Today Newtown Creek stands as one of the “nation’s most polluted waterways,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as a result of industrial contamination from nearby factories and raw sewage dumping that dates back to the 1800s.
But listed as a Superfund site since 2010 and with an ongoing remedial process, brokers at Greiner-Maltz Investment Properties are marketing a site across from a section of the infamously contaminated body of water that could be in high demand after the grimy, toxic 3.8-mile creek is cleaned up.
The site sits at the edge of Ridgewood near the border of East Williamsburg and Maspeth to the north. It begins where Metropolitan and Onderdonk avenues intersect, and is surrounded by various factories in the neighborhood.
An existing 4,225-square-foot building with the address 46-00 Metropolitan Ave. is on the site, which is being used as an auto junk yard. The property has up to 40,720 square feet of buildable space zoned for manufacturing, but an investor could redevelop it into a hotel — with views of the now-mucky creek — brokers said.
“We’re getting a lot of interest. Some investors feel that this area is going to change,” said John Orgera, director of sales for Greiner-Maltz. “There are talks about the cleanup of Newtown Creek. There is bike lane proposed for that area. So people are optimistic.”
Orgera and John Gonsalves are marketing the property, which they said could also be used for a retail space or mixed-use office. The asking price is $7,250,000.
The closest train station from the site is the Jefferson Street L stop, which is a 10-minute walk. Nearby the site is a popular restaurant, Bun-Ker Vietnamese, and a few blocks further is the Knockdown Center event hall in Maspeth. Continue on Metropolitan Avenue past Flushing Avenue and the street becomes a commercial strip with restaurants and stores.
An environmental study will have to be performed in the event that a developer intends to build on the marketed site, and the property may need a cleanup of its own if serious contaminants are found, but investors could lose out big if they don’t act, the brokers said. The remedial investigation of the Newtown Creek started in its second phase last year, according to the EPA.
“Once it’s cleaned up it’s only going to get more expensive,” Gonsalves said. “There isn’t any more land. What may be expensive today could be a steal in five years.”
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