2024 Spring Issue of Urban Land - 53

community lounge, and a terrace on the building's
third floor. The property also connects
to, and extends, Mill Pond Park, adding new
playground, running paths, and seating areas.
Phase one was funded through a mix of both
public and private capital, including financing
from HPD, HDC, Empire State Development,
Wells Fargo, and other private funding.
The most distinctive element of the project
is one that has nothing to do with housing.
Bronx Point will also house the Hip Hop
Museum, which was established more than
a decade ago and had been searching for
a permanent home. During the planning of
the project, Sanchez, a Bronx native himself,
wondered why there wasn't yet a hip-hop
museum in the Bronx, where the genre was
born. After he connected with the executive
director of the museum, they were finally able
to find a place that the institution could call
home. The Hip Hop Museum had a groundbreaking
in 2021 that was attended by several
stars of the genre. The facility is anticipated to
open to the public in 2025, a milestone that
Sanchez expects will be a major event. " It's
going to be one big party, " he says.
4. The Alloy Block
Downtown Brooklyn has been a magnet for
new development over the last few years,
especially housing. One project long in the
works is the Alloy Block, a major development
in the heart of downtown that both preserves
and repurposes historic buildings, and will
bring 850 units of housing, 200 of which are
to be permanently affordable.
Situated on a full block along main artery
Flatbush Avenue, the project consists of five
buildings total, with the first phase of the
development comprising two buildings-505
State Street and 489 State Street. In addition
to the residential component, the project will
have 100,000 square feet (9,290 sq m) of
office space, 50,000 square feet (4,645 sq m)
of retail space, and two Passive House public
schools.
Brooklyn-based Alloy Development is the
firm behind the Alloy Block. The company has
been assembling parts of the project, which
sits on a triangular site, since 2015. After Alloy
acquired about three quarters of the block,
the remaining piece of the site was a public
high school owned by the city.
Although the city wasn't interested in a
limited transaction that would involve Alloy
purchasing just the air rights above the building,
the company floated the idea of building
a new facility for the school. The school, which
dated to the 1800s, was originally built for
elementary-age students and lacked a gym
and an auditorium, and had bathrooms on
some floors but not all, among other issues.
Over time, talks between the developer and
the city led to an agreement that Alloy would
own 75 percent of the land, the city would
own 25 percent, and the entire block would
be rezoned to allow greater density, including
two new public school facilities and affordable
housing.
The Alloy Block, being
helmed by Alloy
Development, is a major
development in the heart
of downtown Brooklyn. It
preserves and repurposes
historic buildings, and will
bring 850 units of housing,
200 of which are to be
permanently affordable.
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2024 Spring Issue of Urban Land

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