'Roed Hoek Point' Developer Says Project Holds 'Significant Benefits' For The Community

RED HOOK, BROOKLYN — A spokesman for the company behind proposed commercial and retail development Red Hoek Point said the project will have "significant" local benefits, adding that the developer has already begun its community outreach process — though he did not provide further details.

Red Hoek Point, to be located adjacent to Ikea at 280 Richards St., is the work of Thor Equities, which bought the property for $40 million in 2005, as reported by Curbed.

Thor has envisioned constructing two four story timber buildings on the site, with their first floors dedicated to retail and their top three turned over to "creative office space." The buildings would also be surrounded by a promenade open to the public, and would feature amenities like kayak rentals and an energy efficient design.

Last week, two of the project's managers, Ethan Goodman of Fox Rothschild and Catherine Dannenbring, offered the first public presentation on the project, which was delivered to Community Board 6.

The building's design was met with a generally positive response, but community organizers Karen Blondel and Charlene Nimmons, who are heading up the Red Hook Community Collaboration — an effort to combine the efforts of residents focused on development in Red Hook — said locals want more say in the project going forward.

For example, plans Thor has filed with the city assume the project would house "technical, media and communications professionals."

But Blondel expressed concern with the fact that the company had already started reaching out to prospective tenants.

"I take umbrage [to that]," Blondel said. "You didn't ask the community if we want to be a tenant."

To that end, he Collaboration delivered a draft Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) to the Thor representatives which asked for 10 percent of the development's floor space to be dedicated to community activities, including a job training facility, a childcare program and space for artistic and community events. (The CBA is embeded below.)

On Monday, Thor spokesman Josh Greenwald declined to comment on the CBA, but said the company believes "strongly that this development will have significant benefits for the local Red Hook community."

"We are now in the early stages of reaching out to various stakeholders to discuss the project and listen and learn about the neighborhood’s specific interests and concerns," Greenwald said. "We look forward to continuing these conversations and reviewing the community’s suggestions and input."

Greenwald did not respond to a request for more information about which individuals or groups Thor is in contact with.

Blondel said Monday that she hadn't spoken to Thor since last week's gathering, but added that, "I really appreciate the fact that Thor wants to be a good neighbor, and I appreciate the fact that going forward there will be contact with the Red Hook community."

On Monday, Greenwald also cleared up one point of confusion concerning the proposed development's size.

As currently envisioned, the entire development, including parking and common areas, would be 795,000 square feet, he said, while the office space alone would take up 620,000 square feet.

Thor is currently scheduled to come back before CB 6 on Dec. 22. The company is seeking the board's backing for a zoning waiver application it filed with the city. The waiver would let it cut the development's mandated number of parking spaces approximately in half.

The waiver request, one of two Thor is seeking for the Red Hoek Point site, has been highlighted as a potential point of leverage the Red Hook community could use as discussions concerning the property go forward.

Pictured at top: a rendering of the proposed Red Hoek Point, courtesy of Thor Equities.