Neighborhood Group Proposes New Historic District in Prospect Heights

PROSPECT HEIGHTS – A group of local preservationists are campaigning to landmark the “Prospect Heights Apartment House District,” an area that is home to 82 historic apartment buildings, reports say.

The properties, built between 1909 and 1929, are laid out along the perimeter of Eastern Parkway, Washington Avenue, Sterling Place/St. John’s Place, and Plaza Street East, according to Brooklyn Paper.

The four- to fifteen-story-high multi-family buildings were designed in revivalist design styles, including Beaux Arts and Tudor, to lure potential home buyers away from Manhattan’s pricier real estate, the article says.

A few of the taller buildings in the proposed historic district, such as Turner Towers located at 135 Eastern Parkway, stand the full 15-stories permitted under the current zoning laws, however many are only between four and seven stories and may soon be targeted for redevelopment, Gib Veconi, a member of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, the group leading the preservation initiative, told Brooklyn Paper.

According to Curbed, the Historic Districts Council (HDC) selected the “Prospect Heights Apartment House District” as one of its 2018 Six to Celebrate—six historic neighborhoods in NYC that merit preservation, according to HDC, and will be priorities for the preservation group’s advocacy and consultation in the next year.

In response to the Pacific Park (née Atlantic Yards) development project, in 2009 the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council successfully advocated for a Historic District to protect nearby single-family row houses, Brooklyn Paper reports.