Brooklyn Arena Is Getting Dome Coated With Vegetation

The dome of Barclays Center is going green. Here a rendering of the project, which is still being designed. Shop Architects PC

Brooklyn's is slated to get a lot greener on the outside and possibly become a quieter neighbor in the process.

Barclays developer Forest City Ratner Cos. is planning to coat the arena's giant dome with a 130,000-square-foot "green roof" composed of small plants and a soil-like cover, resurrecting an idea that was cut years ago in an effort to contain costs.

Forest City officials said the effort is being driven by the next development phase at the site, known as Atlantic Yards, which calls for 6,400 apartments to be built in 15 towers—three that would surround the arena. By swapping a sprawling white roof with an expanse of greenery, the apartments should become more marketable, the company believes.

"We wanted to do the amenity for the benefits to the community and the residents that this green roof will bring, rather than having that traditional arena roof," said Linda Chiarelli, an executive vice president at Forest City.

But the greenery also would help muffle concert music that escapes from the arena, and several people who have discussed the noise issue with Forest City executives said the company is planting the vegetation to help contain the sound. While most Barclays events aren't noisy, neighbors occasionally complain about concerts that rely heavily on thumping bass sounds.

Ms. Chiarelli acknowledged the green roof will reduce sound levels, although she said noise complaints didn't play a role "in driving the decision." The roof was still being designed, she said, declining to comment on its cost.

The $1 billion arena, which opened in September 2012 after a years-long contentious approval process, is the home of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team and has been one of the best-booked arenas in the country for concerts.

But Barclays also has generated far more noise than Forest City executives expected. Several initial concerts, including those by Jay-Z, generated loud vibrations and prompted several complaints from neighbors. After a Swedish House Mafia electronic dance concert last spring, the city cited the arena for a noise violation that carried a fine of up to $3,200.

"We have had complaints ringing the arena," said Peter Krashes, coordinator of the website Atlantic Yards Watch, which monitors neighborhood complaints with the development.

In recent months, Forest City installed other features inside the arena to improve acoustics, which they said have helped significantly to contain sound. Mr. Krashes said the number of complaints has declined, although some residents have still told him the noise persists.

Barclays' green roof marks the return of a flashy element eliminated from the development plans six years ago because of its cost. Company officials initially billed the green roof as a selling point for the contentious project, which faced opposition from the Prospect Heights neighborhood.

When Forest city unveiled its plans in 2003, the company pledged in a news release that the green roof would offer "lushly landscaped areas for passive recreation and a promenade along the outside edge," complete with a running track.

"It's going to be a nice green surface to cast your eyes down onto," said Chris Sharples, a partner at SHoP Architects, which is designing the roof.

What's not clear is how the green roof would affect the deal that Forest City has with Barclays PLC for the arena's naming rights and signage; the financial services giant pays about $10 million a year, according to bond documents tied to the arena.

Today, the white roof has a giant Barclays symbol that blimps shoot during events—a logo that would be coated by the plants and soil-like covering.

A spokesman for Barclays declined to comment.

Forest City's partner, China's Greenland Holding Group Co., is sharing the expense of the roof, although the deal that it struck last year with Forest City was for 70% of the remaining Atlantic Yards development—not an ownership stake in the arena.

In an emailed statement, Ifei Chang, chief executive of Greenland's U.S. subsidiary, said it "is very excited about working with Forest City Ratner on what we believe will be one of the largest and most impressive green roofs in the city and perhaps the country."

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