State-owned Brooklyn property is for sale.

Charles A Gargano, chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESD), recently announced the release of a request for proposals (REP) for the purchase and development of a 18,000 SF, state-owned site fronting Smith St. between Atlantic Ave. and State St. in Brooklyn. Responses to the RFP are due on February 26, 2001.

ESD, working with Brooklyn borough president Howard Golden and the Hoyt- Schermerhorn community task force, created the development design and use guidelines to attract residential and commercial development at the site, which is currently used for short-term parking.

"Hoyt-Schermerhorn has the potential to become one of Brooklyn's vibrant neighborhoods. Business is booming and new construction is going up at a record pace all across the state, but it is important that we build upon New York's great heritage," Gargano said.

?In 1998, the Brooklyn borough president's office organized the Hoyt-Schermerhorn community task force to study and recommend a plan for the productive reuse of the parking lot sites. The task force is composed of the Atlantic Avenue Association Local Development Corp., Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association, Boerum Hill Association, Brooklyn chamber of commerce, community board #2, Hoyt Street Association, and the State Street Coalition.

The task force produced a detailed plan outlining preferred future development, stressing the maintenance of neighborhood character and the need for the sites to link downtown Brooklyn with "brownstone Brooklyn." Design guidelines include restricting the height to 140 feet and requiring streetscape improvements, such as tree plantings along Atlantic Ave. and Smith St.

The three sites, totaling approximately 178,000 SF, are located on Schermerhorn St., between Smith St. and Bond St., and on Smith St., between Atlantic Ave. and State St. The land facing Schermerhorn St. extends over the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station and tunnels for the "A," "C," and "0" lines. State St., however, is a tree-lined block, containing mid and late 19th century brownstones and townhouses, several of which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1974, ESD acquired three parcels of vacant land near downtown Brooklyn from the City of New York, as part of the Schermerhorn-Pacific urban renewal project. Changes in the availability of housing subsidies, as well as community opposition to the original project, prevented development from taking place. Several subsequent proposals have been: entertained, however, none were realized.