Columbia Commons is the newest find in the Columbia Street Waterfront District. But look back 200 years and the mile of mineral-rich coastline was known for its more earthly wares: abundant crops, giant oysters, and fur. The land surrounding Columbia Commons was populated in the 1600s by a small group of Dutch farmers scouring the land for New World offerings. For decades these settlers toiled on land that would grow from remote to remarkable as immigrants flooded the shores and a thriving village began to grow.

The 19th century ushered in shipping captains and the bulk goods they lugged into the port city. With New York's population booming, steaming ships pulled in from the West Indies and South America bearing lumber, coffee, and cacao. Slowly, streets full of charming brownstones sprung up, stretching from shore inland, forming a neighborhood known today as Cobble Hill.

In the 20th century Cobble Hill evolved into a unique mix of port activity and ivy-lined residential brownstone blocks. As merchants, restaurants, and schools moved in, parks were added and protected as streets were filled with neat rows of quiet, carefully bricked homes. In the 1940s a separate neighborhood emerged, where Columbia Commons now resides.

Today, the mile-long Columbia Street Waterfront District neighborhood retains its elegant, charming heritage and a new forward-thinking mentality. Along the port and down the cobbled streets you'll find a tableau of time-honored craftsmen at work, vintage shops with eye-catching finds, and bright stretches of green where children are at play. Here, vintage Brooklyn is mixed with new; the waterfront district is surrounded by the best of Brooklyn's restaurants, stores, and nightlife.

While locals still pad across the very cobble stones used as ballast on those century-old trading ships, new commerce and the arrival of Brooklyn Bridge Park mark a quiet evolution of today's shoreline. Streets packed with bake shops, world-class restaurants, bars serving up local brews and tucked away piazzas of green space have planted a new world in this enchanting neighborhood.

Called "the right mix of hip and home," by the NY Post, today the Columbia Street Waterfront District retains history-laden charm and a sharp sense of fun. With modern comfort in mind, Columbia Commons was designed to honor its surroundings. Look for our distressed brick and masonry exterior, the quiet nods to turn-of-the-century detailing, historical paned windows, and public spaces opening to the waterfront and views over Manhattan. The very land where Columbia Commons stands, once a trading ground for settlers to barter fur, fish and coffee, has evolved into the buzzing, reinvigorated coastline of Brooklyn. This is a place where great stories sift from the past, and great design invigorates Brooklyn's future.

The calm setting of the neighborhood is enhanced by quiet cobbled streets, century-old brownstones and the outdoor culture the waterfront and its surrounding parks provide.