and its aesthetic appeal but the feel it adds to the entire project. Its distinct design attracts people not only to that specific building but to Greenpoint Landing as a whole.
Tom: Switching gears, from the Hurricanes that hit Florida and North Carolina to the ongoing fires hitting Los Angles, climate change is top of mind for many in the general public as well as the commercial real estate community. Predicted sea level rises will certainly impact New York City and Greenpoint especially in the coming years. How has Brookfield accounted for this in its development of Greenpoint Landing?
Charlie Howe: As I mentioned before, we worked along-side the City in constructing the esplanade which adds resiliency against rising sea levels. We also elevated many of the buildings’ ground floors to ensure that, in the case of a flood, no water would ever get into any homes. It’s a fact of these developments, especially along the water or in flood plains, that climate change is a concern but, working with the City, we’re able to tackle these additional challenges, which can impact not only Greenpoint but New York City as a whole.
Tom: Brookfield has also recently finished Bankside in Mott Haven in the South Bronx. Do you see any parallels between this development and Greenpoint Landing?
Charlie Howe: Well, much like Greenpoint Landing, Bankside is changing the waterfront of the South Bronx. It’s another brownfield development which also required a resiliency effort along the shoreline. The entire project will add almost 1,400 units and we’re adding a park connecting the community to its waterfront. We’re really excited about this new development and think it will really change the face of South Bronx.
More about the Author: Tom Rosky