The city’s deal to buy Kensington Stables in Brooklyn from its longtime owners is off.
The Blankenship family, which is selling the stable at 55 Caton Place in Windsor Terrace to satisfy outstanding debt, have walked away from a tentative deal reached in July.
“Parks is disappointed in the outcome of this deal, given that we had a clear understanding with the owner to bring the stables under city ownership,” a Parks Department spokeswoman told DNAinfo. The city said its offer is still on the table.
The stable was to be auctioned off in February — with starting bids around $2 million — but the sale was canceled after City Councilmember Brad Lander said he wouldn’t rezone the area unless the new owner committed to keeping the stable at the site.
This past spring, the Blankenships were in talks with an unnamed buyer who was looking to do something similar to Manhattan’s Mercedes House at 550 West 54th, which has 864 rental apartments atop the NYPD’s Mounted Unit.
Now that the city’s deal is off, it’s unclear if that unnamed buyer is back in the race. [DNAInfo] — E.B. Solomont