Slave Theater Site Could Become Massive High-Rise: Reports

BEDFORD STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN— A massive development could rise on the former site of Bed-Stuy's iconic Slave Theater, according to reports.

Architects from the firm Morris Adjmi released renderings for an 11-story building that could cover three lots at 10 Halsey St., 16 Halsey St. and 1215 Fulton St., home of the now-demolished Slave Theater, according to a Brownstoner report.

The mixed-use Industrie Capital Partners development would measure about 143,000-square-feet with 78,000-square-feet designated for apartments, 8,600-square-feet for retail use, and 55,700-square-feet going toward office space, New York Yimby reported.

Brokers Cushman & Wakefield were asking $37.95 million for the three lots in July, Real Estate Weekly reported at the time.

The Slave Theater, founded by Judge John L. Phillips in 1984, was once the epicenter of African-focused cultural events in Brooklyn, hosting politically-charged performances and rallies led by Al Sharpton.

When Phillips died in 2008, the theater became the center of a legal battle between his estate's administrator Samuel Boykin and a former co-worker of Phillips' who fought to prerserve the space, the New York Times reported at the time.

But Phillips’ estate administrators eventually won control in 2013 and sold the lot. Its new owner, Industrie Capital Partners developer Eli Hemway, demolished the theater in 2017.

An attorney involved in brokering the deal was later sentenced to up to three years in prison for siphoning $600,000 from the judge's estate.

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