Some Pratt professors and students are trying to come up with plans for Admiral’s Row in the Brooklyn Navy Yard that would allow for both preservation of the Historic Structures and development of a supermarket on the property. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports that “City planning and architecture students have come up with a number of ideas that they plan to present to community groups and, ultimately, the Navy Yard itself.” A Professor involved in the exercise says “We’re trying to please, I think, everyone, as much as possible.” One design involves “restoring the houses and reusing them for businesses like a bakery, a bookstore, a daycare center and cafes, with a green roof uniting the entire site.” The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. has insisted the only way to go foward with the supermarket project is to demolish the historic buildings. The Federal Goverment estimates that preservation would cost about $18 million. The disupute has become heated at times. Here is how one of the students put it:

“We found that the Navy Yard’s proposal is quite heartless and doesn’t really do anything for the rifts in the neighborhood,” said Kuz, who assigned the project to her students. “We are keeping the Admirals’ Row houses in our designs because we think it’s a good reference in terms of scale and history. But we also incorporated a big shop, like the Navy Yard wanted.”

The full story is quite interesting.