Next Finger Building Please Stand Up: Quadriad's Williamsburg Project Advances

If you thought that the proposal by Quadriad Development to build highrises in low-rise neighborhoods--including ones that have been downzoned--was so far fetched that it was a non-starter, think again. The 24-story tower proposed at the corner of N. 3rd and Berry in Williamsburg took a small step forward with a vote in its favor by the Land Use Committee of Community Board 1. The thumbs up came as a shock to some residents, who told us they were surprised by the outcome. The voting process was odd, with the project being defeated, and then, approved when a committee member arrived after the vote had been taken and cast a deciding vote in favor of the project. The plan calls for a project combining a 5-story building with 75 units and a 24-story building.

Quadriad includes among its executives former U.S. Rep. and Bronx Borough President Herman Badillo, who ran for mayor five times, making it as far as a runoff election against Abraham Beame. One of the development partners is Joe Sitt's Thor Equities.

The property is in the part of Williamsburg that was downzoned in 2005 in return for allowing highrise waterfront development. At that time, city officials argued they were protecting the low-rise character of "inland" blocks by allowing buildings up to 40 stories tall on the waterfront.

While Quadriad is looking to upzone a downzoned Williamsburg property, it is also proposing a new zoning classification citywide called R6AF, (the "AF" stands for affordable) which would create tremendous density bonuses for a project that would include one-third affordable housing. Williamsburg activist Phil DePaolo calls it "the Mother of All Density Bonuses." In Williamsburg, for instance, it would result in a building quadruple the current allowable height.

The Quadriad project has also applied for the 421a developer tax break. Interestingly, the company is expected to rush to create a foundation for the project before the end of the year so that it can qualify for the tax break without having any requirement to build affordable housing. The building site would fall under a revision to the 421a program requiring 25 percent affordable housing in return for the tax break in neighborhoods like Williamsburg.

Quadriad is also ultimately looking to develop at least six other parcels from N. 3rd to N. 5th Streets between Berry and Kent Avenues with highrises, as well as two others, one of which may be between N. 7th Street and Metropolitan Avenue near the BQE. The company has also set its sights on Coney Island Avenue in southern Brooklyn. The company wants to propose the zoning formula citywide for sites that are a minimum of 40,000 square feet.

The full Community Board still has to vote on the project, but there is a chance it could be approved. "I'm very worried about it," said Mr. DePaolo, who is an advocate of affordable housing, but deeply critical of the methods the city has tried using in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. "We could end up making the same mistake twice." Mr. DePaolo's studies of the neighborhood show that the 2005 rezoning has only produced nine units of affordable housing away from the waterfront. There is also a very in-depth and intelligent analysis of the proposal at Brooklyn 11211 that suggests that if it approves the proposal, "CB1 will have literally given away the store, and in the process will have thrown out all of the good of the upland rezoning for Williamsburg and Greenpoint."

The zoning change would ultimately have to be approved by the City Council.