SEE: New Building Would Bring Public Esplanade To Gowanus Canal

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — A six-story building proposed on Huntington Street could bring a new public plaza to the western bank of the Gowanus Canal.

Monadnock Development — a longtime construction and real estate development company in the area — recently unveiled plans to transform a former concrete plant between Huntington and Ninth Street into their new headquarters.

The proposed 100,000-square-foot building would include a construction yard and office space for the company, along with a set of retail storefronts and a public plaza on the waterfront, according to a presentation with Community Board 6's Landmarks/Land Use Committee.

"The ultimate goal is provide a beautiful esplanade on the Gowanus Canal," Attorney Eric Vath told the committee.

The proposal faced the committee, and full community board this week, under a request to change the zoning of the 300 Huntington St. lot from what is known as M2-1 to an M2-3 manufacturing designation.

The change, developers said, would keep the site's height, density and other restrictions largely the same, but take away a parking requirement under M2-1 that would make the project impossible. Under current zoning, the building would be required to have 242 parking spaces, which would take up the entire site, developers said.

The new headquarters would be built in an L-shape around a construction yard that Monadnock would use to house its construction vehicles. The company has been building housing in New York for 45 years, founder Nick Lembo said.

"We are in dire need of more space and we would really like to keep our headquarters in New York City, in Brooklyn, and in particular in Gowanus," Lembo told the committee.

The two-thirds of the building not used for the headquarters would include retail space along the ground floor that would, hopefully, include a restaurant that would take advantage of the waterfront views, Lembo said.

The esplanade, developers said, would include bench seating, a canopy of plants and steps to the canal along the block between Smith and Ninth streets. It would be accessed by walking down Huntington Street.

The Huntington Street plot sits just below the portion of the neighborhood slated for zoning changes in the upcoming Gowanus Rezoning, which city leaders hope will bring a mix of development along the canal.

Monadnock's team said the esplanade would be built so that it can connect with any future esplanades built in the rezoning.

Community Board 6 voted Wednesday to approve the zoning change application with the condition that the developers reserve a portion of the building for industrial use. Council Member Brad Lander's Office told the board last week that there are ongoing negotiations to do so.

The board also suggested the developers look into a "more creative" design for the esplanade. The developers plan to return to the board with a final design, which they will work on after going through the rezoning process.