NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The opulent Grand Prospect Hall in Brooklyn, the subject of some famously low-budget local TV ads featuring shaky cameras and chaotic zooming, has been sold.
The ornate venue was the star of some somewhat cheesy commercials going back to the 1980s with owners Michael and Alice Halkias always promising, "We'll make your dreams come true."
Michael Halkias passed away from COVID-19 at the age of 82 last year.
Now, several buildings on Prospect Avenue between Fifth and Sixth avenues in Park Slope, including the hall, have been sold for $30 million.
"When I went in there my mouth kind of opened in awe looking at the size of it," said Mark Caserta, executive director of the Park Slope Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District. "I would love for the Grand Prospect Hall to remain in place and be reused as an event space. It was part of the neighborhood, but also part of the fabric of New York City."
The buyers haven't said what their plans are for the hall, which dates back to 1892.
"It always put a smile on my face when I went in there," said Caserta. "Maybe there can be a development that keeps that in place. It really fills this niche."
Halkias told the Daily News in 2011 that the ads had him laughing as well. The commercials were spoofed by "Saturday Night Live" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live."