Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce issues building awards

Real Estate Weekly, May 21, 2003

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce recently announced the 11 winners of the 2003 Building Brooklyn Awards. The annual awards recognize one individual and 11 construction projects completed in 2001 and 2002 that have had a positive impact on the borough's economy and quality of life.

"This year's 11 winning projects span a wide spectrum of recent design and construction initiatives in Brooklyn -- from housing to industry to education, said Kenneth Adams, president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. "But they all have one thing in common -- they make Brooklyn and the City of New York a better place to live and work."

The construction projects include:

The Brooklyn Tabernacle in the community facility category -- the project included restoration of the abandoned Loew's Metropolitan Theater into a multi-faceted religious and community center and home for the Brooklyn Tabernacle's Grammy Award-winning choir;

The Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer Residence Hall at Polytechnic University in the education/residential category -- a distinguished 20-story new structure for 400 students;

The Prospect Park Aubudon Center at the Boat House in the cultural facility category -- the project included restoration of the historic Prospect Park Boat House, creating the first urban Audubon Center in the nation;

The Brooklyn College Library in the education category, which included complete renovation, combining neo-Georgian architecture with a modem addition, to create a state-of-the-art, 385,000 SF library facility;

37 Greenpoint Ave. in the industrial category -- a manufacturing and design center that brought 24 companies to Greenpoint, including canoe makers and clothes tailors.

Rice in the neighborhood retail category -- new DUMBO restaurant added a necessary amenity for the hundred of office workers and residents in the popular new community.

Gilbert Ramirez Park in the park category, which included the redesign and reconstruction of a one-acre neighborhood park in East Williamsburg, spurring development around the park and the surrounding neighborhood;

Kings Plaza Shopping Center in the regional retail renovation category -- the project included a complete overhaul to transform a 30-year-old center into a modern shopping environment;

Gateway Center in the regional retail new construction category, which transformed approximately 50 acres of a former landfill into a retail center featuring 640,000 SF of destination retail, adding 1,700 jobs to the local economy;

The Smith Gray Condominium in the residential category -- the project preserved a classic Brooklyn cast-iron loft building and converted it into 40 loft-style apartments;

Gibb Mason in the residential/non-profit category, which included the restoration of an 1850's grand mansion in Clinton Hill to create 71 studio apartments for low-income neighborhood residents.

An l1-member panel of Brooklyn-based architects, planners, economic development experts, and business leaders chose the winning projects; Award winners were selected for their vision and commitment to put abandoned buildings to use, enhance shopping options for Brooklynites, restore historic landmark buildings, and bring necessary amenities to the borough.

The Third Annual Building Brooklyn Awards will be held on June 19 in the Beaux-Arts Court and Cantor Auditorium of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The event is hosted by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. The 2003 honoree is Andrew M. Alper, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.