Real World Brooklyn Housing

**Bacchus** · #1 06-01-2008

It's getting close to official. TMZ has "cofirmed" that the $6 million Penthouse at the top of the Belltel Lofts in Brooklyn will be the home of Real World 21.

Quote:

Anyone living in Belltel Lofts in Brooklyn may wanna move out!

TMZ has exclusively learned that MTV's long running idiot parade, "The Real World," has finalized papers to house their latest cast of crazies in the penthouse of the Belltel Lofts in Brooklyn.

This will be the only time the cast will live in anything larger than a shoe box.

Yahoo! Maps Location
Belltel Lofts Homepage

365 Bridge Street Brooklyn

**Bacchus** · #2 06-01-2008

The New York Daily News also has a blurb today:

Quote:

Want to guest star on "The Real World"? Stake out Belltel Lofts.

The luxury condo building in downtown Brooklyn is the designated housing location for the MTV reality show's next cast. The new cast will reportedly shack up in the building's penthouse. Oh la la.

Apartments in the 27-story building, located at 365 Bridge St., range in price from $500,000 for a studio to $1.4 million for the penthouse. And, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate, which sells condos in the building, plenty of residences are up for grabs.

The neighborhood isn't exactly the Upper East Side, but the official Belltel Lofts Web site puts a nice spin on things by describing the location as a place "where pioneers settle."

The site also details the "gracious brownstones, tree-lined streets and charismatic people" that make up "charming" Brooklyn - making no mention of downtown Brooklyn itself.

"The Real World: Brooklyn" is scheduled to air in January of next year.

**V1man** · #3 06-01-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bacchus

It's getting close to official. TMZ has "cofirmed" that the $1.4 million Penthouse at the top of the Belltel Lofts in Brooklyn will be the home of Real World 21.

Not so fast there, O Great One! There may be false flags at work here...

I might be inclined to trust a real estate insider website over TMZ.

Real World eyes Carroll Gardens - The Real Deal New York Real Estate News

On May 24th, The Brooklyn Paper updated the article cited by TMZ and added this photo of the Carroll Gardens building.

**Bacchus** · #4 06-01-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by V1man

Not so fast there, O Great One! There may be false flags at work here...

I might be inclined to trust a real estate insider website over TMZ.

Real World eyes Carroll Gardens - The Real Deal New York Real Estate News

Yes, but that same article (which is a week old (The Real World: Brooklyn (Season 21))) also mentions Belltel and as any real estate developer knows, deals fall through all the time (that or the building owner was just trying to draw some interest to his property holdings which seem to be suffering occupancy issues.)

TMZ might not be a real news organization, but the fact that the New York Daily News also ran with it gives me the impression that they have a source.

I bet we will get a confirm or deny out of Belltel in the next 24 hours.

**Bacchus** · #5 06-01-2008

This is from the New York Times on Tuesday:

Quote:

But a real estate developer said the location may likely be well outside Williamsburg, in the new BellTel Lofts in Downtown Brooklyn.

Not near downtown, like Brooklyn Heights, but downtown-downtown, hard by the state and federal courthouses, the city’s emergency-response command center and the rows of barber shops, check-cashing services, fast-food joints and vendors selling counterfeit DVDs, religious statues and floor soaps that promise to remove jinxes.

Quote:

A spokesman for BellTel, named for the Bell Telephone sign that remains over the entrance, said it was in discussions with MTV.

“It’s a chance to market the kind of MTV lifestyle to people who want to live like this,” said Ronn Torossian, a spokesman for the building. “People have a chance to live an MTV lifestyle. People who buy apartments in the building.” The 27-story building has apartments ranging in size from studios to three bedrooms, selling for $500,000 to $2 million, Mr. Torossian said. He said the show would help the neighborhood. “We think this building will continue to gentrify Brooklyn, and certainly having MTV there will only accelerate that. We expect that it will increase property values.”

Interestingly enough, everything I read about this specific downtown Brooklyn area would seem to suggest that it would be a horrible place for The Real World to set up shop.

EastNY · #6 06-01-2008

Lolz the new york times is on crack if they think that is all there is to do in downtown brooklyn.

there are many jewels to be found there, like BAM, nightclubs and many other things.

Also they can commute to Manhattan faster since they are located near one of the biggest transit hubs in brooklyn. thats if they cant afford cabs =]

**Bacchus** · #7 06-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by EastNY

Lolz the new york times is on crack if they think that is all there is to do in downtown brooklyn.

I like reading the Times, but will add that they are a bit stuffy and prudish at times. I am guessing the only person from the writing/editorial staff to go to BK for that article was the photographer (and maybe an intern to get some quotes.) They like their haughty brand spanking new Manhattan Skyscraper to much to visit Brooklyn and do objective on the ground reporting, lol.

The New York Times

**V1man** · #8 06-02-2008

If MTV really is still only in negotiations to secure a location, then they will be hard pressed to complete camera installation and a control room setup and be ready to start production in July. Further, I'm sure that BMP has some set design plans, but they do need to be adapted to the selected location. I'd hate to be working up-front on this show.

**Bacchus** · #9 06-02-2008

Quote:

The young and beautiful cast of next season's "Real World" will live the suite life in a $6 million, two-story penthouse perched high above downtown Brooklyn. The art deco-era Belltel Lofts on Bridge St. was named yesterday as the site of the MTV reality show's 21st season after weeks of frantic speculation.

"We're excited," said David Bistricer, owner of the 27-story building that once held a telephone company but was converted to condos last year. "It is what it is. It's the 'Real World.'"

The 6,000-square-foot, two-story penthouse includes two terraces, five bedrooms and 10-foot windows. A Jacuzzi and other amenities are also on the way, said Bistricer, whose building beat out 24 other Brooklyn digs for the starring role on the show. He also said there are safeguards in place to make sure the reality show's stable of rowdies don't irritate the 100 families who call Belltel home in real life.

The show, which premiered in 1992, has been shot twice in Manhattan and in other large cities across the world, including London and Chicago. Each season the seven members of the cast - some of whom have been as young as 18 - have become increasingly promiscuous and rambunctious. "We've done a lot and the 'Real World' has done a lot to institute measures to make sure this doesn't bother the neighbors," Bistricer said.

A contract signed Friday prohibits taping in the gym and other common areas of the 90-year-old building. A spokeswoman for MTV did not return calls for comment. The site will have the dubious distinction of being the smallest of the 20 previous "Real World" homes.

Since MTV announced the series would jump to Brooklyn from its current Hollywood set, blogs have speculated that the cast would be housed in Williamsburg. But Bistricer said producers made the right choice. "Williamsburg is a story that is three years old," said Bistricer. "Downtown is a story in the making."

[via New York Daily News]

**Bacchus** · #10 06-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by V1man

If MTV really is still only in negotiations to secure a location, then they will be hard pressed to complete camera installation and a control room setup and be ready to start production in July.

Looks like the deal was inked on May 30th. They are going to be busy beavers to get this gig rolling in the short term (i.e. July!)