After a temporary delay early last month, plans for the conversion of Brooklyn Public Library's(BPL) Brooklyn Heights branch have now been approved by the Brooklyn Borough Board, DNAinfo reports.
The Board voted to approve the controversial sale of the library building to Hudson Companies for $52 million. Hudson plans to convert it into a 36-story condo building with a new, albeit smaller public library at the base of the building.
The sale will help BPL fund improvements at other library branches in the borough, and also go towards the renovation of the existing Brooklyn Heights branch.
Part of this sale also includes the creation of a 9,000 square foot STEM lab within the building as well as a new 5,000 square foot library in Dumbo.
The developer has promised more still as part of the agreement: creating 114 units of below market rate rentals in Clinton Hill, and temporarily relocating the Brooklyn Heights library to Our Lady of Lebanon Church on Remsen Street during the construction.
The Brooklyn Borough Board's was the final step in the approval stage. The City Council had already given its nod to the project back in December last year.
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