Williamsburg’s Salvation Army site won’t be a hole much longer

After more than a year in contract, the sale of Williamsburg’s former Salvation Army site on Bedford Avenue and North 7th Street to Thor Equities has finally closed, reports Brownstoner.

The sale’s been a long time coming. Back in 2010, there were rumors that the prime address was set to become Brooklyn’s first Apple store and while this would come to pass in Williamsburg, the esteemed tech brand opened down the block in July.

The Salvation Army building was demolished in 2013 and the site was put on the market, where it sat—despite reports of overwhelming interest in the spot—for the next three years.

The site finally went into contract last spring with buyer Thor Equities, who were set to pay $36.1 million. But the buyer and seller came to an impasse over unspecified terms in the agreement, and so the sale languished in contract. Now, Brownstoner says the deal is done. According to Thor, the site ended up selling for $30 million, notably less than reported back in August of 2015 when news of the deal first surfaced.

Rendering by Fradkin & McAlpin Architects

Brownstoner notes that the new two-story commercial building Thor will bring to the site is similar to the two-story commercial building that came before it, except that it will have twice the space (14,500 vs. 7,200 square feet) including a lower level and a roof terrace.

Designed by Fradkin & McAlpin Architects, the building is part of a wave of similar developments sweeping through post-gentrified Williamsburg, (of which the Bedford Whole Foods and the Bedford Apple Store are the most telling.) The new project has no tenants signed on yet, but whoever lands in the building will have to be flush: that section of Bedford Ave is now the priciest retail strip in Brooklyn, with commercial rent averaging $347 per square foot as of August.