Yesterday, Pfizer announced the closing of its Brooklyn manufacturing plant. With another creepy, hulking structure disappearing from actual use, the path ahead is obvious: redevelopment! Let's turn it over to a Curbed correspondent to elucidate: "'Where it all began' is emblazoned in its lobby. Yes, Pfizer is abandoning its birthplace in Brooklyn. It's a sizable chunk of real estate in Williamsburg/Bed-Stuy. On the above Google satellite image, it's not just the factory and parking lot, but the three triangular/trapezoidal plots just north of it. It's almost as large as the Marcy Houses to the west. I wonder which developers are going to jump on this? Like Gowanus, they'll need experience in remediating the brown-field/superfund like conditions under the plant. Keep an eye on this story."
Reading the tea leaves, Brownstoner notes the liklihood of affordable housing for the site: "The availablity of a site this size provides Mayor Bloomberg with a rare opportunity to achieve his affordable housing goals. The area would have to be rezoned for residential, but the Mayor said yesterday that he planned to pursue that course of action." Or, you know, it could be, as an observer suggests to the NYT, a pretty awesome museum.
· Shutting Doors Where a Drug-Making Giant Began [NYTimes]
· Affordable Housing in Pfizer Site's Future? [Brownstoner]
· 630 Flushing Avenue [Google Maps]