Brooklyn building almost done

Real Estate Weekly, August 7, 2002

The Atlantic Art Building, a 31-unit residential condominium, is now only a month away from completion but has created significant interest. Located in Downtown Brooklyn it is two blocks from the Atlantic Terminal and seven minutes to Downtown Manhattan.

The renowned Chicago Architect Chep Kingsley designed this ornate storage building in 1924. This 55,000-SF edifice at 636 Pacific St. was completed during the same time period as the famed Williamsburg Savings Bank located nearby. Storage History, a publication devoted to the history of the storage industry, describes the building, when it was constructed, as the most dignified and impressive piece of architecture of its kind in the Metropolitan area. The terra cotta it goes on to say is the building's raison d'etre with its yellow-hued break giving rise to a most ornate series of balconies and neckings on a brick body with sumptuous craftsmanship.

Marc J. Freud of Troutbrook Company, the developer, hired architectural historian Theodore Rich with the suggestion that perhaps it would be advantageous to bring back the interior and exterior of the building, as well as some of the wonderful elements of the architecture found in the buildings during the early nineteenth century. Rich then proceeded to set out on a hunt that took him to several states and to an architectural salvage company in Pennsylvania named Ye Good Olde Things. Ye Good Olde Things coincidentally are located on Atlantic Avenue only 10 blocks from the property.

This substantial warehouse was the source for numerous finds that now grace the building. After a year of labor the building is a confluence of new and old. The loft style apartments well-designed interiors are housed in a structure of solidity graced by a court yard a recreational roof area. A silver and brass nine-foot door creates for a majestic lobby that greets ones eye as the visitor ascends the steps to the upper lobby. The door comes from the old Chase Manhattan Bank at Rockefeller Center. Ironwork on the doors is believed to be that of Rene Chameleon, a regionally famous ironworker during this time period. The stainless steel chandelier, vintage 1920s, was another find. The bank was refurbished in the early 1930's and somehow a lot of its details were saved. After further conversations with the Freud, Rich decided to build the lineage of the Chicago architect into the building by creating a brick entrance way into the courtyard area framed with two steel street lights that were used by the City of C hicago when Mayor Daley, many decades ago, decided to clean up and light up the streets of Chicago. The buildings private recreational gardens, have two steel doors welcoming homeowners, whose history can be traced back to a European industrialist who used them in his mansion in New Orleans to greet guests into his study. Freud ending by noting that though only in the pre-completion stage of construction, almost one-third of the units are already going to contract. He believes, in part, what people are seeing and buying are apartments that are created unique to the Downtown Brooklyn residential marketplace.