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Cobble Hill's Court Street Among the Priciest Retail Rents in Brooklyn

By Nikhita Venugopal | October 15, 2015 2:57pm
 Rapisarda, a boutique on Court Street in Cobble Hill, closed its doors on March 15, the owner said.
Rapisarda, a boutique on Court Street in Cobble Hill, closed its doors on March 15, the owner said.
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DNAinfo/Nikhita Venugopal

COBBLE HILL — Court Street may be turning Cobble Hill into the next SoHo.

A new report from the Real Estate Board of New York found that the quaint commercial corridor has some of the highest retail rents in the borough.

The REBNY report examined some of Brooklyn's hottest retail streets, including Greenpoint's Franklin Street and Park Slope's Fifth Avenue.  

Its findings show that Williamsburg's Bedford Avenue between Grand and North 12th streets has the priciest average asking rent by far at $347 per square foot. That was followed by Fulton Mall in Downtown Brooklyn between Boerum Place and Flatbush Avenue at $287 per square foot.

But Court Street between Atlantic Avenue and Carroll Street was the pricest area south of Downtown Brooklyn at $162 per square foot. That includes a few blocks in Carroll Gardens, which begins at Degraw Street. 

Smith Street between Atlantic Avenue and Carroll Street had an average asking rent of $121 per square foot, the report said. 

Earlier this month, another real estate report found that Cobble Hill rents were among the most expensive in the borough and surpassed Manhattan median rents for 2015.

In recent times, both neighborhoods have seen a slew of high-end shops opening on the street.

Two pricey children's boutiques opened on Court Street in the past year. Jacadi, located at 189 Court St., is a French fashion retailer for babies. Sprout San Francisco brought its all-natural babywear from the West Coast to 376 Court St. as well. 

Trendy clothier Rag & Bone at 160 Court St. took over the Downtown Bar & Grill location last year. On the next block, Benefit Cosmetics opened its first Brooklyn store at 168 Court St.  

But with the arrival of pricey stores, Court Street is losing some of its smaller mom and pop businesses that had become a part of Cobble Hill's charming character. 

The owner of Community Bookstore sold his three-story building at 212 Court St. for $5.5 million. The bookstore, known for its seemingly disorganized stacks of books, will close next year. 

Winn Home & Beauty, a Court Street mainstay, will shutter after 26 years in the neighborhood, the store announced last week. 

And some of Court Street's businesses have been pushed out of the neighborhood because of rising rents.

An 18-year-old greeting card shop at 296 Court St. closed because of steep rent hikes. It has since been replaced with a Brooklyn Bodyburn.

Fashion boutique Rapisarda closed its Cobble Hill locations earlier this year. Shop owner Claudia Rapisarda told DNAinfo in March that she could not afford the space's rent after running her business for 12 years.

"It's a different world," she said at the time.