From the ashes of the former shipping complex of the Watchtower Bible Tract Society , One Brooklyn Bridge Park has sprouted into a real estate development to watch, with sales surging since the opening of Pier 6. According to the developer, RAL Companies Affiliates LLC, more than 70 units have sold in 2010 and there are an additional 28 in contract as of July 31–bringing its total number of units to 202, or almost halfway sold. But what about other residential complexes in Brooklyn Bridge Park? Should we be expecting any soon? There don’t seem to be any plans right now, but the NY Post recently reported that activists are fighting over the supposed hand over of the DUMBO Tobacco Warehouse to a nonprofit organization.

The open-air DUMBO building is supposed to host live events, a seasonal ice-skating rink and other amenities, but as a nonprofit, any revenues raised would only go towards maintaining the warehouse. “The city should be looking at every alternative for park funding besides housing — not looking to take existing ones away,” said Judi Francis, who heads a group fighting the condo plan. A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg said, “we have an opportunity to house cultural and community programming” at the warehouse and that wont “reduce our commitment to search for alternatives to housing to fund the park.”

And by the way, what about all that Watchtower real estate around the park and Brooklyn Heights area? Didn’t our friendly neighborhood Johovas start building their new headquarters upstate? We were puzzling over what anyone could do with those strangely jail-like buildings overlooking Pier 1.