Gateway Center (Brooklyn) facts for kids
| Coordinates | 40°39′07″N 73°52′14″W / 40.651943°N 73.870592°W |
|---|---|
| Address | 501 Gateway Drive Brooklyn, New York, 11239 |
| Opening date | October 1, 2002 August 1, 2014 (Gateway Center North) |
| Developer | Gateway Center Properties (The Related Companies, Blackacre Capital Management) |
| Owner | The Related Companies |
| No. of stores and services | 51 |
| Public transit access | New York City Bus: B13, B83, B84 MTA Bus Company: Q8 New York City Subway:  at New Lots Avenue (via B84) |
Gateway Center, also known as Gateway Plaza Mall or Gateway Mall, is a large outdoor shopping area in Brooklyn, New York City. It is located in the Spring Creek part of East New York. You can find it just north of the Belt Parkway near Erskine Street and Gateway Drive. This area is close to parts of the Gateway National Recreation Area.
Gateway Center was built as part of a big plan called Gateway Estates. This plan aimed to create new shops and businesses. The mall has two main parts. The first part opened in 2002 and is now called Gateway Center South. A second part, right next to it, opened in 2014. This newer section is known as Gateway Center North or Gateway Center II.
Where is Gateway Center Located?
The Gateway Center shopping area is part of the Gateway Estates project. This project was built in Spring Creek. The mall is bordered by Erskine Street to the east. A road called Gateway Drive runs along its south and west sides. An access road and parking lot are on its northern edge.
The mall is just north of the Belt Parkway. You can easily reach it by taking Exit 15 from the parkway. This exit leads right to Erskine Street.
The original mall, Gateway Center South, opened in 2002. It is a very large complex, about 640,000 square feet. It has a big parking lot and three separate buildings. These buildings are home to major stores. Some of the big stores include Target, The Home Depot, Best Buy, and BJ's Wholesale Club.
The newer northern part, Gateway Center North, opened in 2014. It is also very big, about 605,000 square feet. It has another large parking lot. This section includes four smaller buildings for different shops. There is also a building for an Applebee's restaurant and another for a bank. Stores in this section include JCPenney, T.J.Maxx, ShopRite, and Aldi.
Both parts of the mall were designed to look like a suburban outdoor shopping area. The southern part was designed by GreenbergFarrow Architects. The northern part was designed by GreenbergFarrow and Perkins Eastman. Both main buildings are built in the Georgian style. This means they have brick outsides and green trim.
The mall is located north of an old landfill. A landfill is a place where trash used to be buried. This area was once part of 230 acres of old landfill. This is why Spring Creek looked like it did for much of the 1900s. Across Erskine Street to the east is the Brooklyn Developmental Center.
North of the mall are two affordable housing developments. These are called Nehemiah Spring Creek and Gateway Elton. They were planned and built along with the mall. West of the mall, across Hendrix Creek, is Starrett City. This area is now known as Spring Creek Towers. You can get there using the Belt Parkway or Flatlands Avenue. The Spring Creek Educational Campus is also nearby. It has two New York City high schools.
Getting Around Gateway Center
Many buses serve the mall directly. These include the B13, B83, B84 and Q8 buses. Before August 2014, the B13, B83, and Q8 buses stopped near the Brooklyn Developmental Center. Now, they go to a new bus terminal at the west end of Gateway Center North. The B84 bus was started in June 2013. It helps people get around the Spring Creek neighborhood.
The closest New York City Subway stations are also easy to reach. The New Lots Avenue station is in East New York. You can take the 2, 3, 4, and 5 train train there. The B84 bus connects to this subway station. The Rockaway Parkway station is in Canarsie. You can take the L train train to this station.
The Story of Gateway Center
The land where Gateway Mall now stands was once marshland and creeks. This was true for most of the Spring Creek neighborhood. From the 1930s to the 1950s, a landfill called Milford Street Landfill was on this site. After that, the land was empty. People often used it for illegal dumping.
The old landfill became known as the Vandalia Dunes. This was because of its sandy look. It became a home for birds like the Henslow's sparrow. In 1967, the area became the Fresh Creek Urban Renewal Area. An urban renewal area is a place chosen for new development to improve it. In 1989, Starrett Housing Corporation bought the land. They managed Starrett City, which opened in 1974. They planned to build homes for people with different incomes. But this plan was never finished.
On June 25, 1996, the New York City Council changed the Fresh Creek Urban Renewal Plan. This change helped the Gateway Estates plan move forward. This plan included what would become the Gateway Center. Construction on the Gateway Center project began on November 16, 2000.
This was the first step in a big plan to redevelop the Spring Creek area. This plan also included new homes, schools, and parks. It was part of an effort to make East New York safer and create jobs. The first part of the mall was planned to be 640,000 square feet. It was designed as a suburban-style outdoor shopping center. It featured brick walls and Georgian design.
The mall was built by The Related Companies. This company is also involved in other big projects in Manhattan. These include the Time Warner Center and the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project. While the mall was being built, a new exit for the Belt Parkway was also constructed. This cost $25 million.
The first part of Gateway Center opened on October 1, 2002. It cost $192 million to build. It also created 1,700 new jobs. As part of the project, Related Companies also built an addition to Spring Creek Park. This park area surrounds the mall. It opened on May 2, 2003. After the mall opened, several bus routes were changed to serve the area better. The B13 bus was extended in April 2003. The B83 in September 2007, and the Q8 in June 2008.
In early 2007, Related Companies suggested building a second part of Gateway Center. This new section would be similar in size to the first. It would also have another parking lot and a bus terminal. In March 2009, the New York City Council approved using 21 acres of land for this project.
In 2010, there were reports that Walmart wanted to open its first store in New York City at Gateway. This idea faced a lot of local opposition for years. Even though some surveys showed people in Brooklyn liked the idea, the plan was canceled. Instead, the developers signed ShopRite as a main store. Construction on the expansion began in early 2014. It opened in stages starting on August 1 of that year. A third expansion is also planned for the future.
