This Atlantic-to-Pacific switcheroo is a new kind of sea change.
The developer of Atlantic Yards is rebranding the controversial project as “Pacific Park” as it gears up to begin construction on the next apartment building.
All 298 rental units in the 18-story building, on 535 Carlton Ave. at the corner of Dean St., will be set aside as affordable.
The space surrounding the 285,000-square-foot building and six other planned structures will be located on what’s going to amount to an 8-acre green space.
“Right now, it’s a gash in the middle of Brooklyn,” said Forest City Ratner spokeswoman Ashley Cotton. “It will become a place people want to move, live and visit.”
The developer hired an award-winning branding agency, Pentagram, to help rename the new buildings.
But one industry expert was not impressed with the new moniker.
“It’s not really rebranding; it’s just giving it a new name,” said branding guru Rob Frankel.
“They seem to be on the wrong coast,” he added.
Construction is expected to start in December and last two years.
Down the block at 550 Vanderbilt Ave., an 11-story building with 300 condo units will start going up a few weeks later. That 11-story tower will have 300 condo units.
The two buildings announced Monday will be constructed the old fashioned way, on site, because there is not enough space at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to build the pre-fab units like those currently under construction, Cotton said.
They were both designed by architect COOKFOX.
The $5 billion plan to build 16 towers featuring condos and 2,250 units of affordable housing, along with an arena, over the 22-acre site stalled when residents and community activists sued to block construction.
By the time the developer cleared those legal hurdles, the economy had tanked, further delaying the buildings as Forest City Ratner sought a new partner. That delay angered those who were being priced out of the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.
In June, Forest City Ratner sold a roughly 70% stake in the site, excluding the Barclays Center, to a Chinese developer, Greenland Group, which has vowed to speed up construction.
The name change was first reported in Curbed.
