Community Board Turns Down Plan For 18-Story Atlantic Ave Complex

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Community board members agreed Thursday not to support plans for an 18-story apartment building on Atlantic Avenue unless developers return with a smaller proposal that fits with their zoning plans for the neighborhood.

All but two Community Board 8 members at the general meeting voted not to support the 840 Atlantic Ave. proposal, which requests zoning changes to make way for a partly-affordable apartment building where a McDonald's now stands on the corner of Vanderbilt and Atlantic avenues.

The vote follows months of back-and-forth between developers and the board given that the building asks for more density than is laid out in a community board-led plan for the section of the neighborhood known as M-CROWN.

"It’s too big and it will set a precedent that will lead to other development that go beyond the M-CROWN guidelines, which we as a board have developed over many years and should stick to," board member Rob Witherwax said Thursday.

The board's motion to disapprove the rezoning included several suggestions for ways developers could change their proposal to meet the M-CROWN limits should they alter their application.

Throughout the back-and-forth with the board, developers for the project have scaled back the proposed building, but have resisted shrinking it enough to meet the board's guidelines. They specifically contend that portion of the building closest to the corner can handle increased Floor Area Ratio, which measures density.

"Yes, we are asking for an additional FAR on the corner," Benjamin Stark, a lawyer for the project, said Thursday. "The corner deserves a little more density. It's the best site in this neighborhood for a lot of housing."

The Atlantic Avenue project proposes replacing the McDonald's, its parking lot and a few neighboring small buildings with a staircase-like complex, which developers say was designed to fit its place on the edge of the M-CROWN development area.

Its highest point, 18 stories, would face the busy Vanderbilt and Atlantic avenue intersection and shorter sections as low as three stories would face the less-developed part of the neighborhood starting at Pacific Street, according to designs.

About 25 percent, or 75 units, in the apartment complex would be set aside as affordable in the most recent design. The affordable spots would cost as little as $900 a month for a two-bedroom, while the market-rate two bedroom units will go for about $2,800 per month, developers said.

The next stop for the proposal will be the Borough President's Office.

Check out the full details in the Community Board 8 meeting here: