We Buy Buildings & Development Sites in Gowanus

Local Knowledge

How the 2021 Rezoning Changed Gowanus

On November 23, 2021, the New York City Council approved the Gowanus Neighborhood Plan, rezoning roughly 82 blocks around the Gowanus Canal. It was one of the largest neighborhood rezonings in recent city history and is projected to bring about 8,500 new homes, including roughly 3,000 affordable apartments, along with new open space, school seats and infrastructure.

For property owners, the rezoning did two big things. First, it allowed residential and mixed-use development on many blocks that had been zoned exclusively for manufacturing, sharply increasing the potential floor area of some lots. Second, it attached conditions: Mandatory Inclusionary Housing requirements for new residential floor area, waterfront public access requirements for canal-front sites, environmental E-designations on many lots, and urban design rules for building heights and setbacks within the special district.

That means rezoning did not raise every property’s value equally. A mid-block garage between Third and Fourth Avenues, a canal-front warehouse on Nevins or Bond Street, and a walk-up on a side street that was already residential are now three very different assets. We study each lot at the tax-block level before we make an offer.

Environmental Context

The Superfund Cleanup and What It Means for Sellers

The Gowanus Canal was designated a federal Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010. The cleanup involves dredging contaminated sediment, capping the canal bottom and controlling ongoing pollution sources, including combined sewer overflows that the city is addressing with large underground retention tanks. The work has proceeded in phases along the canal for several years.

For owners, the cleanup is part of why the neighborhood’s long-term prospects have improved — and part of why transactions are complicated. Many lots carry E-designations for hazardous materials, noise or air quality, which require environmental testing and approvals before new residential development. Historic uses such as manufactured gas plants, fuel storage and auto repair can mean soil and groundwater remediation.

You do not need to test or remediate before selling to us. We review Phase I environmental information, public records and E-designation requirements as part of our underwriting, and we price the path to approval into our offer rather than making it your problem.

Regulated Buildings

Rent-Stabilized and 421-a Buildings in Gowanus

Not every Gowanus property is industrial. Pre-1974 walk-ups on Union, Sackett, Degraw, Douglass, Carroll and President Streets and on the numbered streets toward Park Slope frequently include rent-stabilized apartments. Owners of these buildings face the same pressures seen across the city: the 2019 HSTPA limits on increases, rising operating costs, and a 0% Rent Guidelines Board increase for stabilized leases starting between October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2027. We buy these buildings with tenants in place.

Gowanus also contains newer rentals built with 421-a benefits and a number of rezoning-era projects that started construction before the program closed to new starts on June 15, 2022. Those projects must obtain a certificate of occupancy by June 15, 2026 or, if they filed a qualifying letter of intent by September 12, 2024, by June 15, 2031, to keep their 421-a eligibility. If you own a project that is behind schedule, over budget or stuck with a lender, we can evaluate a purchase quickly. Learn more on our pages about rent-stabilized buildings and 421-a buildings.

Blocks We Know

Streets and Sub-Areas We Focus On in Gowanus

We track sales, filings and permits across Gowanus, with particular focus on:

• The canal corridor — Bond, Nevins and Hoyt Streets and the canal-front parcels subject to waterfront access requirements
• Third Avenue — the former industrial spine, now lined with new mixed-use development
• Fourth Avenue — higher-density corridor bridging Gowanus and Park Slope, served by the R train
• Union, Carroll and President Streets — cross streets with walk-ups, garages and small industrial buildings
• The numbered streets from 1st to 9th — a mix of manufacturing, residential and newly rezoned lots near the Smith-9th Streets and Fourth Avenue-9th Street stations

If your property sits just outside these blocks — in Boerum Hill, the Park Slope side of Fourth Avenue, or toward Carroll Gardens — we still want to hear about it.

Why Owners Sell

Typical Reasons Gowanus Owners Sell to Us

• Long-time industrial owners whose businesses have moved or retired and who want to capture rezoned value without developing themselves.
• Families holding garages or lots for decades who don’t want to navigate environmental review, affordability programs and construction.
• Landlords of older walk-ups facing capital needs and flat regulated rents.
• Developers of stalled projects facing cost overruns, lender pressure or tax-benefit deadlines.
• Partners who disagree about whether to hold, sell or build.

Whatever the reason, the conversation starts the same way: a confidential call, a look at the lot and a straightforward explanation of how we value it.

Development Math

What Your Gowanus Site Could Become

When we value a Gowanus lot, we start with a simple question: what could responsibly be built here, and what would it cost to get there? The answer comes from several layers of rules working together.

• Zoning floor area. The district assigned in 2021 determines the maximum floor area ratio, which, multiplied by lot area, sets the buildable square footage.
• Affordability. Mandatory Inclusionary Housing requires a share of new residential floor area to be permanently affordable, and projects seeking a tax benefit today generally rely on 485-x, which carries its own affordability tiers and, for larger buildings, construction wage minimums.
• City of Yes. The 2024 citywide zoning changes added a Universal Affordability Preference, allowing additional floor area when the extra space is permanently affordable, and eliminated parking requirements in the most transit-rich parts of the city.
• Environmental and waterfront rules. E-designations, remediation and canal-front access requirements add time and cost.
• Building form. Height limits, setbacks and street-wall rules shape how efficiently the allowable floor area can actually be used.

Only after working through each layer do we reach a land value. We share the key assumptions with you, so you can see how we got to our number instead of receiving a figure with no explanation.

Your Options

Selling Versus Developing Yourself

Some Gowanus owners consider developing their own land after the rezoning. It can make sense for owners with capital, experience and patience. For many others, the obstacles are substantial: environmental approvals, architectural and engineering costs before a shovel hits the ground, construction financing that demands significant equity and personal guarantees, affordable-unit compliance for decades, and several years of execution risk.

Selling to a developer converts that uncertain future value into a known price today. For owners who want to participate in the upside without taking construction risk, we can also discuss a joint venture, in which you contribute the land and we lead entitlement, financing and construction. Whether a partnership or an outright sale is better depends on your goals, timeline and tax situation, and we are glad to talk through both.

Our Process

How We Buy Gowanus Property

Our process is designed to be quiet and efficient. After a first confidential conversation, we review the lot’s zoning, E-designations, permit history, tax records and any leases. We walk the property once, at a time that works for you and any tenants or business operations. We then provide a written offer with a clear price, deposit, due-diligence period and closing date, plus the main assumptions behind it. Your attorney and ours handle the contract and closing. If you need time to relocate a business or complete a 1031 exchange, we can build that into the timeline.

Neighborhood Change

A Neighborhood in Transition

Gowanus today looks very different from the Gowanus of twenty years ago. New rental and condominium buildings line Third and Fourth Avenues, arts and maker spaces occupy restored industrial buildings such as the former power station now home to Powerhouse Arts, and new public open space is planned along the canal as waterfront sites redevelop. The city-owned Public Place site near the canal is planned for a large, mostly affordable housing development, and the rezoning included commitments for investment in the neighborhood’s public housing campuses, Gowanus Houses and Wyckoff Gardens.

That transition creates opportunity and uncertainty at the same time. Buyers are optimistic about the long-term neighborhood, but construction costs, interest rates, affordability requirements and environmental work all weigh on what a site is worth today. Owners who understand both sides of that equation tend to make better decisions about when and how to sell — and we are happy to walk through it with you, whether or not you end up selling to us.