ClintonHillBlog

Intriguing Loft Condos

July 24th, 2008 by lesterhead

There’s a lot of action up on Grand between Myrtle and Park. Most intriguing is the “Retro Loft.”

Unlike the other stuff flying up nearby, this building was already here and is being repurposed.

Directly across the street, we have this dorm-like building with a wonky awning and a nice parking lot:

What do these places look like on the inside???

(Brownstoner coverage here!)

Posted in development, grand, intriguing/mysterious, real estate |

8 Responses to “Intriguing Loft Condos”

Jessica Says:
July 24th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Actually, that building with the red awning is a dorm - more specifically, Pratt’s graduate student housing.
Mr. Minerva Says:
July 24th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Both of those buildings on the east side of Grand - the Retro Loft and the grey building to the south of it - have had no work whatsoever done in at least a year.
SaintStryfe Says:
July 25th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I live in the Grad Housing you noted, and it’s actually very nice. I live on the first floor, each floor after the first and second have 8 or so doubles with living areas, and single bed rooms. It’s comfortable. Kind of pricey, but the contract is for an entire year, so taken as a all utilities-included, internet connected apartment, it’s not bad at all.
Skeets McDonald Says:
July 25th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
I concur. Nothing has been done on those building in quite some time. I wonder why the hold up?
SaintStryfe Says:
July 26th, 2008 at 1:53 am
I donno, I do see work being done, but mostly on the inside. it is very slow, however. I tell you, when I moved in last August, I was so lost, and all those buildings did NOT make me feel more comfortable at first. I thought we had turned down a bad alley till we realized which building was GAR.
tommy two tonez Says:
July 26th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
the black brick building closer to grand was a scaranon bldng, so it got put on hold, i think he’s been replaced and now work is happening again. the conversion building looks awesome and there are people working inside, it just hard to understand how long it’s taking. the building down the block next to the grad housing is going up like gangbusters and it will be completed before the others i fear, that one will be nice i think and i did see the developer at CB2 and at the board of standards and appeals to appeal a height restriction resulting from the downzoning — he was approved to build 5 feet higher than the current restriction. Pratt also owns the vacant lot across from their grad housing (closer to park) and got an examption from the new zoning. at the community board hearing someone from Pratt was there and he spoke and said that that part of grand avenue was going to be fantastic (as i recall). anyway, i’m sure all of these buildings will be done SOMETIME soon, depending on how deep our recession/depression is.
tommy two tonez Says:
July 27th, 2008 at 9:45 am
sorry about my typeos above. i’m pretty sure the black brick closer to myrtle was a Scarano bldng and all of his projects got put on hold for a while, then at some point i think the developer dumped him and got someone else. the lot (hole in the ground) next to it was a planned 11 story bldng that got the shaft from the zoning change, also because they poured an insufficient footing on the lot line with the scarano bldng, and now it has been reduced in height to something like 6 stories (i don’t know the exact new height). then if you travel down that side of Grand to the last empty lot nearest Park Ave, the one with the big black corrugated metal fence, that is the lot that is owned by Pratt and which has gotten the zoning carve-out. so you have to assume that they will build more dorms there some day. when you look at this street you can also look at the MARP page on the PPS study of Myrtle avenue, specifically Myrtle Avenue between Hall Street and Emerson Place, also you should imagine the new Pratt Leed building they’ve been talking about building (maybe will never get built now with economy where it is) at the end of Grand Ave on Myrtle. if these things happen then i imagine there will be a stop light at the end of Grand and also that stretch of Grand will lead right up to Pratt and it actually goes straight through to their campus, so the street may end up being quite nice — until you hit Park Ave that is. the MARP link is here:
http://www.myrtleavenue.org/projects_PublicSpace.cfm#HallToEmerson
meesha Says:
July 27th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
haha i saw the guy taking those pictures last thursday i said what them end up on some blog and i was right, i live here and the construction has been going on for year, i live at the lower end of the block with the only residental houses near the highway. sick of the construction and the noise it’s horrible