Another day, another $2 million condo.
The first luxury waterfront condos within the state’s Brooklyn Bridge Park development are selling at a rate of one a day, according to Robert Levine, owner of the 499-unit building at One Brooklyn Bridge Park (360 Furman St.), at the foot of Joralemon Street beneath Brooklyn Heights.
Levine said this week that his building — located within the state’s hotel, condominium and open space project — was proving to be a record-breaking success in spite of being “under a microscope” since the state and the developer agreed to help fund the “park” with revenue from the condos in 2004.
“We’ve exceeded all expectation and probably broken records,” he said at a gathering of real estate industry insiders held Wednesday at the Brooklyn Historical Society.
The condos are running buyers an average of $1,000 per square-foot with units selling for between $550,000 for a studio to upwards of $4 million for a penthouse, Levine said. The first residents would be able to move in by November, he said.
The sawdust-colored building is undergoing a paint job that will restore its exterior to the granite color seen in early photographs.
When Levine purchased the bunker-like former Watchtower Bible & Tract Society binding facility for $200 million in 2004, it was zoned for industrial uses. By agreeing to include it in the state waterfront development site, Levine was able to skip a costly rezoning process — and market his development as a Battery Park City–like waterfront community using images of the state’s promised open space development in exchange for regular payments for “park” maintenance.
The Empire State Development Corporation projects that the posh residences will generate approximately $50 million over 20 years towards the estimated $15-million annual maintenance costs. The development could reap Levine as much as $674 million, according to a lease agreement between the state agency and the developer.
In addition to Levine’s condos, the Brooklyn Bridge Park development is slated to include three new residential buildings, a 225-room hotel, shops and restaurants. Development officials have said in the past that more projects may be added later if they are needed to generate additional revenue to support the site’s parklike components.
One Brooklyn Bridge Park owners will get easy access to whatever open space is eventually developed. Also, they’ll get an indoor virtual driving range comparable to the golf simulator aboard the Queen Mary 2 luxury cruise liner, Levine said.
