This Is the Fort Greene Building Neighbors Have Been Dreading

The first renderings have arrived, and here they are (h/t BBH): The apartment building that Fort Greene residents feared would ruin their neighborhood. Well, will it?

Earlier this year, developer East River Partners snapped up a sprawling, through-block compound, stretching between 164 South Oxford Street and 171 South Portland Avenue, that included an Italianate townhouse, an old-school carriage house, and three backyards. Preservationists started up the moment artist Marc Lambrechts' assemblage hit the market, seeing as how a) nothing was landmarked; b) the broker even said, "A serious property could be built here"; and c) Lambrechts threw in some air rights to make the parcel even more enticing. Well, it worked, and ERP paid $7.5 million for the privilege to raze the whole shebang and put up an two apartment buildings, which are pictured for the first time below. (Above, before and after shots of the carriage house on South Portland.) The renders come via ERP's official site, which claims in the project description that it "will transform [the lot] into an architecturally sensitive residential community."

Citing Department of Buildings permits, BuzzBuzzHome reports that the building above, planned for 164 South Oxford Street, will house five apartments, while the South Portland building, pictured below (click for big!), will be home to nine. You can see the back of 164 South Oxford in that shot, too.

Barry Rice Architects is the firm of record, and they're used to working with landmarks, so maybe that's a good sign for community members frightened of a totally soulless design. So what's the verdict, neighbors: is this bound to be an out-of-context "serious property" or an "architecturally sensitive residential community"?

As a reminder, here's what the apartment buildings will be replacing on the site.

· Coming Soon: 164 S. Oxford St, Ft Greene, Brooklyn [ERP]
· No horses here: East River Partners' Fort Greene redevelopment trots along [BuzzBuzzHome]
· All East River Partners coverage [Curbed]
· All 164 South Oxford Street coverage [Curbed]