By Lore Croghan
Find the Brooklyn Heights Press article here.
Find photos and descriptions in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle here.
Brace yourself, Brooklyn Heights.
Full-out construction can now begin on a planned 19-story Remsen Street apartment tower — on a site that sits back-to-back with a busy Montague Street development project.
Physio Logic, the last tenant occupying 157 Remsen St. while neighboring buildings 153 and 155 Remsen St. were demolished, departed over the weekend. A moving crew was seen working Saturday afternoon, loading the chiropractic service’s furnishings onto a truck. Physio Logic relocated to a high-profile location just a couple blocks away that’s a favorite with Brooklyn burger lovers: The Fulton Mall building where Shake Shack is situated.
The chiropractic service is occupying the second floor of the handsome low-rise building at 409 Fulton St. Clients take note: Physio Logic’s entrance is on the Willoughby Street side of the property. Physio Logic’s first day of business at its new Downtown Brooklyn location was Monday.
Dr. Rudy Gehrman, Physio Logic’s director, told the Brooklyn Eagle he could not comment when asked how much 157 Remsen St.’s owner, Quinlan Development Group, paid to buy out Physio Logic’s lease. Gehrman said the best thing about Physio Logic’s new space, which has windows on all sides, is the 360-degree view.
“It’s almost like watching TV. It’s like being perched up on a tree. All the historic buildings are right there for us to see,” he said.
A posting on Physio Logic’s blog notes that the space is 6,000 square feet in size, and “will be home to our family of medical, orthopedic rehabilitation and wellness services as well as our Pilates studio.”
The Fulton Mall building belongs to Michael Chera’s Allied Property Group, city Finance Department records indicate. Chera owns several Fulton Street properties.
At the Remsen Street site that Physio Logic has just left, demolition began in March 2014.Quinlan had emptied the buildings of residents and commercial tenants other than Physio Logic before starting work.
Dr. Gerhman had kind words Monday for the demolition crews who tore down the other two Remsen Street buildings and worked on the upstairs floors of 157 Remsen St. “The demolition company was very compassionate. They worked around our schedule,” he said. “The demolition wasn’t that bad.”
Perhaps in other parts of the country where people aren’t accustomed to construction noise, the patients might have been bothered by the proximity of demolition. But “our patients are very resilient,” he said.
Quinlan plans to construct a 19-story building with 60 apartments and 4,465 square feet of commercial space, city Buildings Department filings indicate. The developer bought the three buildings that make up the development site in 2013 for a combined $13.9 million, Finance Department records indicate. The prior owner of 153 Remsen St. had allowed that building to fall into disrepair, creating a rare eyesore in upscale Brooklyn Heights.
The site — on a block that sits outside the boundaries of both the Brooklyn Heights Historic District and the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District — is right behind a development at 172 Montague St. where construction is expected to continue until the middle of this year on a new apartment tower.
Timothy Quinlan did not respond to a request for comment by press time. So it’s unclear how soon 157 Remsen St. will be torn down. The Buildings Department approved a full demolition plan for the building in February 2014.
A design by S9/Perkins Eastman for the new building at 153 Remsen St., which was published recently by website New York YIMBY, shows a tower with a grayish masonry façade and huge windows.
– See more at: https://physiologicnyc.com/announcements/physio-logic-moves-to-new-location-above-shake-shack-clearing-the-way-for-remsen-st-construction/#sthash.lyznQb0z.dpuf