Greg O'Connell

Michael O'Connell, scion of Red Hook real estate mogul Greg O'Connell, is taking charge of a project to move the recently closed Cheyenne diner from its Chelsea location to a seaside spot in Brooklyn.

Mr. O'Connell, 37, has worked on developments with his father since he was 7. "It's hard to do anything on my own, my dad and I do pretty much everything hand and hand," he said. "But, yeah, this was definitely more my idea, and I'm taking the lead on this."

The Cheyenne was forced to close this April to make way for a nine-story apartment building being erected by the diner's landlord, George Papas, at 33rd Street and Ninth Avenue.  read more »

With the opening of a massive 346,000-square-foot Ikea in Red Hook on June 18, New Yorkers’ attention turns again to this tiny corner of Brooklyn waterfront. What they see is largely the legacy of one man, Greg O’Connell, the beat cop turned real estate baron.

At times, Mr. O’Connell can seem like a caricature of the down-to-earth developer. He has appeared in dozens of articles on the area, always in his trademark denim overalls, usually in his silver pickup truck, which he calls his office, and more recently with a copy of Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities in one hand, like some patron saint of urban renewal.  read more »

Well, the store's quickly turned from a relaxed, cocktail-party-like atmosphere to a free-for-all, with shoppers crowding each other, carts banging into little children and each other, and grumbling overheard about the lack of space and poor traffic design.

Nevertheless, people are in a shopping frenzy, an orgy of food purchasing and sampling. It's as if the crowd disbelieves that the Fairway is indeed open, and must hoard supplies before, magically, it disappears, reverting once more to an empty warehouse on the waterfront with only a lonely tugboat sounding its horn in the broken-down, ramshackle space.

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Curbed's got info that 160 Imlay is up for sale. Observers of the Red Hook scene will note that this property's had problems since its developers started its condo conversion. Red Hook real-estate baron Greg O'Connell's been opposed to the conversion since the beginning, and the projects been stalled for years.

Mr. O'Connell's been the prime mover for much of Red Hook's "renaissance"--depending on whom you ask--and he's the owner of 480-500 Van Brunt Street, the Fairway building.  read more »

We'll go O'Connell-hunting this afternoon--he's been spotted at the Fairrway opening--and get his take on this development.

-Matthew Grace

It's finally open! After weeks--nay, months--of anticipation, the 52,000-square-foot Red Hook Fairway finally opened its doors to the press at 9:30 a.m., and the general public a hour later. From the look of it, it was a resounding success: plenty of media, followed by a large neighborhood turnout.

Media-savvy Fairway greeted the press with a bag full of swag--Fairway-brand olive oil, balsamic vinegar, coffee and popcorn--and free samples were abundant. Sushi, hummus and chips were served, and a marching band set up in the parking lot to herald in the shoppers.

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The Brooklyn Papers report that Community Board 6's waterfront committee smacked down Thor Equities plea to have its Revere Sugar refinery, on the waterfront in Red Hook, exempted from the Industrial Business Zone. The refinery has sat abandoned for years.

The developer recently bought the property for $40 million and is trying to convert the site into retail and residential properties. It's located next to Greg O'Connell's Beard Street Pier and two blocks form the soon-to-open Fairway grocery store.  read more »

The I.B.Z. is designed to retain industry in the city, making it harder for developers to rezone industrial property.

-Matthew Grace

The New York Times has a dense article today about Red Hook and the competing interests at play there. On the one side, there's Greg O'Connell, the ex-cop and scourge of crooked politicians who is a proponent of the area's industrial use and is renovating an old warehouse right on the waterfront (pictured) that'll have a Fairway and some nice residential units, and John McGettrick, the co-president of the Red Hook Civic Association, who's pushing for more and more housing.

The article also mentions controversial developments in the nabe such as 160 Imlay, the much-delayed luxury residential development sitting over the new cruise ship port (which, when completed, will service the Queen Mary 2), and Ikea's big-box store that'll occupy the southern portion of the waterfront.  read more »

All in all, it's a good overview by reporters Joseph Berger and Charles V. Bagli, and essential to anyone trying to understand the many different forces working to shape this seaside neighborhood. (The New York Times)

-Matthew Grace

The renewal--or gentrification--of Red Hook continues apace!

The Real Estate has infiltrated the fabled neighborhood that sits off the Buttermilk Channel (where, according to Wikipedia, low tide would allow farmers to herd their cows over for grazing on Governors' Island), to bring you news of this four-story apartment building currently being constructed at 152 Beard Street, at Van Brunt Street.

This stretch of the Hook was rezoned in 2002 to allow mixed-use, residential/light-industrial development. One of the first projects to enjoy this designation was developer Greg O'Connell's still-under-renovation Civil War-era luxury-condo building, two blocks away at 480-500 Van Brunt Street, right smack on the harbor shores.

According to our source, who asked not to be named, when 152 Beard Street is complete, it will feature six units with a grand total of 10,372 square feet. 152 Beard Street Corporation will be asking for market rent, which, in this rapidly developing neighborhood, could be quite high--especially after the gigantic Fairway finally opens (God knows when) and NY Water Taxi runs a schedule more copacetic to Wall Street workers.  read more »

Our source says that the ground floor will still be an auto shop, which might dampen rental rates if interested tenants are persnickity. Amenities in the 'hood already include low-priced (but expensive-tasting) French bistro 360, trendy diner Hope & Anchor and the new and ultra-delicious Baked cafe. Plus, this property is just around the corner from the fabled Sunny's bar.

- Matthew Grace