Two residential buildings are going up right across from each other on Caton Place in Brooklyn, and they couldn't be more different. The newer building, 22 Caton, will occupy a currently empty lot, and developer Hudson Companies has been more than forthcoming with information about the 7-story structure, even passing around site drawings at a community board meeting last night. The older building, 23 Caton, is a shell of a building that started during the construction boom and has sat frozen in time for more than three years. Construction recently restarted, but no one, not even councilman Brad Lander, can get through to the architects or determine just who exactly owns the building.
Hudson Companies has been planning 22 Caton since 2011. Originally, they worked in HPD in hopes of making it partially affordable housing, but they could not secure the necessary funding. It will hold 73-units of market rate rentals, plus below-grade parking spaces for half of the units. Hudson has built several projects around Brooklyn that employ green building techniques, and 22 Caton will be no different?they expect it to achieve LEED Silver or Gold certification.
It will have a green roof with garden plots for the residents, plus a gym, parttime doorman, roof terrace, bike storage, and a kids room. Pre-construction will take place over the next two months, and they plan to break ground in late March or April. Once started, construction will take 18 to 20 months. The Vice President of the company presented this info to the community, and she repeated said that Hudson wants to be good neighbors. Everyone seemed pleased.
As for 23 Caton Place, no one would even come to the meeting. Lander's office has been trying to track down the new owners, as the place changed hands several times because of foreclosure?Lander described it as "a case history of the boom and crash in the housing industry"?but no one is forthcoming with information. The only people they talked to were the new architects, DJ Associates, who confirmed they were working on the project, but would not come to the meeting. Lander aptly described the work of the former architect, Karl Fischer, as "glitzy, but sort of fake."
In regards to the actual building, Lander said the plans are "not up for being shaped" anymore, so what we saw previously still stands. Whether that means the renderings are 100 percent accurate has yet to be determined. But the building will have 107-units, below-grade parking, storage rooms, and a recreation room. When we know more, you'll know more. Construction photos of both buildings are welcome on the tipline.
· 23 Caton Place coverage [Curbed
· 22 Caton Place coverage [Curbed]
· Hudson Companies [official]
Loading comments...