Barbara Corcoran is Still Very Big on Red Hook

GL's got a story in the Brooklyn Paper this week about the building that Barbara Corcoran bought in Red Hook a couple of years ago. The building's storefront, at 293 Van Brunt, is still empty, which may or may not say something about the long timeline for developing retail in The Hook. In any case, here's a couple of excerpts:

Corcoran’s Red Hook buy was the real-estate equivalent of David Bowie calling a band his favorite. Asking prices in the neighborhood started going up once Barbara Corcoran had made her bet on Red Hook.

Yes, some new businesses have opened in the last year, including a jewelry shop and a high-end soap emporium, but they are all mostly clustered on Van Brunt between Wolcott Street and the Fairway...When Corcoran bought the three-story building, she was projecting $2,500 a month in rent for the storefront, and $1,600 and $1,750 monthly for two apartments upstairs. The apartments eventually rented, but the storefront still sits.

“This property is not in trouble, and neither is Red Hook,” said Beth Kenkel, the agent. “We all strongly believe in Red Hook. Some people thought Barbara bought the building as some kind of press ploy. And, yes, she may have overpaid just a bit, but in the long run, this is going to be a great investment.”

There you have it.