Front & York: Integration of a new residential mixed-use building into the urban fabric of DUMBO Brooklyn

While working with CIM Group on Front & York in DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) Brooklyn, most of my time was spent walking neighborhoods around urban pocket parks like Brooklyn Ferry Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Cadman Plaza Park, and Whitman Park. This is another 15-minute urban village and it is best experienced on foot, by bike, and by using the nearby York Street metro subway station that leads to Manhattan.

A bodega on nearly every street corner like Wholesome Farms Market, Bridge Fresh, Peas & Pickles, and DUMBO Market (opened in 2019). Cool specialty stores like POWERHOUSE Bookstore and M Collection Home. And, of course, a plethora of really good specialty food places like Bread & Spread and Lassen & Hennigs.

In fact, there are about 25 food and beverage stores, 7 furniture and home furnishing stores, 20 health and personal care stores, and 107 sit-down restaurants in a 5-minute walk around Front & York. The 30,000 and some residents in this area spend an annual $81M for groceries and $55M at restaurants, which is 14% more than the U.S. average consumer. Ironically, the estimated number of cars per household in this 5-minute walk area is 0.34! So this urban economic habitat is characterized by residents that support neighborhood businesses.

I mention these places because the challenge and opportunity with Front & York was to integrate a new residential mixed-use building into the urban fabric of DUMBO Brooklyn. You can read about the 408 for-sale condominium units and 320 rental units at Front & York in articles published by New York YIMBY and the three-level Life Time. Read about some of the tenants in this New York Times article, too.

Appears that the integration, while not necessarily without notice, is moving right along. Nicely done CIM! Visit Front & York and have lunch in the neighborhood on your next trip to Brooklyn.