We Buy Brownstones, Commercial Buildings & Development Sites from Downtown Brooklyn to Red Hook

Housing Stock

What Downtown & Brownstone Brooklyn Is Built Of

This is Brooklyn’s oldest built-up region. Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Fulton Ferry developed in the early and mid-19th century as Manhattan’s first commuter suburb, linked by ferry and later by the Brooklyn Bridge. Rowhouse blocks spread south and east into Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill over the following decades.

The typical home is a three- to four-story brownstone or brick rowhouse, often split into two to four apartments. Clinton Hill adds freestanding mansions along Clinton and Washington Avenues; Vinegar Hill and Wallabout add some of the city’s last clusters of early wood-frame houses. DUMBO and parts of Gowanus and Red Hook are dominated by brick warehouses and industrial buildings, some converted to lofts and offices. Downtown Brooklyn itself is now a high-rise district of offices, rental towers and retail along Fulton Mall.

Building types we see most often

• Landmarked brownstones and rowhouses, single- and multi-family
• Mixed-use buildings on Smith, Court, Atlantic, Myrtle and Fulton
• Small office, retail and commercial buildings Downtown
• Warehouses, garages and industrial lots in Red Hook and Gowanus
• 19th-century frame houses in Wallabout and Vinegar Hill
• Converted loft and live-work buildings

Zoning

Rezonings & Landmark Districts

Two major rezonings define this region. The 2004 Downtown Brooklyn rezoning raised density around Fulton Mall, Flatbush Avenue Extension and the Willoughby Street area to encourage office and commercial growth, and led to the residential towers that now dominate the skyline. A smaller 2003 rezoning of Bridge Plaza, the blocks near the Manhattan Bridge east of Jay Street, converted former manufacturing land to residential and mixed-use districts.

The 2021 Gowanus rezoning, approved by the City Council in November 2021, rezoned roughly 80 blocks along the canal and Fourth Avenue to allow mixed-use and residential buildings, with Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and waterfront access rules. The canal itself remains an EPA Superfund site, and cleanup obligations shape what can be built on some parcels.

Landmark districts cover much of the rest. Brooklyn Heights became New York City’s first historic district in 1965, followed by Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Fulton Ferry, Vinegar Hill, DUMBO and Wallabout. Red Hook remains largely zoned for manufacturing, with the Brooklyn Marine Terminal redevelopment plan adding long-term uncertainty and interest. City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, adopted in December 2024, also adjusts density and parking rules on many lots. Owners should confirm what applies to their specific property with a zoning attorney.

Regulated Buildings

Rent-Stabilized & 421-a Buildings

Many brownstones in this region were divided into apartments in the 20th century, and those with six or more units built before 1974 are often rent-stabilized. Larger walk-ups and elevator buildings in Boerum Hill, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill can carry stabilized tenants as well. Newer rentals in Downtown Brooklyn, Gowanus and along Fourth Avenue often carry 421-a benefits.

Since the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, owners cannot raise regulated rents through vacancy bonuses or high-rent deregulation, and improvement-based increases are limited. The 421-a program closed to new projects in 2022 and was succeeded by 485-x in 2024; existing 421-a buildings keep their benefit schedules. We buy regulated buildings as they are. See our pages on rent-stabilized buildings and 421-a buildings.

Commercial & Development

Downtown Brooklyn & Red Hook Commercial Real Estate and Development Sites

Owners searching for buyers of Downtown Brooklyn commercial real estate, a Brooklyn development site for sale or land development in Red Hook usually hold one of a few property types. We buy all of them directly.

Downtown Brooklyn commercial and retail

Fulton Mall, Livingston Street, Willoughby Street, Court Street and the streets around Borough Hall hold older retail, office and mixed-use buildings that predate the 2004 rezoning towers. Some are fully leased; many have vacant upper floors, retail turnover or leases well below current levels. We buy these as operating properties or as redevelopment sites, depending on lot size, zoning and existing floor area. The Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District and other landmark boundaries can affect what is possible, and we check them before we price.

Downtown Brooklyn development

Underbuilt lots in Downtown Brooklyn, such as two-story buildings in high-density commercial districts, parking lots and older garages, can carry significant unused floor area. We buy them as-is and handle the zoning analysis, demolition, filings and construction ourselves.

Red Hook land and warehouses

Red Hook’s industrial land runs from the Gowanus Expressway and Hamilton Avenue down to the piers and Erie Basin. Most of it is zoned for manufacturing, so residential development is not allowed as-of-right on many lots, and much of the area lies in a FEMA flood zone. We still buy Red Hook warehouses, truck yards, garages and vacant lots, valuing them for industrial or commercial use today and for their long-term position near the Brooklyn Marine Terminal redevelopment. We do not assume a rezoning will happen.

• Storefront and mixed-use buildings Downtown
• Small office and institutional buildings
• Parking lots, garages and one-story taxpayers
• Red Hook warehouses, yards and vacant lots
• Gowanus industrial lots inside or beside the rezoning

Where We Buy

Downtown & Brownstone Brooklyn Neighborhoods We Buy In

Downtown Brooklyn & Bridge Plaza

Downtown Brooklyn centers on Borough Hall, Fulton Mall, MetroTech and the Flatbush Avenue Extension, with nearly every subway line stopping at Jay Street, Borough Hall, DeKalb Avenue or Hoyt Street. Bridge Plaza, east of Jay Street near the Manhattan Bridge, was rezoned from manufacturing in 2003. We buy commercial, retail and mixed-use buildings, older office properties and underbuilt development sites throughout the district.

Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn Heights sits on the bluff above the East River, from the Promenade to Court Street and Cadman Plaza. It became the first historic district in New York City in 1965, and its streets, including Pierrepont, Remsen, Willow, Hicks and Henry, hold Federal, Greek Revival and Italianate rowhouses. We buy townhouses, multi-unit brownstones and small apartment buildings, including estate properties and buildings with long-term tenants.

DUMBO, Fulton Ferry & Fulton Landing

DUMBO fills the blocks between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, with former warehouses and factories along Water, Front and Washington Streets, designated the DUMBO Historic District in 2007. The Fulton Ferry Historic District, designated in 1977, covers the old ferry landing at Old Fulton Street, now Fulton Landing at Brooklyn Bridge Park. We buy loft buildings, commercial condominiums, small mixed-use buildings and the rare remaining lot.

Vinegar Hill

Vinegar Hill is a small enclave east of DUMBO beside the Brooklyn Navy Yard, around Hudson Avenue, Plymouth Street and Front Street. Its Federal-era frame and brick houses form the Vinegar Hill Historic District, designated in 1997, and the area keeps a mix of houses, small industrial buildings and Con Edison property. We buy rowhouses, frame houses and small commercial and industrial buildings here.

Boerum Hill

Boerum Hill runs between Court Street and Fourth Avenue, from Schermerhorn Street to Warren Street, with Atlantic Avenue and Smith Street as its commercial edges. Its historic district, designated in 1973, covers Greek Revival and Italianate rowhouses on State, Pacific, Dean and Bergen Streets. We buy brownstones, multi-family rowhouses and mixed-use buildings on Atlantic Avenue and Smith Street.

Cobble Hill

Cobble Hill sits between Atlantic Avenue, Court Street, DeGraw Street and Hicks Street, served by the F and G at Bergen Street. Its historic district, designated in 1969 and extended in 1988, includes Warren Place’s workingmen’s cottages, the Home and Tower Buildings and blocks of brick and brownstone rowhouses. We buy townhouses, small apartment buildings and mixed-use buildings on Court Street and Atlantic Avenue.

Carroll Gardens

Carroll Gardens runs south of DeGraw Street to the Gowanus Expressway, between the BQE and Hoyt Street, along the F and G at Carroll Street and Smith-9th Streets. Its brownstones are known for unusually deep front gardens, and the Carroll Gardens Historic District, designated in 1973, covers parts of President and Carroll Streets. We buy two- to four-family brownstones, mixed-use on Court and Smith, and estate properties.

Columbia Street Waterfront District

The Columbia Street Waterfront District lies west of the BQE trench, between Atlantic Avenue and the Red Hook border, cut off from Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens by the expressway. Columbia Street holds older walk-ups, small mixed-use buildings and a few industrial lots near the Brooklyn Marine Terminal piers. We buy walk-ups, corner buildings, rowhouses and small lots.

Gowanus

Gowanus follows the canal from Douglass Street to Hamilton Avenue, between Bond Street and Fourth Avenue, with the Union Street, Carroll Street and Ninth Street bridges crossing the water. The 2021 rezoning changed most of its industrial land to mixed-use and residential districts. We buy development sites, warehouses, auto shops, rowhouses and mixed-use buildings throughout the rezoning area and the blocks beside it.

Red Hook

Red Hook is a peninsula bounded by the Gowanus Expressway, the Gowanus Canal and the harbor, with Van Brunt Street as its main street and Coffey Park, the Red Hook Ball Fields and the Erie Basin as landmarks. Its rowhouse blocks sit between warehouses, the Red Hook Houses and the waterfront piers. We buy land, warehouses, rowhouses, mixed-use buildings and industrial property across the neighborhood.

Fort Greene & Atlantic Terminal

Fort Greene surrounds Fort Greene Park, from Flatbush Avenue to Vanderbilt Avenue and from Myrtle Avenue toward Atlantic Avenue, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music area and Atlantic Terminal. The Fort Greene Historic District, designated in 1978, covers its Italianate and brownstone rowhouses on streets like South Oxford, South Portland and Adelphi. We buy brownstones, multi-family rowhouses and mixed-use on DeKalb, Fulton and Myrtle.

Clinton Hill

Clinton Hill runs from Vanderbilt Avenue to Classon Avenue and from Flushing Avenue to Atlantic Avenue, anchored by Pratt Institute. Its historic district, designated in 1981, includes the freestanding mansions of Clinton and Washington Avenues and long blocks of rowhouses. We buy mansions, brownstones, small walk-ups and mixed-use buildings on Myrtle Avenue and Fulton Street.

Wallabout & the Navy Yard Area

Wallabout sits south of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, roughly between Flushing Avenue and Myrtle Avenue, from Navy Street east toward Classon Avenue. The Wallabout Historic District, designated in 2011, protects one of the city’s largest groups of pre-Civil War wood-frame houses along Clinton and Vanderbilt Avenues. Together with Vinegar Hill, it frames the Navy Yard. We buy frame houses, rowhouses and small industrial and commercial buildings.

Why Owners Sell

Why Owners Here Sell to Us

• An inherited brownstone that needs a full renovation and LPC approvals
• A multi-family rowhouse with stabilized tenants and capped income
• A commercial building Downtown with vacant floors or expiring leases
• A Red Hook or Gowanus lot that would take years and capital to develop
• Facade, roof or Local Law 11 work the owner does not want to fund
• Co-owners or heirs who want to settle an estate cleanly and privately

Owners in landmarked neighborhoods often value privacy above all. We buy without signs, listings or broker tours.

Your Options

Listing, Developing or Selling Direct

Listing with a broker

A renovated, vacant brownstone in Brooklyn Heights or Cobble Hill can do well on the open market. Occupied buildings, commercial properties with leasing issues and industrial land usually take longer, attract fewer qualified buyers and involve financing contingencies, inspections and commissions.

Developing it yourself

Development can capture the most value on a Gowanus or Downtown site, but it means architects, zoning analysis, LPC or Mandatory Inclusionary Housing compliance, construction financing and years of risk.

Selling directly to Red Hook Development

We buy as-is, for cash, on your timeline, without listing the property. You trade some potential upside for certainty and privacy. See what we buy.

How It Works

How Selling Works

• Tell us about the property. Use the quick form or our detailed seller form.
• We review it. Zoning, landmark status, rent rolls, leases, violations and environmental questions.
• We visit once. On your schedule, with notice to tenants as required.
• You get a written cash offer. No financing contingency.
• We close when you are ready. Often in three to six weeks.

Market Context

Market Context

Downtown and Brownstone Brooklyn combine the borough’s most established residential blocks with its most active development zones. Downtown has added thousands of apartments since 2004, Gowanus is in the middle of a rezoning-driven building cycle, and Red Hook’s waterfront is the subject of a long-term public redevelopment plan for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

For owners of older buildings, rising insurance, Local Law facade and energy requirements and rent regulation have changed the economics. A direct offer gives you a clear number to compare against other options. If your property is elsewhere, see our North Brooklyn and Central Brooklyn pages.