US News

PRICE SLASH HITS BRIDGE CONDOS

The developer of a luxury condo complex within the planned Brooklyn Bridge Park site is slashing prices on the hundreds of remaining units by up to 20 percent and now plans to rent out one-quarter of the building.

Despite construction on the long-delayed 85-acre waterfront park finally kicking off late last year, the slumping economy has left sales at One Brooklyn Bridge Park stagnant.

The fact that the massive building at the end of Atlantic Avenue is relatively isolated from the rest of Brooklyn Heights and there is no park there yet, has not helped.

To date, only about a third of the 447 units in the high-rise have sold since hitting the market two years ago — and there’s been little to no movement on sales the past year, records show.

The sales of the units and another proposed 780 nearby – which the city and state agency overseeing the park project have put on hold because of the dwindling economy — are supposed to be used as a funding mechanism to offset costly park maintenance.

Developer Robert Levine yesterday said that he’s secured a two-year loan extension to keep 1BBP solvent.

“The loan allows us to continue to meet our obligations to our residents and to fund common charges and real estate taxes on unsold units,” he said.

Studio loft rentals will start at around $1,875 per month and one-bedroom residences at around $2,800 a month.

Prices on condos will be slashed by up to 20 percent. Condos for sale currently start at $545,000 for a studio with soundproof windows overlooking the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and range as high as $7.75 million for a triplex penthouse with 360-degree views of Brooklyn and Manhattan.

The area of the park abutting 1BBP is slated to be completed by the end of 2009, while the rest of the greenspace is built piecemeal.