Renderings revealed of Jehovah’s Witnesses Watchtower transformation into ‘Panorama’

Last summer, developers CIM Group, Kushner Companies and LIVWRK acquired the Jehovah’s Witnesses Watchtower building at 25-30 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights for $340 million. The building, known for its iconic red sign, served as the world headquarters of the religious group for years, but they’re relocating to Warwick, New York. Now, work has begun to turn its three 19th century brick and timber buildings into 635,000 square feet of office space, as well as 35,000 square feet of retail and outdoor areas, as Fast Company reports. The new space will be known as Panorama, for its stunning views of the Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn Bridge.

View of the current site, via Wally Gobetz/Flickr

Currently, a collection of five interconnected office and warehouse buildings sit at 25-30 Columbia Heights, with each building featuring unique architectural features like sky bridges, terraces, roof decks and other original historic details. While the renovation will add new lobby areas and elevators, the connective sky bridge will be maintained.

The CEO and founder of LIVWRK, Asher Abehsera, told Fast Company that he envisions the office space to be leased to a single globally recognized tenant. “The renaissance of residential development in Brooklyn has been very robust and added thousands of units to the market,” he said. “Where are all these people going to work? People want to walk local, eat local, work out local and work local.”

In the upcoming months, the developers behind Panorama, including the Columbia Heights Associates, plan on tearing down most of the interior walls, stripping the floors and ceilings to their base, reglazing the windows and shaving the columns. As 6sqft previously covered, a joint partnership among Kushner Companies, LIVWRK and CIM Group paid $345 million for the Jehovah’s Witnesses other site at 85 Jay Street, bringing Kushner’s total investment to $1 billion in the DUMBO/Brooklyn Heights area. The Jay Street development will feature a 1.1 million square foot residential and retail complex.

[Via Fast Company]

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Renderings courtesy of Columbia Heights Associates and Volley Studio