City Will Pay Big To Buy Land For Gowanus Canal Cleanup: Report

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — New York City taxpayers are going to have to shell out big time so that the city can buy three plots of land to build a sewage tank near the head of the Gowanus Canal, according to a report.

Back in 2013, as part of the federal government's cleanup efforts at the super toxic body of water, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered the city to build two massive tanks that would collect sewage overflow during heavy rain.

One of those, an 8 million-gallon tank, is going in at the head of the canal. The EPA recommended installing it underneath Thomas Greene Playground, land the city already owns. But the Bill de Blasio administration instead chose to buy private land nearby so construction wouldn't disrupt the park land.

It's looking to purchase two plots of land, at 242 Nevins Street and 234 Butler Street, under which to build the tank, plus a third to stage construction equipment.

The eminent domain action is currently going through the city's lengthy land-use review process and is expected to be approved. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams is reviewing the takeover, and it will then go to the City Planning Commission, the city council and finally the mayor's office.

By the time that happens, the land could get even more expensive, according to one analysis.

Back in 2013, when the EPA ordered the construction, a typical manufacturing plot of land cost about $135 per-square-foot, Crains reports. When the city chose those two plots two years later, the price had increased to $285 per square foot, Crains says.

Now, the price is up to $370 per square foot, according to the website. That would mean a price tag of more than $70 million, Crains calculates.

A much-anticipated rezoning of the area has real estate values skyrocketing.

"Anytime it looks like there will be a rezoning, two things happen: There is a tremendous amount of speculation as buyers flood the market, and there is this paralysis for sellers, who want to wait for the rezoning to actually happen so they can reap the benefits," Dan Marks, a partner at the investment firm TerraCRG, told Crains.

Click here to read more from Crains.

Lead photo by Marc Torrence, Patch Staff