After decades of walking past a hulking, boarded‑up shell at 1024 Fulton Street, Clinton Hill neighbors are finally getting word that it is coming down. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Feb. 13, 2026 that a nonprofit partnership will take over the long‑vacant three‑story building, raze it and make way for new housing on the site.
The plan on the table calls for about 125 permanently affordable rental apartments, a roughly 27,000‑square‑foot intergenerational community center and a 1,000‑square‑foot health clinic. Residents and advocates have been pushing for the property to be reused for community benefit for decades, and state officials say this effort is meant to finally deliver on that promise.
Who’s behind the project
According to The Real Deal, the selected development partnership is 100 percent nonprofit‑owned and pairs the Fifth Avenue Committee with Bedford‑Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation and One Brooklyn Health. The outlet also reports that Apex Building Group and Henge Development will handle general contracting and project management while taking only a portion of the developer fee.
What’s planned
The state's Request for Proposals lays out a program that includes approximately 125 permanently affordable units for households earning between 30 and 80 percent of area median income, a 27,000‑square‑foot community center to be operated by Fort Greene Council, and a 1,000‑square‑foot clinic run by One Brooklyn Health, per the Empire State Development RFP. The selection process favored teams with nonprofit ownership, a factor that helped the fully nonprofit bid edge past competitors.
How it will be paid for
A representative for the governor's office told reporters the roughly $111 million project is expected to be financed almost entirely with low‑income housing tax credits, tax‑exempt bonds and public capital subsidies. That mix is typical for deeply affordable buildings and will be paired with state support for demolition and site work, according to The Real Deal.
Long history of false starts
The state bought the property in 1997 with plans for a community facility, but structural issues left the building boarded up and decaying. Multiple attempts to redevelop or transfer the site then stalled over the years. Reporting by THE CITY traces earlier efforts, including a halted auction in 2014, that left the parcel in limbo even as the surrounding blocks changed.
Next steps and timeline
Empire State Development's materials make clear the state will demolish the roughly 33,000‑square‑foot structure, and the 2024‑25 budget set aside about $3.7 million for that work. Demolition, handled by the Office of General Services, is expected to be completed before a construction loan closing, per the Empire State Development RFP.
The project will then undergo environmental review and ESD's General Project Plan process. It could qualify for the SEQRA exemptions Gov. Hochul proposed in her "Let Them Build" agenda if that legislation clears the legislature, as outlined by Governor's office.
