What We Buy
Downtown Brooklyn Commercial Real Estate: What We Buy and How It’s Valued
We buy small and mid-size commercial property in and around Downtown Brooklyn: retail buildings, mixed-use buildings, taxpayers, garages and development sites. Here is an honest guide to the market, and to what we do and don’t buy.
- Retail, mixed-use and small commercial buildings
- Development sites, parking lots and low-rise taxpayers
- Off-market and as-is, leases and vacancies included
- We don’t buy large enclosed malls or office towers
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Quick Answers
Downtown Brooklyn Commercial Real Estate: Quick Answers
Who buys commercial real estate in Downtown Brooklyn?
Buyers range from institutional investors and large developers, who buy office towers and big retail centers, to local developers and private investors, who buy smaller retail, mixed-use and development properties. Red Hook Development is in the second group. We buy small and mid-size commercial and mixed-use buildings and development sites in and around Downtown Brooklyn off-market, as-is and in cash. We do not buy large enclosed malls or institutional office towers.
Are there shopping centers for sale in Downtown Brooklyn?
Downtown Brooklyn’s large shopping centers, such as City Point and the malls around Atlantic Terminal, are big institutional-scale properties, and when assets of that size change hands it is usually through major investment sales brokerages. We are not a buyer for those, and we are not a listing service. What we do buy are smaller retail properties: buildings with several storefronts, low-rise taxpayers, and retail-over-residential buildings on streets like Fulton, Livingston, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Atlantic Avenue.
What did the 2004 Downtown Brooklyn rezoning do?
The 2004 rezoning raised allowable density across much of Downtown Brooklyn, with the goal of growing office and commercial space. Housing ended up dominating instead. A 2016 report from the Brooklyn Borough President’s office found that far more apartments were built in the following decade than the city had projected, while new commercial space fell well short. That is why Downtown Brooklyn’s skyline today is mostly residential towers.
Is Downtown Brooklyn still being developed?
Yes. New residential towers continue to rise, office conversions are being studied and pursued, and the city has invested in the public realm, including a renovated Fulton Mall streetscape unveiled in 2025. Large sites are scarce, so much of today’s development happens on smaller assemblages, older low-rise buildings and parking lots at the edges of the core, and in nearby Fort Greene, Boerum Hill and along Atlantic Avenue.
I’m searching for a Brooklyn development site for sale. Can you help?
We are a buyer, not a broker, so we don’t list or sell development sites to the public. If you own a potential site in Downtown Brooklyn or anywhere in the borough, though, we would like to hear from you. Send the address and we will review the zoning, lot area and buildable floor area and come back with a written offer, or an honest explanation if we’re not the right fit.
What We Buy
Downtown Brooklyn Property We’re Actively Buying
Retail Buildings
Two- to five-story buildings with stores at street level on and around Fulton Street, Livingston Street, Willoughby Street and Flatbush Avenue Extension, whether fully leased, partly vacant or empty.
Mixed-Use Buildings
Storefronts with apartments or offices above, the classic Brooklyn commercial building. Common along Atlantic Avenue, Court Street, Smith Street and Myrtle Avenue at the edges of Downtown. See our mixed-use page.
Taxpayers & Low-Rise Commercial
One- and two-story buildings built to cover costs until something bigger came along. In a district that allows towers, these are development sites with rent.
Parking Lots & Garages
Surface lots, parking garages and auto-related buildings around the core, which zoning in the area often allows to be replaced with far larger buildings.
Development Sites & Assemblages
Vacant land, teardowns and groups of adjoining lots in Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Prospect Heights and along Atlantic Avenue. See our vacant lot page.
Small Office & Loft Buildings
Smaller, older office or loft buildings that could suit a conversion or reposition. We evaluate these one at a time; we don’t buy large or institutional office towers.
Honest Fit
What We Buy in Downtown Brooklyn, and What We Don’t
People land on this page searching for Downtown Brooklyn commercial real estate, shopping centers for sale and development sites. We want to be clear about where we fit, so you don’t waste time.
We are a good fit for
- Owners of a single building or a few adjoining lots, up to mid-size commercial and mixed-use properties
- Retail with vacancies, short leases, deferred maintenance or tenant issues
- Low-rise buildings and parking lots sitting well below their zoning
- Estates, partnerships and owners who want a private, off-market sale
- Buildings with violations, an outdated certificate of occupancy or a messy history
We are not the right buyer for
- Large enclosed malls and regional shopping centers
- Institutional Class A office towers and large office campuses
- Hotels and large single-tenant retail boxes
- Buyers looking for a site to purchase; we don’t list property for sale
If you own one of the larger asset types, a commercial brokerage with an institutional investment sales team is likely your best route.
History
How the 2004 Rezoning Reshaped Downtown Brooklyn
In 2004 the city rezoned much of Downtown Brooklyn for higher density. The stated aim was to grow the borough’s office and commercial core near its subway hub, giving companies a lower-cost alternative to Manhattan.
The market had other ideas. Developers found residential towers far more profitable than speculative offices. A 2016 report from the Borough President’s office found that housing production in the following years ran many times higher than the city had projected, while new commercial space came in well short. The result is the Downtown Brooklyn of today: a dense residential neighborhood layered on top of a civic, academic and retail center.
What that means for owners now
- Most remaining low-rise buildings sit in districts that allow much larger buildings
- Large, clean development sites are rare, so smaller sites and assemblages draw attention
- Ground-floor retail now serves many thousands of residents, not just shoppers and office workers
- Office space carries more risk than housing in most underwriting
Zoning
The Special Downtown Brooklyn District
Much of Downtown Brooklyn is mapped within the Special Downtown Brooklyn District, which layers its own rules on top of the underlying zoning. Its stated purposes include strengthening the business core, easing the transition to Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights, and preserving the pedestrian character of key streets.
The Fulton Mall Subdistrict
Here the rules are designed to support retail. Street walls must rise to a minimum height, and an establishment with more than a short frontage on Fulton Street must have an entrance on Fulton. Special sign rules also apply.
The Atlantic Avenue Subdistrict
Along this stretch of Atlantic Avenue, the rules aim to protect the scale of its 19th-century three- and four-story shop buildings, keep a mix of homes and stores, and favor retail and services over automotive uses. That limits how large a new building can be, and it protects the corridor’s character.
Landmarks
Parts of the area fall within historic districts, including the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District around Court and Montague Streets, and individual landmarks are scattered throughout. Adjoining neighborhoods such as Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene and Boerum Hill have their own historic districts. Always confirm with a zoning attorney or architect before relying on any envelope.
Retail
Fulton Mall, Atlantic Avenue and Downtown Retail Today
Fulton Mall, the stretch of Fulton Street closed to cars except buses between Flatbush Avenue and Boerum Place, has been one of the city’s busiest shopping streets for generations. The former Abraham & Straus flagship, long home to Macy’s, still anchors it, now with new office floors built on top. City Point added a large mixed-use complex with retail and housing, and a renovated, greener Fulton Mall streetscape was unveiled in 2025.
What retail buyers look at
- Foot traffic and position on the block, including proximity to subway entrances
- Lease terms, rent compared with the market, and who pays taxes and expenses
- Tenant mix and credit, and how long storefronts take to re-lease
- Frontage, ceiling height and basement space
- Upper-floor use, and whether those floors are legal and leasable
Vacancy and leases
Commercial leases in New York City aren’t rent regulated, so the lease governs rent, term, renewals and any early termination rights. Buyers take a building subject to existing leases and will ask tenants for estoppel certificates. A vacant storefront lowers income but can make a property more flexible to a developer. We buy with vacancies, short leases and tenants in arrears; see selling with tenants not paying.
Office & Conversions
Office Conditions and Conversions
Downtown Brooklyn’s office market includes MetroTech Center, the civic and court buildings around Borough Hall, and newer space in projects like the former A&S building. Brooklyn office availability has been elevated in recent brokerage reports, and leasing has been uneven. That makes older, smaller office buildings harder to value as offices.
New conversion options
- City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, adopted in December 2024, allows conversions of non-residential buildings built before 1991 to housing in most areas where housing is permitted, up from much narrower rules before
- The state’s 467-m tax incentive, created in 2024, supports office-to-residential conversions that include affordable housing
- Conversions still depend on floor plates, light and air, structure, cost and the building’s specific zoning
We look at smaller office and loft buildings one at a time, and we’ll tell you honestly whether we see a conversion, a reposition or neither. Confirm eligibility for any incentive with an attorney.
Development
Downtown Brooklyn Development: Where Sites Still Exist
After two decades of towers, remaining development opportunity tends to be in a few places:
- Low-rise buildings in the core — taxpayers and older retail buildings around Fulton, Livingston, Willoughby, Bridge and Lawrence Streets
- Edges of the district — blocks transitioning toward Fort Greene, Boerum Hill and Vinegar Hill
- Atlantic Avenue — from the Atlantic Avenue Subdistrict to Prospect Heights, and further east, where the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan approved in May 2025 opened former industrial blocks in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant to housing
- Air rights — unused floor area above existing buildings, which can sometimes be sold to a neighbor; see our air rights guide
How a developer values a Downtown site
We start from the buildable floor area, then estimate the finished building’s value and subtract construction, soft costs, financing, time and profit. Whether a project can use the Universal Affordability Preference or the 485-x tax incentive, and how the site handles any landmark, environmental or tenant issues, all change the answer. An existing 421-a building or a rent-stabilized building is valued differently again.
Location
Why Location Matters So Much Here
Downtown Brooklyn is one of the best-connected places in the city. Jay Street–MetroTech, Borough Hall and Court Street, DeKalb Avenue, Hoyt–Schermerhorn, Nevins Street and Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center together serve most of the subway lines that run through Brooklyn, and the Long Island Rail Road ends at Atlantic Terminal. The Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges sit at the northern edge.
Around that hub are courts, Borough Hall, several colleges and universities, the BAM cultural institutions in Fort Greene and Barclays Center across Flatbush Avenue. For a buyer, a property’s distance from a station entrance or a busy corner can matter as much as its size.
How It Works
Selling Downtown Brooklyn Commercial Property to Us
- Send the address. Use the form above or our detailed seller form, and share the rent roll and leases if you have them. We respond within one business day.
- We review zoning, leases and records. Special district rules, landmarks, violations, certificate of occupancy and buildable floor area.
- You get a written offer. With our assumptions spelled out, including how we treated each lease and vacancy.
- Attorneys handle the contract. Your attorney negotiates the contract of sale; we order title and handle due diligence.
- You choose the closing date. No commission, no listing, no obligation until you sign.
If listing with a commercial broker would serve you better, for example a fully leased, well-located retail building that would draw wide investor interest, we will tell you. Read how off-market sales work to compare.
FAQ
Downtown Brooklyn Commercial Seller Questions
Do you buy buildings with national retail tenants?
We can, depending on the building’s size and the lease. A long lease to a strong national tenant is usually best marketed to income investors through a broker, since that’s where the competition is. We tend to be most useful when there’s vacancy, a short lease, or development potential the current income doesn’t reflect.
Is there a commercial rent tax on Brooklyn retail?
New York City’s commercial rent tax applies only to certain tenants in Manhattan south of 96th Street, so Brooklyn commercial tenants don’t pay it. Transfer taxes, mortgage recording taxes and capital gains still apply to a sale. Ask your attorney or CPA how they apply to your deal.
Can you buy just my building’s air rights?
Typically we buy the whole property, but in some cases we’ll consider buying or using unused development rights through a zoning lot merger if we own or are buying the adjoining lot. Air rights deals are technical and need attorneys on both sides.
Do you buy property near Barclays Center or in Prospect Heights?
Yes. We buy retail, mixed-use, rowhouses and development sites across the area around Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue, including Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, Boerum Hill and Park Slope, as well as along the rezoned Atlantic Avenue corridor further east.
My building has a store and apartments. Is it commercial?
For tax and lending purposes it may be classified differently depending on the number of units and how the space is used. For us it doesn’t matter much: we buy mixed-use buildings, including those with rent-stabilized apartments above the store.
Will you keep my sale confidential?
Yes. We buy off-market, so there’s no listing, sign or public marketing. Tenants and neighbors don’t need to know until you’re ready. The deed and transfer documents become public record after closing, as they do in any New York sale.
Related Pages
More Around Downtown Brooklyn
Neighborhoods, property types and guides for owners in and around Downtown Brooklyn.
Own Commercial Property in Downtown Brooklyn?
Find out what a developer will pay — privately, with no obligation. Call 718-500-3423 or email bklyn@redhookdevelopment.com.