Williamsburg’s popularity with respect to real estate relates to the 2005 rezoning. Many condos are being sold at high prices, and the average rent is one of the highest of all the neighborhoods. According to an article by propertyshark.com, from 2004 to 2012, the average home price by square foot in Williamsburg jumped from 269 to 736.
The North Brooklyn waterfront used to be an industrial area with lots of factories. Many factories and warehouses were abandoned. The area wasn’t environment friendly, and residents wanted to rezone the area. There were still industrial jobs there, and the waterfront was not much of an industrial area. The rent was cheap in the 90s for the artists and people living there. There were a few housing projects, but nothing large scale.
Community groups in Williamsburg and Greenpoint had 197-a plans, involving rezoning along the riverfront and having more low to mid rise buildings. The section 197-A law allows communities to develop and submit their own plans to the City Council. The 197-a plans for the waterfront were adopted by the City Council in 2002, but they were not enforced because the plans are only advisory. The Department of City Planning proposed their own plans, and preparation for the rezoning lasted from 2003 to 2005. The final plans were nothing like the original 197-a plans. In May of 2005, city officials agreed to let developers construct residential housing in the waterfront area that went from Williamsburg to Greenpoint. 1
The city required developers to set aside 20 percent of the new developments for lower income people if the developers wanted to have 30 or 40 story buildings. This is part of the inclusionary housing program, intended to help lower income people. The people who are qualified must have 80% less than area median income. The other option would be for 10 percent of floor area to those below 80& AMI and 15 percent to those at 125% AMI or lower. In addition, the developers would be exempt from property taxes up to 25 years. At first developers chose not to make their buildings that high. But in 2008, the city made the 20% rule mandatory for new buildings, no matter the size. 2
When the rezoning first went into effect, the Bloomberg agreed to create a 2 million fund against tenant displacement, but in 2008, the fund was reduced by 550,000. 3
In 2009, the City Council voted for the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Contextual Rezoning. This focused inland instead of the waterfront. Affecting 175 blocks, the plan sets height limits of new buildings at 55 feet for narrow streets and 70 feet for wider streets. 4
By 2012, only about one third of the expected housing units have been created. And only 800 of 3500, or about one fifth of the expected number of affordable housing units have been constructed. 5
Recently in March 2013, the firm SHoP Architects and Field Operations developed a plan for constructing around the old Domino sugar refinery in Williamsburg. SHoP, responsible for the shape of the Barclays Center, plans for the new buildings to have unusual shapes instead of the common housing models. Two Trees, the developer, already had a plan of 2400 housing units accepted, but they decided to rethink the plan. 6The delay, however, allowed SHoP to rethink about ideas and make key changes. Two Trees has many plans, such as extending a city street and recreational activities with five acres of park.
The rent used to be low in Williamsburg, which attracted many artists to live there. After the rezoning, rent prices have increased and the artists got priced out.
The 2005 rezoning caused housing prices to increase. The average rent in North Williamsburg is almost 1600 more than South Williamsburg, probably because it has more of the rezoning area. 7
Many people are looking to Williamsburg, and there are lots of articles about big sales in the neighborhood. In a May 2012 article, American Realty Advisors paid more than 895,000 for each of 111 Kent Ave’s 62 apartments. 8 In a February 2013 Daily News article, a one bedroom apartment sold for about 825,000, 75,000 more than an identical apartment a floor below. 9 And in April 2013, three condos above Gretsch Building, a former guitar factory, were sold at 1.4, 1.5, and 2.5 million. That averages to about 1150 dollars per square foot. 10
Based on the Brooklyn Market report, in 2012, the average rental price for a studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom in Williamsburg were 2701, 3133, and 4002 respectively. Williamsburg has the second highest average in studio and one-bedroom prices, only beaten by DUMBO. For two-bedroom rentals, Williamsburg was the third highest, with DUMBO as highest and Brooklyn Heights second highest. The rent prices have been stable around the same level with no sharp decreases. All the data below is from the MNS real estate brokerage, which updates every month and releases yearly reports on the rentals in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
