Brooklyn, NY According to the architects for the redevelopment of the Sunset Park Library, Magnusson Architecture and Planning (MAP) a ground breaking was held for the new mixed-use building. The new development will be completed in December 2020 and will feature 21,000 s/f library facility topped by 49 affordable residences for qualified low-income occupants. Sunset Park is due to a remarkable partnership between the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) and the Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC) and represents a groundbreaking model for shared-use development that can be replicated in other communities across the city. The project was developed in partnership with the New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), FAC and BPL.
“We’re very proud to be part of a project with such positive impact in Sunset Park. Not only does the development help meet the city’s critical need for more affordable housing, but it also enhances a much-loved and heavily used library branch, which is so vital to a strong community,” said Christine Hunter, principal, MAP.
Replacing the current Sunset Park Library branch, this new, eight-story mixed-use development will offer two and a half floors of library space (more than double the current s/f) plus 49 units of much needed affordable housing in the neighborhood. The library’s glass front will brighten the streetscape, open the building to the community and welcome visitors.
The windows will also bring natural light into the reading and learning spaces within. Above, a brick exterior echoes the neighborhood’s historic building material, providing a respectful addition to the area. The masonry gives way to paneling at the 7th floor setback and insets on the façade, breaking the mass and lightening the structure’s presence. Topped with solar panels, the development is expected to achieve significant energy cost reductions. Residential amenities include a community room that opens onto a landscaped outdoor deck at the second floor.
Sunset Park is home to one of Brooklyn’s busiest libraries, but the former library built in 1972 proved too small to meet the needs of one of Brooklyn’s fastest growing communities and required more than $6 million in repairs to function. An interim Sunset Park Library was opened in Spring of 2018 at 4201 4th Avenue and will remain open until the new permanent branch is completed.
Sign up is quick, easy, & FREE.
.gif)