One Bridge Park, a development that’s had a roller coaster ride. It’s monolithic size certainly heralded the development of 85 acres of water front Park space. It’s celebrity tenants often closed multi-million dollar deals, the latest being an un-disclosed buyer who topped the most-expensive-condo-in-Brooklyn list by combining several apartments to form a ~9,500 square foot unit for a cool $8.495M. But all has not always been so rosy for One Bridge Park. Even now, more than 3 years since it’s started selling, only ~42% are sold according to the sales agent. It’s problems with budget (from $150M to $300M) are well documented. It spiraled to its lowest depths in 2009 when prices were cut well into the 25%+ range and the developer (RAL) was getting ready to rent 25% of its inventory. Finally, the true mark of distress, being crowned one of NYC’s Ghost Towers.
But with opening of the Pier 6 and the market picking up things were looking brighter for One Bridge Park, so we decided to take a look around. It was an easy 10-15 minute walk from Borough Hall (4/5), and despite what I had read (from blogs and forums etc,..) crossing the BQE to get to One Bridge Park wasn’t nearly as daunting as I expected. Being rewarded with staggering lower Manhattan views for crossing the road isn’t too shabby either. The place is grand, the hallways are opulently large, the ceilings in the units easily top 11-13ft, and the wall to ceiling glass are the most impressive we’ve seen yet. It also had the custom finishes we liked so much in the Toren, and the kitchen island that doubled as a dining table reminiscent of our so-close-to-closing-Oro. The amenities are comparable if not better. While there’s no pool, it has a 3,000+ft gym, 2 yoga studios, cardio rooms littered throughout the floors (so that you don’t have to schlep it to they gym if you’re lazy), several roof decks, a media room, a children’s play room, and a friggin’ park with a river slide in your back yard! WOW. And from the looks of it things were only going to get better, more development along the pier, easier transportation, and the water taxi in full swing offering an easy 5min boat ride to Manhattan.
But we found One Bridge Park is not for everyone, specifically not for us. Say what you will about Toren’s design — but I think we can all agree this one is not pretty. No matter what angle you shoot it, it’s always going to look disturbingly big and grey, like “an abandoned factory” which is essentially what it is. The shuttle (every 15 mins) and the water taxi are great options, but in the winter if you ever do have to make the 10-15 minute walk it will feel as Josh said “a million miles away”. And while it’s got a park, it doesn’t seem to have much else in terms of convenience. I didn’t spy one deli, and the restaurant (River Deli?) we passed was closed. We were also on the fence about the units themselves. In our price range we could afford ~ 2 bedroom, 1 bath, Brooklyn side views. While we could live with one less bath and a tad smaller space (you do get storage space in closeted rooms on the floor) the Brooklyn views are tainted by the ever busy BQE. Finally the oak floors, while I’m sure they’re sturdy don’t have much sheen and look as if they could start warping ( a la 53 Boerum Place). Lastly, why is it only 42% sold after all this time? The units are impressive, and it’ a lot of strong selling points. Plus it was finished in 2007 a comfortable year before the market tanked, so I’m drawing a blank on its less than stellar sales. It makes one wonder.
It is nice to know though, that what I liked most about the place were the parks, and that is free for all! Water slide here I come!
The Queen Bee. She rules over the Flatbush Riviera. All of Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene is her domain. 
The building was actually finished in 2009, not 2007 as noted above. We moved in in September 2008 (full disclosure …. I am a resident) and were one of the first to do so. Of course, this was just when real estate tanked.
Equally of course, I worred about the sales pace but honestly I don’t think you can read “failure” into it. They have secure financing for the forseeable future. The issue is less pricing than it is the fact that banks are still not lending easily and loans are still hard to come by for all but the most qualified. The sales pace is very similar to that of other high profile buildings like On Prospect and comparable buildings in downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Manhattan.
Esthetics and conveniences are another matter, of course. My walk from the subway to the office in mid-town Manhattan is longer than my walk to the subway in Brooklyn (8 min). It may well be too long for some, but I like walking and didn’t mind it, even in the dead of winter. But that’s just me. Others will not want that kind of exposure. Thank goodness there are choices for eveyone.
I WOULD love to see a more mixed building….older as well as the younger 30 somethings. And I do LOVE the fact that the walls and floors are thick as hills, with soundproofing built in, so once inside, I hear only the sounds of my own apartment. A far cry from my former apartment and an unbelievable luxury.
BTW the oak floor sheen is due to the kind of finish applied — in this case, water-based. Environmental requirements are making this much more common and the design trend overall is in the “matte finish” direction. Again, it’s esthetic preference but has no functional implication. If they were going to warp, they would have by now (barring someone’s bathtub overflowing or other water disaster).
Thanks for your otherwise balanced review and good luck with the apartment hunt.