Dec 18, 2019 3 min read affordable housing

7 Story Building Coming to Cortelyou Road

Back before 2007, this was all 1-2 story buildings. A 7-story building is planned for where the brown Victorian (since demolished) stood this summer. Liena Zagare/Bklyner

Cortelyou Road in Ditmas Park is reaching for the sky – literally. For over a decade, 355 Stratford Road was the only new building to be completed on the commercial stretch (finished in 2007). As of December 2019, there are three tall, mixed use buildings under construction, and one large one under consideration.

Church turned affordable housing raising at the corner of Cortelyou Road and Ocean Avenue. Liena Zagare/Bklyner

First, the Baptist Church at 1921 Cortelyou Road at Ocean Avenue was knocked down to make room for 76 units of 100% affordable housing, as well as new church space on the ground floor. Some neighbors did not like it, and tried to preserve the building, without success.

Then came 1035 Cortelyou Road, corner of Stratford Road – the old warehouses that stored antiques were sold off and demolished in 2017 to make way for a 5 story building with office and commercial space on lower floors that is approaching completion. It will bring 10 new apartments to the neighborhood.

1035 Cortelyou Road. Liena Zagare/Bklyner

This fall the two family Victorian at 1105 Cortelyou Road was razed to make space for a 7 story, almost 15,000 square foot building. It will be mostly residential – 12 units – with about 1,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, per filings with the DOB that were approved at the end of September. The plans also include 6 covered parking spots.

The new building itself looks to be unremarkable, the left half – abutting 355 Stratford Road – going up 7 stories (2 stories higher than its neighbor), and surrounded by 4 story tall building on the Westminster Road side.

The Victorians on Westminster including the corner building are zoned residential and are already considered overdeveloped by the current zoning – thus unlikely to obstruct the views.

The pinkish Victorian to the right of 1105 Cortelyou Road at the corner of Westminster is currently zoned in such a way as to prevent further development. Liena Zagare/Bklyner

One other project has been in the works for some time now – 1620 Cortelyou Road, home to Key Food and laundromat on the corner of East 16th and Cortelyou.

Cortelyou at E16th Street, looking South-east. Liena Zagare/Bklyner

The proposed development depends on rezoning of the large parcel (the block between E16th to East 17th Street) from an R6A/C2-4 to R7D/C2-4 district to allow for a potentially ten story mixed-use development with ground floor retail and 85 dwelling units.