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Major leases for large downtown Brooklyn development projects are falling in line like dominoes. The loudest landing, Chase Manhattan Corp.'s choice of Brooklyn over New Jersey for a new back office facility, is sending tremors through the borough's real estate market, raising expectations of a boom.
Several large deals pending are likely to further alter downtown Brooklyn, and some smaller real estate transactions in the area reflect a belief that change is inevitable.
But ironically, big-tenants' interest in Brooklyn is having a chilling effect on some facets of the market by inspiring owners to raise prices unrealistically. For many small commercial property owners and for tenants that could benefit from being near Brooklyn's big new projects, the promise of massive redevelopment beginning several years from now is too far off to bank on.
"Brooklyn's always been the same. Nothing happens quickly," says Barry Fields, a broker with Manhattan-based Lansco Corp., which leases and manages many Brooklyn properties. "The announcement of change doesn't mean there will be an immediate effect. Three years for a small owner of a not-very major building is a long time."
One deal that would suggest a positive chain reaction in downtown Brooklyn could come from Manhattan-based NYNEX Corp., parent of New York Telephone. Sources say NYNEX Properties, the company's real estate arm, which owns buildings adjacent to Brooklyn's MetroTech site, has decided to upgrade them for a regional training center.
The buildings at 101 Willoughby St. and 360 Bridge St. are currently customer service and switching equipment facilities and include vacant floors.
The phone company says its plans are only tentative and would not divulge details. But sources say the NYNEX strategy...