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Brig Redevelopment, Wallabout Brooklyn

The Department of Housing, Preservation & Development issued a RFP for the redevelopment of the Brig, a 104,600-square-foot site located in the Wallabout/Fort Greene section of Brooklyn in July 2006. The Brig, adjacent to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, was originally a federal naval prison and was later used as a City correctional facility. The building will be demolished leaving a large site for the development of up to 400 new homes and apartments, of which more than two thirds will be affordable housing, and commercial and community space. The area is bounded by Flushing and Park Avenues, and Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenues. The RFP follows an International Design Workshop hosted by HPD in December 2003 and a Community Task Force on the future of the site announced by Mayor Bloomberg in July 2004.

The residential component of this redevelopment will include a mixture of homeownership and rental units as well as supportive housing. Supportive housing is subsidized permanent housing with social services. A minimum of 50% of all homeownership and rental units, not including the supportive housing units, must be affordable with at least 30% of the units for middle-income families and 20% for low-income families. At least 75 supportive housing studio units must be provided and affordable to low-income families, many of whom will be formerly-homeless. Landscaped open space and a community facility with a minimum of 15,000-square-feet of space will be part of the redevelopment. The site will be conveyed to the selected developer for $1.00. Three development teams submitted bids for the chance to buy the former Navy Brig site. A community advisory task force considered the proposals (without having learned the names of the bidders, which were kept secret) on Feb. 6, 2007 and HPD expects to name the winner by March 2007.