St. Joe's Basketball Bound for Vanderbilt

A new basketball arena is coming to the neighborhood — and no, it's not the Barclays Center.

St. Joseph's College will break ground on a $16 million, 270-seat gymnasium on Vanderbilt Avenue late this spring, bringing a likely end to a simmering controversy that pitted the small university against Clinton Hill preservationists.

The announcement comes roughly two years after local residents cried foul at the commuter college's original proposal to build a drab, "monolithic" gym closer to campus — and in the heart of the Clinton Hill historic district.

"We were ecstatically shocked when we found out," said Sharon Barnes, a member of the Society for Clinton Hill, which had opposed St. Joseph's original plans. "It's a tremendously positive response from the college to the community."

Basked in natural light, the new glass field house may also inspire hoop dreams among ballers around the neighborhood.

Initially, the college had its sights set on a plot of land it owned close to The Pratt Mansion and other historic homes on Clinton Avenue. That proposal was well received by Community Board 2 in January of 2009, but residents blasted it for being too out of character with the rest of the block.

"The design looked like it was going to be cold and windowless, as any basketball court would be," said  Barnes. "Clinton Avenue is our main historic street. Every building is particularly beautiful."  

Facing a barrage of complaints and increasing pressure from neighbors, St. Joseph's went back to the drawing board in May, 2009.

Within a couple of months, the college decided to relocate the gym to a parking lot it owned on Vanderbilt between Dekalb and Willoughby avenues, said Michael Banach, a spokesman with the college. However, it hadn't planned to make an announcement until next year.

 "We're still in the final stages of planning," Banach said.

The initial plans for the Clinton Avenue location showed a two-story building with few windows, a "stark box," according to Barnes in a 2009 Brooklyn Paper article.

The new building, said Banach, will be three-stories with a glass façade. With 270 seats, the new gym will also have 60 fewer seats than the original design's 330.

The new gym should take about 18 months to complete, according to Banach.

Barnes said the neighborhood will be thrilled to have a sleek, modern-looking building on Vanderbilt. She said she's also grateful that St. Joseph's actually listened to the community's concerns.

"After feeling so abused by the Atlantic Yards process, this was really something," she said.