PARK SLOPE — The developer building condos and a new cinema at the Pavilion Theater is poised to reveal its plans to the public, and a local group is asking residents to weigh in.
Hidrock Realty is scheduled to present details on its 24-unit condo building, 16-car garage and 4-screen movie theater at Thursday's Community Board 6 land use committee meeting and is due before the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Aug. 4.
"The community's testimony at both public hearings can influence the project's design, which makes it important for the community's voice to be heard at these hearings," the Park Slope Civic Council said in a flier distributed to neighbors. "The project will be a significant change."
The 6-story condo building will replace a long vacant restaurant next door to the Pavilion at 190 Prospect Park West, and Hidrock also plans to add a floor atop the Pavilion, which will be completely renovated. The new development will overlook Bartel-Pritchard Square, the traffic circle and tiny island park that forms the border between Park Slope and Windsor Terrace.
The Civic Council doesn't meet over the summer, so it hasn't taken an official position on the development. But Civic Council board member Peter Bray has seen renderings of Hidrock's plans and he's concerned about how the new condo building will blend in with the historic circle.
"It kind of tries to grab attention, and in my view I don't think that's what belongs on the circle," Bray said. "The design is, I think, at odds with the existing residential buildings on the square. I don’t think it’s particularly in context with the theater either."
Bray saw the renderings at a private meeting organized by City Councilman Brad Lander, who's been vocal about demanding that Hidrock keep a movie theater at the Pavilion building, instead of handing over the ground-floor space there to any retail tenant.
A spokesman for Hidrock said a movie theater would produce "the least revenue from the available retail space," but that Lander's "vigorous appeal" convinced the developer to keep a cinema there.
Hidrock is evaluating proposals from multiple operators interested in taking over the theater space, the spokesman said. He declined to say when construction is expected to start and when the existing Pavilion would have to close.
The spokesman added that Hidrock "envisions a project that takes into account the unique character of the surrounding neighborhood” and is working with a firm that specializes in historic preservation.
Bray said any new building added to Bartel-Pritchard Square should honor its historic character.
He noted that the Landmarks Preservation Committee dubbed the circle "a grand entrance" to Park Slope when the LPC expanded the Park Slope Historic District to the south in 2012. The buildings currently on the circle curve along with the circle and are in harmony with the setting, he said.
“The buildings that form the entry portal into the neighborhood make a statement, so the new building going up on that restaurant site really ought to play a supporting role, not be a statement building in itself,” Bray said.
“I’m hopeful that through the public hearing process the design will be tweaked to contribute to the appearance of the circle rather than compete with the other buildings.”
Community Board 6's landmarks land use committee meets at 6 p.m. on Thursday July 23 at the 78th Precinct, 65 Sixth Ave. Click here for the full agenda.
