Affordable, environmentally friendly apartments are about to go up on a former brownfield site near the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues.
You think you know what we are talking about?
No, not Atlantic Yards, but rather the more modest Atlantic Terrace (above), developed by the nonprofit Fifth Avenue Committee in conjunction with MAP Development and Line Development. Back in November 2003, when the team first won the right to develop the site at Atlantic and South Portland Avenue, the 10-story, 80-unit cooperative was supposed to include solar panels to provide some of the energy for the residents. One month later, Forest City Ratner unveiled its plans for 30- to 50-story towers across the street to the south.
“The shadows that will be created by the buildings associated with Atlantic Yards made the use of photovoltaic panels (solar panels) inefficient,” Fifth Avenue Executive Director Michelle de la Uz said in an e-mail. But the architects were able to compensate in other ways, and the project will earn a gold rating from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. It will be, Ms. De la Uz said, “the largest affordable, LEED-certified green building in Brooklyn.”
Three-quarters of the apartments will be priced to be affordable for low- and middle-income families (compared to about 35 percent for Atlantic Yards). The project breaks ground Monday.
