PARK SLOPE — The developer that wants to replace one of the neighborhood's largest grocery stores with a mixed use development has a new plan for the site — and it's a "big win" for the community, City Councilman Brad Lander announced Monday.
After months of negotiations with neighborhood groups, Avery Hall Investments will reveal a new vision for the development of 120 Fifth Ave. — where spacious Key Food and parking lot are now — at a Nov. 1 community meeting, Lander and the nonprofit Fifth Avenue Committee announced late Monday.
"Because our neighbors came together and spoke with a united voice, meaningful progress has been made to address the community’s priorities," Lander said in a blog post published Monday evening. "We believe this is a big win for our community (and for community organizing)."
Avery Hall Investments announced its controversial plan in February to replace the grocery store with two mixed use buildings that would hold a smaller supermarket and 165 apartments, including 41 affordable units.
After angry locals denounced that vision, a community stakeholder group including representatives for elected officials, advocacy groups and neighborhood organizations met for a series of closed door talks with the developer. Residents' top concerns centered around the loss of the large grocery store and the affordability of the new apartments.
"Avery Hall Investments gladly engaged in a detailed review of the planned development with the Community Stakeholders' Group, which represents a wide cross-section of the residents of the neighborhoods affected by the proposed project," a spokesman for the developer said in an email Tuesday. "We believe that all parties acted in good faith to advance the interests of the community and that this process will result in a revised plan that meets the needs of area residents."
Lander and the Fifth Avenue Committee both said Monday that discussions with the developer had reached a successful conclusion, and both asked residents to back the new proposal, the details of which won't be unveiled until the Nov. 1 meeting.
"The stakeholder group will present the details on Nov. 1 — and recommend[s] that neighbors lend their broad support toward proceeding with the revised proposal," the Fifth Avenue Committee said in announcing the meeting.
The public meeting will be Tuesday, Nov. 1, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at P.S. 133, 610 Baltic St. at Fourth Avenue.
RELATED: 400 Angry Park Slopers Slam Plans for Key Food Site
RELATED: Key Food Site Needs 'Deeply Affordable' Housing And Market, Politicians Say
RELATED: Developer Planning Condos For Park Slope Corner That Was Once a 'Slum'
