By: Serach Nissim
Barclays Center in Brooklyn has turned 10.
The Brooklyn indoor arena first opened in Sept. 2012, with a construction cost of $1 billion back then— calculated to be roughly $1.18 billion in 2021 dollars. When the arena was constructed, the strip near Prospect Park was just another sleepy neighborhood. Since then the area, at the crossroads of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, has metamorphosized into one of Brooklyn’s hottest neighborhoods.
In September, the Nets and their parent company, BSE Global, celebrated the venue’s 10th anniversary, but the neighborhood has much to celebrate as well. When it was being built, spending a billion dollars there was a big bet. Some would say operator BSE Global / ASM Global won, others may argue that they made it succeed. Either way, the arena has become one of the most popular arenas in the world– hosting the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, the Womans NBA’s New York Liberty, as well as premier concerts, championship boxing, college basketball, and formerly the NY Islanders Hockey team. As reported by Crain’s NY, Pacific Park, the planned $6 billion mixed-use megaproject promised to be built surrounding the arena, only actualized 50 percent of its plans. Just eight of its promised 16 apartment buildings have been built, delivering roughly 3,200 of the 6,400 planned apartments.
Despite this shortfall, the neighborhood has dramatically changed. A decade ago, the neighborhood consisted of law and accountant offices, thrift stores and chain restaurants. Today, there are tall apartment towers, trendy restaurants and booming public spaces. “There was a fear that Barclays would bleed over into the brownstone neighborhoods and take them over, like what’s happened around Madison Square Garden,” said Chris DeCrosta, the founding principal of GoodSpace, a retail-focused real estate brokerage, and a local resident. “I’m pleasantly surprised by how well it has blended in.”
Developed by Brooklyn-based real estate developer Forest City Ratner Companies and designed by the award-winning architectural firms AECOM and SHoP Architects, the Barclay Center boasts 17,732 seats for basketball games, 15,795 for hockey, and up to 19,000 seats for concerts. It also offers 101 luxury suites, and a variety of bars, lounges and clubs including the 40/40 CLUB & Restaurant by American Express, and Qatar Airways Courtside Club.
“It’s a totally different Flatbush than what people remember,” said Penny Glazier, a partner at Glazierworks, which has two restaurants nearby, both of open past midnight on nights where there is a Nets game or concert. The streets too look unrecognizable. The streetscape has been rejuvenated, with brighter facades and people flooding the sidewalks. “You can stand in front of our restaurant and see this great main artery of Brooklyn and realize the potential of this location,” boasted Eric Huang, chef and co-owner of Pecking House, a local eatery.
As per Crain’s , the transformation is still ongoing. Pop star Rihanna’s lingerie brand signed a 10-year lease for the three-story building at 182 Flatbush Avenue in Park Slope. The Barclays-facing building has been vacant for years. The 6,100-square-foot Triangle building was purchased by developer Hidrock Properties in 2019 for $7 million. Just seven years earlier the property had been traded for $4 million. Overall, retail rent in the area is now among Brooklyn’s highest, getting as much as $250 per square foot a year, DeCrosta said.
Residential towers in the neighborhood are booming too. Another high-rise is coming to the area at 100 Flatbush, with Alloy Development working on a 44-story phased 850-unit luxury project there.