Oro vs. Toren in Downtown Brooklyn

Oro is a block away from the projects, but also a block away from Manhattan Bridge. Oro's rooftop is actually at the top of the building unlike Toren which rooftop space is in a much lower floor. Toren is closer to the subways. Oro has units (which includes one-bedrooms) that have views of Manhattan and the two bridges but smaller. They have almost the same ameneties, but there's a half-court basketball at Oro and there's library at Toren.

The view at aome of Oro's unite are pretty impressive, it can be a deal-breaker.

Toren wins hands down as far as finishes, layout and location is concerned.

You should look at One Hanson Place too tho a bit on the steep side, price wise, when compared to the Toren but views and finises are the best.

How can Toren be better than Oro for location ... Oro is a 3 minute walk away. Close to the Manhattan Bridge, and therefore likely better views.

Don't know why someone wants to live in that much traffic, however.

Forte Condo should be added to the list too.

The projects are almost right across the street from Oro. That's what makes the difference.

I've been looking in brooklyn, i've seen all of the downtown buildings and i was most impressed with toren and 1 hanson. We visited Toren again this weekend and actually bought an offering plan. we haven't decided on which apartment though as there are a variety of options. We ultimately decided on toren rather than hanson because hanson felt like a much older bunch of people that would end up living in the building. toren gives off a much younger and cooler vibe...

the Oro is a 3 minute walk from what? the manhattan bridge? there is no subway by the manhattan bridge and why would you want to walk on the manhattan bridge when the brooklyn bridge is a few blocks down? i suppose it's a good location if you want to drive over the manhattan bridge.

i've walked to the Toren from the Q. it's a five minute walk. from the 4,5,2,3 at nevins it's less than a 10 minute walk. if you cross flatbush ave, you're at the metro tech, where you can take the A,C,M,R.

i went to Forte Condo during the Fort Greene house tours and was not impressed. the views are nice, but the ceiling heights were low and it felt cramped. the condos have been on the market for over a year and they've only sold 28 out of 108. hmmm...i wonder why? whereas, one hanson place is almost sold out and the Toren has 60+ condos in contract.

The last time we went to Forte at the beginning of the year, they only sold 17. We were told that they sold a lot towards the end of the year last year. She sounded like we needed to fall in line right away. Then when we asked how many units in the building, she said they have 108. We knew then there's no reason to rush. LOL! Forte only has a gym but they boast about the neigborhood, which I do agree they do have one.

There seems to be no private parking in Oro, is there? There is one in Toren, and there's a lot of parking garages around Forte.

I still say if you get a unit with a view of Manhattan from Oro, it looks appealing.

Rooftop outdoor space may be problematic. Personally, I prefer the lower floor outdoor space. When I visited One Hansen's rooftop space it almost blew me off roof. Might be wind tunnel effect on Flatbush once skyscrapers are completed. Plus Toren's outdoor space looks very appealing if renderings are true to form. I like the ramp effect.

I purchased Toren over Oro primarily because of architect S.O.M. They have done some super construction of towers. I love the curtain wall concept. Also, the 25 year tax abatement is huge compared to the Oro which I believe has a 15 year. That is HUGE difference. I basically have 21 years of free tax whereas if I wanted to sell an Oro apartment in 10 years the perspective buyer would have to calculate the impending additional cost of taxes and lower their offer to compensate.

Joe Ferrara has been quoted as saying that the Toren will be an iconoclastic building and I agree. I'm banking on the architecture truly being exceptional. I'm imagining Manhattan residents and others driving over the Manhattan Bridge and checking out the Toren on the way to Net games at Barclay Center.

For me. it wasn't even a close call even though I really liked Jonathan from the Oro sales team.

Is there really a need to rush buying in Toren? It's not like the building will be finished soon. They project Spring/Summer 2009. I wonder how things will go between now and next year. There's still a lot of new construction going on in Brooklyn, esp. around that area. We chose to sit for a bit.

The only building that may be actually cool in Brooklyn is the One Grand Army Plaza but very expensive, that one seems to be moving pretty well though. There's also 166 Montague which is in Brooklyn Heights.

The bedrooms in One Grand Army Plaza are so small that there is no way to put in a Queen size bed and have room to walk around the bed. Thanks to those structural pillars right in the middle of the bedroom and living rooms. Add to that the microwave ovens are below the kitchen counter hidden behind a flip door. DUH! I don't know what Richard Meir was thinking when he designed this! And the traffic noise is constant. I would say probably the worst of the lot for the price. Tho the building itself looks cool from the outside.

Really, surdy? I have never seen the inside but they're selling units that are over 1000 sq foot, even for one-bedrooms, so not sure why there won't be enough space. I do like the location though. It's near the park, the museum, the botanical garden, the library and the subways. Plus, it looks really cool during the night. Reminds me a bit of Paris (with that arch), but that's just me :). Outside it definitely looks cool since it's all-glass.

Check out for yourself! I was quite disapointed as during my research on the net I thought it was the best in Brooklyn till I saw in person how non functional it was, at least for me.

And the closets in the MB were on opposite wall where the bed was supposed to go. No place to hang your Plasma or LCD.

http://www.onprospectpark.com/content/default.htm#3