Downtown Brooklyn

August 6, 2016

Brooklyn’s Tallest Tower Finishes Construction and Commences Leasing

Back in 2007, a run-of-the-mill row of three- to four-story walk-up buildings bounded by Willoughby, Bridge and Duffield Streets was ordered to vacate to make way for a soaring mixed-use skyscraper developed by AvalonBay Communities. Without warning, shopkeepers were given between 30 and 120 days to clear out or face court eviction, evidence of the impact of gentrification on Downtown Brooklyn. The district's 2004 rezoning sparked the development of thousands of new apartments (6,400 in the pipeline according to our latest count) and is finally getting a dusting of office space too. Now, after an arduous, decade-long journey of assembling an 11-parcel site, clearing and excavating it, and throwing up nearly one million square feet into the air, Avalon has finally finished construction and has kicked off leasing of the building's upper collection of homes called Avalon Willoughby Square.
Get the scoop on Avalon's deals

July 25, 2016

Lottery Launches for 76 Affordable Units at 300 Ashland Place, From $889/Month

By Ondel Hylton

It's been 14 years since Enrique Norten's ship-like design was chosen to sail upon a triangular site in an ambitious arts district planned for the area around the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Initially proposed as an eight-story glass building to house the Brooklyn Library for the Visual and Performing Arts, the project was altered to a mixed-use high-rise when Two Trees Management was brought onboard during the economic downturn in 2008. Now officially known as 300 Ashland Place, the slab-shaped tower is a silvery 32-story icon that architecture critic Carter Horsley praises as a "gleaming, but mysterious steed" in the emerging Downtown Brooklyn skyline. It will house a smattering of public uses in addition to 379 apartments above. Earlier this July, leasing began on the 300 market-rate apartments that go for roughly $2,850/month for studios, $3,600/month for one-bedrooms and $5,750/month for two-bedrooms. And now, a housing lottery has launched for the 76 affordable units that include $889/month studios, $949/month one-bedrooms, and $1,087/month two-bedrooms.
Find out here if you qualify

July 14, 2016

Lottery Opens Tomorrow for 300 Affordable Rentals at Pacific Park Brooklyn

By Dana Schulz

It's been almost two years since architects COOKFOX were selected by developer Greenland Forest City Partners to design two residential buildings at their Pacific Park Brooklyn project, the 22-acre site anchored by the Barclays Center and containing eight million square feet of mixed-use development. COOKFOX took the helm for 550 Vanderbilt Avenue, a 275-unit condo, and 535 Carlton Avenue, a 298-unit affordable rental. A housing lottery for the latter will open tomorrow, according to a press release, offering low, moderate and middle-income residents the chance to apply for apartments ranging from $548/month studios to $3,716/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

July 14, 2016

FXFOWLE’s The Ashland Kicks Off Leasing With New Renderings of Apartments and Food Hall

By Ondel Hylton

At the crossroads of Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn, and the BAM Cultural District, The Ashland rises. Next Tuesday, July 19, the 53-story, 586-unit tower will open its leasing office to prospective renters interested in its one-, two- and three-bedroom no-fee apartments, priced from $2,600/month for studios to $7,500/month for three-bedrooms. Previously, 282 apartments went online through the city's affordable housing lottery. To coincide with the grand opening, the Gotham Organization-developed and managed building has also launched its full website, providing us a bundle of new renderings of the exterior, the apartments, and the 17,000-square-foot marketplace that will open along its ground floor.
More details ahead

July 12, 2016

Downtown Brooklyn’s 300 Ashland Releases New Renderings to Kick Off No-Fee Leasing

By Dana Schulz

The latest tower to open its doors in Downtown Brooklyn‘s BAM Cultural District is 300 Ashland, a 35-story, mixed-use tower from Two Trees Management that is offering 300 no-fee rentals. There are currently nine units available with studios starting at $2,850/month, one-bedrooms at $3,300/month and a single three-bedrooms from $5,750/month. To coincide with the launch, the developer […]

July 8, 2016

Friday Five: 5 Buildings in the Heart of Brooklyn Offering Free Rent

By Annie Doge

Rental deals have become increasingly tough to find but they're most definitely still out there. Starting today, every Friday 6sqft is rounding up five of the best deals showcased on CityRealty's newly launched no-fee rental offers page, where NYC house hunters can find the latest and most generous concessions being offered by landlords across the city. This week, we've culled five fabulous buildings in prime Brooklyn that are currently offering FREE RENT on new leases. Among the offers ahead, check out a newly renovated two-bedroom with yard in pretty Carroll Gardens offering a month rent-free on an already reasonable $2,700/month price tag.
Check them out here

Uncategorized

June 1, 2016

Leasing Begins at The Giovanni in Downtown Brooklyn, Rents From $2,379 Plus a Month Free

By Ondel Hylton

John Catsimatidis' Big Apple Group has kicked-off leasing for The Giovanni, the latest addition to a quartet of rental buildings ushering in more than 1,000 units along a once underutilized section of Myrtle Avenue. Located at 81 Fleet Place within the crossroads of bucolic Fort Greene and thriving Downtown Brooklyn, the recently finished 15-floor building is comprised of 205 no-fee apartments with retail space along its lower levels. Like its sister buildings, the Andrea and the Margo, Dattner is the building's architect and the firm has configured a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, many featuring balconies or roof terraces.
more on what's available here

May 20, 2016

REVEALED: First Look at Downtown Brooklyn’s New Office Tower at 540 Fulton Street

By Ondel Hylton

Downtown Brooklyn and its Fulton Street Mall lost a bit of its soul late last year with the demolition of an ornate 1891 Romanesque-Reviaval gem at 540 Fulton Street. Prior to being cleared, the two-story structure held a jumble of small retailers that included a jewelry exchange, Metro King Sushi & Teriyaki and a Lucille Roberts. When the building was finished 125 years ago, it rose three floors with its first tenant being F.W Woolworth's "five-and-dime store," their first Downtown Brooklyn location. Now with the slate wiped clean, what's envisioned to rise from the 18,531-square-foot lot near the corner of Flatbush Avenue Extension is a 19-story, 200,000-square-foot office block developed by the real estate investment and management firm Jenel Management. A new building application was filed with the Department of Building's last April, listing Marvel Architects as the applicant of record. The proposed building's podium will contain three levels of retail space from the cellar to the second level, and 17 floors of office space above.
find out more here

New Developments

May 16, 2016

Downtown Brooklyn’s Newly-Launched City Tower Offering One Month Free Rent

By Ondel Hylton

City Tower, the second phase of Downtown Brooklyn's 1.8 million-square-foot, mixed-use mega-development, has debuted, ushering in 439 brand new market-rate rentals to the heart of the borough. For a limited time, the building is offering new renters one month for free based on a 13-month lease. The 38-story tower's current availabilities include four studios starting at $2,423/month, five one-bedrooms at $2,838/month, and three two-bedrooms at $4,154/month. The building was developed and is being managed by the long-established Brodsky Organization and was designed by the acclaimed eco-conscious architects at COOKFOX. Perched twenty floors above 700,000 square feet of retail, entertainment and dining spaces, many of City Tower's residences provide spectacular views of the harbor and Manhattan skyline.
Get the full scoop on the building this way

May 12, 2016

Leasing Begins at Downtown Brooklyn’s One Duffield, No-Fee Units Begin at $2,400/Month

By Ondel Hylton

Within the human-scaled oasis between the Manhattan Bridge and the BQE, a 57,000-square-foot church conversion has wrapped up construction, releasing 84 brand-new no-fee rental apartments to the Downtown Brooklyn market. Named One Duffield, for its address at the corner of Gold and Duffield streets, the five-story building uses some of the structural bones of a prior two-story church and completely re-imagines its aesthetic into a varied composition of brown and orange brick, metal siding, and large square windows. Nataliya Donskoy of ND Architecture and Design P.C. is the designer of the building and "The Bridge Building LLC" is listed as the developer in permits.
Get pricing and see inside

Lottery Launches for 181 Affordable Units in Pacific Park’s Modular Tower

Photo of the construction progress at 461 Dean Street in January, via Field Condition

April 27, 2016

Lottery Launches for 181 Affordable Units in Pacific Park’s Modular Tower

By Dana Schulz

After suffering delays, lawsuits, leaks and alignment issues, Pacific Park's 461 Dean Street (aka the B2 Tower) is finally wrapping up construction and has just launched its affordable housing lottery. The 32-story structure from SHoP Architects will be the world's tallest prefab tower, and of its 363 units, 181 will be available to low- and middle-income households. This will range from $559/month studios to $3,012 two-bedrooms and from individuals earning $20,675 annually to families of four earning $144,960.
Get a look at the apartments and find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

April 22, 2016

First Look at StudiosC’s Boutique Condominium Underway at 187 Bridge Street

By Ondel Hylton and Julian Friedman

Within Downtown Brooklyn's detached island of urbanity between the Manhattan Bridge on-ramp and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, local architecture firm StudiosC has designed a modestly scaled, ground-up condominium at the corner of Bridge and Nassau Streets. Re-approved plans filed by the architect of record Karl Fischer detail an eight-story building with 12,000 square feet of gross floor area.
More details ahead

April 20, 2016

Skyline Wars: Brooklyn Enters the Supertall Race

By Carter B. Horsley

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. Here, Carter brings us his fifth installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter looks at Brooklyn's once demure skyline, soon to be Manhattan's rival. Downtown Brooklyn has had a modest but pleasant skyline highlighted by the 350-foot-high Court & Remsen Building and the 343-foot-high great ornate terraces of 75 Livingston Street, both erected in 1926, and the 462-foot-high flat top of the 1927 Montague Court Building. The borough’s tallest building, however, was the great 514-foot-high dome of the 1929 Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower, now known as One Hanson Place, a bit removed to the east from Downtown Brooklyn. It remained as the borough’s tallest for a very long time, from 1929 until 2009. A flurry of new towers in recent years has significantly enlarged Brooklyn’s skyline. Since 2008, nine new towers higher than 359 feet have sprouted there, in large part as a result of a rezoning by the city in 2007. A few other towers have also given its riverfront an impressive frontage. Whereas in the past the vast majority of towers were clustered about Borough Hall downtown, now there are several clusters with some around the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the former Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower and some around the Williamsburg riverfront.
more on Brooklyn's skyline here

April 19, 2016

LPC Approves Brooklyn’s First 1,000+ Foot Tower; New Renderings and Details

By Ondel Hylton and Dana Schulz

Brooklyn is finally getting a new skyscraper development worthy of its 2.6 million populace. Today, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved SHoP Architects' vision for 9 DeKalb Avenue, a rehabilitation of the landmarked Dime Saving Bank that will marry it with a dramatic, supertall skyscraper behind, the first 1,000+ foot building to arrive in the borough. The Beaux-Arts banking hall, which is both an interior and exterior landmark, hosted a J.P. Morgan Chase branch up until last year. Now, its new owners, Michael Stern's JDS Development and the Chetrit Group, plan to transform the hall into a public and retail space that will complement their new tower. To bring back more of the building's grandeur, its exterior and interior spaces will be restored, and to accommodate the tower behind, the team is calling for the demolition of two nondescript one- and five-story rear annexes, which will then allow for a grand entrance to the skyscraper and a public through-space. The LPC was enamored with the project, calling it "flawless" and "enlightened urbanism at its best," as well as touting that it "improved the vision of this historic landmark." One commissioner even went so far as to say "It's similar to the Parthenon sitting on the Acropolis." The LPC had only a few minor modifications, the most notable being that the teller cages be retained until the team can show a plan detailing how the retail tenant (there will only be one) will use the space.
Get a look at all the presentation materials

April 11, 2016

Last Chance to Apply for 282 Middle-Income Apartments at Downtown Brooklyn’s 250 Ashland Place

By Ondel Hylton

Today is your last chance to apply for 282 affordable housing units at 250 Ashland Place in Downtown Brooklyn. The 52-story skyscraper rises from the heart of Brooklyn's cultural district and is near a multitude of subway lines, the Atlantic Terminal transit hub, and the Barclays Center. Developed by the Gotham Organization, the skyscraper encompasses 580,000 square feet of space and soars 568 feet into the burgeoning Brooklyn skyline, making it the second tallest in the borough after the nearby rental tower AVA DoBro. Designed by New York-based FXFowle Architects, the building is sheathed in a contextual brick and glass exterior, relating both to the charming brownstones of Fort Greene and the dynamism transforming Downtown Brooklyn.
Find out if you qualify

March 28, 2016

Corner Loft in Former Downtown Brooklyn Toy Factory Isn’t Playing Around With $999K Ask

By Emily Nonko

Here's a two-bedroom condo from the Toy Factory Lofts, the former home to Tudor Metal Products. From the 1920s to the 1980s, the company, known for designing the popular Depression-era toy Budget Bank and the board game Electric Football, occupied the factory. Today, it's a 56-unit residential building in Downtown Brooklyn that holds a gym, parking garage and a rooftop deck. This lofty apartment has a big wall of oversized factory windows, not to mention exposures to the east and south that bring light into the open space.
See more of the interior

Distinctive Homes

March 14, 2016

New Close-Up Renderings of Brooklyn’s Future Tallest Tower

By Dana Schulz

About a month ago we were treated to a lone rendering of Brooklyn’s future tallest tower at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension (now re-dubbed 9 DeKalb Avenue) that showed its full 1,066-foot height, towering against the rest of Downtown Brooklyn. Now, Curbed has spotted a full set of views, these showing more facade details and close ups of the building's triangular base next to the historic Dime Savings Bank.
All the renderings ahead

March 10, 2016

POLL: Would You Pay Extra to Live in a Building With a Personal Subway Entrance?

By Dana Schulz

It’s already been pretty well documented that proximity to subway lines increases rental value. But what about subway access right in the building? Brooklyn Paper recently reported on the new AVA DoBro tower in Downtown Brooklyn that offers, in addition to swanky amenities like a heated dog run and an espresso bar, a brand new subway entrance […]

February 18, 2016

New Rendering, Details of Brooklyn’s Future Tallest Tower

By Dana Schulz

A little over a month ago, 6sqft learned that Brooklyn’s first 1,000+ foot tower, designed by SHoP Architects, would rise a whopping 1,066 feet, amounting to 556,164 square feet of total space. It all started back in 2014 when developers Michael Stern and Joe Chetrit purchased 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension (a five-story mid-century building that takes up about one third of the triangular site in Downtown Brooklyn) for $46 million with plans to demolish it. Then, in December, they closed on the adjacent Dime Savings Bank building for $90 million, providing 300,000 square feet of air rights needed to construct the 73-story tower. Along with a new rendering, a piece today in the Times reveals some additional details, namely that the supertall will have nearly 500 rental units, at least 20 percent of which will be affordable under the city's 421-a program. But there's one issue that could make things a little complicated...
More on that, here

February 9, 2016

Housing Lottery Kicks Off for $801/Month Middle-Income Apartments in the Brooklyn Cultural District

By Ondel Hylton

It's been quite a week to up your chances of snagging an affordable apartment in the city, with housing lottery applications being accepted for 175 West 60th Street, PS 186, EŌS, and 149 Kent Avenue. Now in booming Downtown Brooklyn, near BAM in the Brooklyn Cultural District, the Ashland at 250 Ashland Place has kicked off its lottery process, offering 282 below market-rate apartments, according to the NYC HDC. Unlike many of the recent launches, aimed towards low-income households, the Ashland is geared towards middle-income applicants earning between $28,835 for single individuals up to $200,400 for a family of six. Those who fall within the income guidelines have the opportunity to pay rents ranging from $801 for studios to $3,649 for three-bedroom units.
Find out more

January 12, 2016

Brooklyn’s Future Tallest Tower to Hit 1,066 Feet

By Dana Schulz

Less than a month ago, developers Michael Stern and Joe Chetrit closed on Downtown Brooklyn's Dime Savings Bank building for $90 million, which provided them with the 300,000 square feet of air rights needed to construct Brooklyn's first 1,000+ foot tower at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension. Since news of the future tallest building outside Manhattan first came to light in August, the exact height hadn't been reported. But now NY Yimby has uncovered the number, and it's a whopping 1,066 feet, amounting to 556,164 square feet of total space.
READ MORE

New Developments

December 24, 2015

Brooklyn’s First 1,000+ Foot Tower Moves Forward, Developers Close on Last Site Needed

By Diane Pham

It's official, developers Michael Stern and Joe Chetrit have closed on the Dime Savings Bank building at 9 DeKalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn for $90 million, providing them with the air rights needed to build the borough's tallest tower. According to Crain's, who first broke the news, Stern and Chetrit will be able to transfer the bank building's 300,000 square feet of unused development rights to the new structure's site at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension. As 6sqft previously reported, the new tower will soar more than 1,000 feet and is being designed by SHoP Architects. It will also be the city's tallest building outside of Manhattan when complete.
on the deal here

New Developments

November 9, 2015

Rendering Revealed for Brooklyn’s First 1,000-Foot Tower

By Dana Schulz

News broke back in August that Brooklyn's first tower over 1,000 feet might rise in Downtown Brooklyn as the result of the $90 million acquisition of Brooklyn’s landmarked Dime Savings Bank building by JDS Development. Previously, they bought the site next door for $43 million, and combined with the bank's 300,000 square feet of development rights, they acquired the means to build a tower of nearly 600,000 square feet at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension. 6sqft got a taste of what's to come when we revealed a video that showed the insane views from the top of the could-be tower, but now Yimby has unveiled the official renderings and specs for the project, which come courtesy of starchitects SHoP. As previously speculated, it will reach 1,000 feet, making it the tallest building in the outer boroughs. The 90-story, vaguely Art Deco tower will have 466,000 square feet of residential space, amounting to 550 condo units, as well as 140,000 square feet of commercial space.
More on the development ahead

October 26, 2015

Atlantic Yards’ B2 Tower Employing Anti-Nausea Technology From NASA

By Dana Schulz

"A new technology, designed to tame forces that could separate an astronaut’s eyeball from her retina, may also keep the one percent from throwing up," says The Real Deal. They're talking about a fluid harmonic disruptor, a device used during space takeoffs to protect astronauts from violent vibrations, which will be employed by structural engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti at Forest City Ratner’s B2 BKLYN, the 32-story modular tower at Pacific Park that could definitely succumb to queasy-making swaying and vibrations. The firm will put six water-filled pipes on the roof of the building, making up 0.5 percent of its total mass; then the disruptor will alter how the fluid, and therefore the building, reacts to wind and other vibrations.
More details ahead

October 20, 2015

Families Test Out Garrison Architects’ Post-Disaster Housing Prototype in Downtown Brooklyn

By Annie Doge

Last June, Garrison Architects unveiled their ingenious modular post-disaster housing solution. Now, as we approach the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, news comes that the city has finally begun testing out the units on a lot located at 165 Cadman Plaza East in Downtown Brooklyn. According to the Times, about 46 city employees and their families have spent the night in the shelters, and the reviews are most definitely favorable. “Almost everyone tells us these are nicer than their own apartments,” James McConnell, an official at the Office of Emergency Management, told the paper.
More here

September 25, 2015

Check Out These Insane Views From Brooklyn’s First 1,000+ Foot Tower

By Ondel Hylton

Seeing the boroughs from sky-high heights is nothing new thanks to all the supertall towers in Manhattan, but it's not as common to have a panoramic view of our main island, which is why we had to share this video. JDS Development posted the short clip on their Instagram stream yesterday that shows potential views from their upcoming mixed-use skyscraper planned for Downtown Brooklyn using air rights from the Dime Savings Bank site. If constructed as intended, it will be the first 1,000+ foot tower outside of Manhattan. The nine-second video, whose camera height seems nearly eye-level to the 1,368-foot roof of One World Trade Center, depicts far-reaching, panoramic views to the west and northwest over Manhattan and beyond.
Check it out here

September 8, 2015

Historic Brooklyn Heights Site May Be Redeveloped Into 40-Story Condominium

By Ondel Hylton

Concept studies by the design firm SRA Architecture + Engineering (SRAA+E) reveal that an existing five-story commercial building in Downtown Brooklyn may be redeveloped into a dramatic retail and condominium tower. The prominent 19,000-square-foot, triangular site at 205 Montague Street is located at the gateway of Brooklyn Heights and currently holds a 1960s-era marble and glass office-retail building that was picked up by Joseph Cayre's Midtown Equities back in 2010. In 2012, the development firm filed permits doubling the building's size, envisioning a 100-unit residence that would convert the structure's three upper levels into apartments and add another six stories above. The permits, also filed by SRAA+E, were never approved, but in 2012 an insider told the Brooklyn Eagle, “an awful lot more can be built than what's in the Buildings Department plans." Midtown Equities, who is also busy rebuilding the Empire Stores in Brooklyn Bridge Park, could not be reached for comment.
Find out more about this possible project

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