AmTrust Realty has recently kicked off construction on a 250,000-square-foot, mixed-use project near Brooklyn’s Manhattan Bridge approach. The development will be a step towards reconnecting Downtown Brooklyn to its waterfront, and, along with several other proposals, helps remedy a maelstrom of mid-century planning disasters between the two areas.

Known as the Jay Street Residences by its designers Woods Bagot Architects, the project has previously gone by the addresses 120 Nassau, 199 Jay, 203 Jay, and 213 Jay Street. Its 38,000-square-foot lot, now under excavation, will give rise to an L-shaped complex composed of a 33-story tower anchoring Concord and Jay Streets, as well as an eight-story hotel and amenity wing along its western Jay Street frontage.

Zoning plan for 120 Nassau filed at the NYC Department of Buildings

AmTrust Realty purchased the parking lot situated on a portion of the site for $17.6M in 2006. The remainder of the site was occupied by a seven-story industrial building constructed by the Cary Manufacturing Company in 1913. The top three floors were home to the 175-student Freedom Academy High School until it shuttered in 2013 due to its students’ poor academic performance. In its heyday, the Cary Manufacturing building produced cardboard box fasteners and metal wire strapping and was ideally situated near the Robert Gair Company’s cardboard making factories in DUMBO.

Above: 1917 depiction of the Brooklyn entryway to the Manhattan Bridge; courtesy Brooklyn Museum. Project site indicated by pink circle.

Gallery Below (L to R): Postcard of Brooklyn’s Manhattan Bridge Plaza, courtesy Brooklyn Museum; The Bridge Plaza neighborhood’s network of streets in 1929, courtesy Historical Map Works; Manhattan Bridge Plaza (1917), courtesy Brooklyn Museum; Daniel Chester French’s allegorical statues fronting the Brooklyn Museum; courtesy Brooklyn Museum

Since the 1880s, 120 Nassau Street’s neighborhood, sometimes referred to as Bridge Plaza, was predominantly residential and housed a large number of workers from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Manhattan Bridge opened in 1909, severing the neighborhood in two with its approach ramp. Like the Manhattan terminus of the bridge, vehicles passed though a city-beautiful-era entryway adorned with two Daniel Chester French-carved allegorical statues depicting Manhattan and Brooklyn on either side. While the Manhattan gateway remains, albeit ensnarled by a sea of cars and traffic cones, the Brooklyn entryway was removed in the city-ugly era (1960′s), and its statues now front the Brooklyn Museum. In addition, urban renewal projects such as the Brooklyn Civic Center, the Farragut Houses, and the construction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway with its network of interchanges, transformed the borough’s vestibule into a no-man’s land of desolate green spaces and automobile-oriented thoroughfares.

The Brooklyn Civic Center urban renewal project acquired 426 parcels, cleared 45 acres of land and removed 304 buildings. Image courtesy of Works Progress Administration (1936) via Wikipedia

With the rise of Downtown Brooklyn and DUMBO as hot residential and commercial areas, planners are once again giving attention to the void between the two areas, and this time with people in mind rather than cars. In 2013, a partnership of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the Dumbo Business Improvement District and the Brooklyn Navy Yard announced the $3 billion Brooklyn Tech Triangle’s strategic plan to foster a nurturing environment for innovation.

Also, with the Jehovah’s Witnesses relocating the bulk of their operations out of Brooklyn, LIVWRK and Kushner Companies are transforming their six-building, fortress-like complex into a one million-square-foot tech hub dubbed DUMBO Heights, and just last month, WXY Studio released their Brooklyn Strand plan aimed towards weaving together a network of open spaces between Borough Hall and the waterfront through streetscape improvements and reclaiming/activating forlorn spaces. Recognizing the crucial artery Jay Street serves, WXY has proposed improved bike lanes along the route and an expanded Manhattan Bridge pedestrian plaza that may remove one of the bridge off-ramps that surround the 120 Nassau project site.

Site of Jay Street Residences represented by pink dot, Image courtesy of WXY Studio’s Brooklyn Strand Master Plan

Brooklyn Tech Triangle’s “Brooklyn Rising” observation balloon (L) and an early vision of DUMBO Heights designed by LEESER Architects (R)

While relatively under the radar in the New York construction scene, Woods Bagot is one of the world’s largest with more than 1,000 employees across four continents. Their projects are unmistakably modern, featuring angular and curvy forms wrapped in layered skins of varying materials and patterns. Their Jay Street project calls for a 425-foot tower clad in a vertically alternating pattern of glass and rust-colored panels that evoke the Cor-Ten-clad Barclays Center and, of course, the borough’s quintessential building type, the brownstone.

Unofficial images of 120 Nassau Street within the future Downtown Brooklyn skyline; TJ at CityRealty

Sited less than a mile from the waterfront, the 270-unit rental tower will be appear at the forefront of Brooklyn’s rapidly growing skyline and provide unobstructed views of Manhattan and the East River bridges. A north-facing indentation along the tower’s uppermost floor will provide for a roof terrace and lounge with a pantry. Other amenities will include a fitness center, a sky lounge, elevators, and parking for 112 cars. The project is within short walking distance to the A and C lines with the High Street station along Adams Street and F line at the York Street station in DUMBO. The project is expected to be completed in late 2016.

Current construction site of 120 Nassau Street (above), 120 Nassau’s site evolution (gallery below), © 6sqft

Stay up to date on the Jay Street Residences here.

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Amongst the city’s more delectable real estate news comes word that the developer of City Point has plans to bring a 26,000-square-foot foodie haven to their massive Downtown Brooklyn project. Dubbed the Dekalb Market Hall, the space will host somewhere between 35 and 55 “authentic and locally curated” vendors at the basement level of the 1.8-million-square-foot mixed-use development along Dekalb Avenue. Though leasing is still in the works, more than a handful of food purveyors have already signed on to stir what’s sure to be a culinary revolution for an area more commonly associated with chains like Starbucks and Applebee’s. So yes, put your best sweatpants on, friends, there will be artisanal doughnuts and barbecue.

Rendering of the City Point development

Some of the confirmed tenants slated to take up stalls in the market include Arepa Lady, Eight Turn Crepe, No. 6 Coffee, Forcella Pizza, Pierogi Bar, Brooklyn-based Fletcher’s Brooklyn Barbeque, Pain d’Avignon, Steve’s Ice Cream and Cuzin’s Duzin. The most interesting of the bunch however is Katz’s Deli, which is considering a Brooklyn satellite. The outpost would be the first of its kind for the 127-year-old institution.

The hall is currently being planned by Anna Castellani, the owner of Foragers Market, a gourmet grocery store in DUMBO and Chelsea. The layout and design aim to emulate the Brooklyn food markets of yesteryear while still channelling the borough’s cool and hip vibe.

“I felt most of the food halls that have recently opened in the city really lacked a sense of identity,” she said in the announcement. “New York needs a food destination that feels authentic. It should be eclectic, reflect the city’s unique culture and have a lot of personality. We are creating that atmosphere here at DeKalb Market Hall.”

Incidentally, the name of the project takes after the local outdoor food and retail market that formerly sat on the same site, housed within recycled shipping containers. The market was pushed out in 2012 to make way for the new development.

A 2016 open date has been penciled in for the Dekalb Market Hall.

[City Point official site]

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Rendering of City Point with a previously envisioned 65-story tower

Extell, the development company best known for gobbling up billionaires’ row sites and building supertall towers like One57, is venturing into Brooklyn, a place they’ve long avoided. The New York Times reports that Extell has bought the last development site at City Point, a huge, mixed-use complex in Downtown Brooklyn that will include residential and retail space, and, of course, a massive food hall. Extell will pay $120 million for the city-owned property, on which they will likely build a 500-unit rental building.

What’s more noteworthy than Extell’s move into the borough, though, is the fact that the tower could reach 60 stories, according to Extell president Gary Barnett, which would make it the tallest building in Brooklyn.

The $1 billion City Point project encompasses 1.8 million square feet, made up of retail space and three residential towers. The two under-construction towers are significantly shorter than what Extell is planning, topping out at 19 and 30 stories. But, as the Times articulates, “The investment shouldn’t be taken as a sign that Mr. Barnett is suddenly fond of mutton-chop whiskers and artisanal beef jerky. Rather, in a city where land is scarce and prices are rising, the deal made good financial sense.” Barnett simply said, “It’s a nice site, it’s a significant size and it was a reasonable price.”

The deal between Extell and City Point developers Washington Square Partners and Arcadia Realty Trust reportedly took a year to complete. Extell will technically be leasing the site, but will have the option to buy in a few decades. As part of the deal, they must build a four-story, 60,000-square-foot shopping center that Washington Square and Arcadia will own. The retail component, likely to open in 2017, will serve as the base for the residential tower, which could break ground by the end of this year and open in 2019. Zoning does allow for Barnett’s planned 60-story height, but the proposal will still have to go through the neighborhood and city review processes.

[Via NYT]

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Sitting on a quiet block of colorful, historic homes in Vinegar Hill (okay, Downtown Brooklyn, but minor details…) is the perfect three-bedroom townhouse for a budding family. The 100-year-old storybook home covers 1,878 square feet and features a shady landscaped backyard with more than 30 types of flowers, a stone goldfish pond, and a winding path. And it’s back on the market for $1.995 million.

Inside the three-story home, northern and southern light streams in from oversized windows. On the garden level, the dining room has one of the home’s three gas fireplaces (one on each floor), and a kitchen with high-end appliances, granite countertops, and maple cabinets overlooks the private rear garden.

On the second and third floors, there’s a living room and three bedrooms, two of which have private dressing areas. Meanwhile, downstairs in the basement, there’s a playroom, a workshop, and a laundry room.

190 Concord Street is just a few minutes away from good schools, trendy restaurants, health clubs and spas.

[Listing: 190 Concorde Street by Vicki Negron of Corcoran Group]

Photos courtesy of Corcoran Group

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Construction has begun on the final building of the four-tower development on the western edge of Fort Greene. The 32-story tower at 86 Fleet Place will house 440 rental units and will be the culmination of a 15-year redevelopment of a low-slung, Robert Moses-era retail strip along Myrtle Avenue.

The developer of 86 Fleet, and three other sibling buildings to the east, is Red Apple Group’s CEO and owner John Catsimatidis, who we might better remember as the billionaire Republican candidate in the last mayoral election and the owner of the oft-maligned Gristedes grocery store chain. According to the Wall Street Journal, Red Apple picked up the 2.5-acre, four-block site for $500,000 from Long Island University in 1982. The site spans 900 feet along the southern frontage of Myrtle Avenue, between Flatbush Avenue Extension and Ashland Place, and shares its blocks with the Toren condominium to the west and the Fred Trump-built University Towers complex to the south.

Renderings courtesy of Dattner Architects

At 350 feet high and nearly 400,000 square feet in size, 86 Fleet will be the development’s tallest and largest building by far. The master plan, drafted by Dattner Architects, called for the four buildings to progressively grow in height as one moves westward from low-rise Fort Greene to the high-rises of MetroTech Center and Downtown Brooklyn. Two rental properties have already been completed, the nine-story Andrea and the 15-story Giovanni. A third rental at 180 Myrtle is currently underway and has recently topped out. The full plan will provide nearly 1,000 units under a 50-30-20 plan; 50 percent of the units will be market rate, 30 percent designated for middle-income affordable, and 20 percent for low-income affordable.

86 Fleet’s architects, Goldstein Hill & West, have crafted a design markedly different in appearance compared to its three blockier, masonry-clad siblings to the east. Most notably, the corner of Fleet Place and Myrtle will be anchored by a curved, fully glazed section that culminates as a cylindrical capstone at the the tower’s apex. A single-story podium provides retail storefronts at the base, and well proportioned setbacks (four along narrow Fleet Place and three along Myrtle Avenue) propel the somewhat stodgy massing skyward. Additionally, lines of glass balconies break up the tower’s uniform skin.

Red Apple’s The Andrea, 180 Myrtle Avenue, and The Giovanni directly east of 86 Fleet Place

Building amenities will include 143 parking spaces, a fitness center, residents’ lounge, children’s playroom, and a common terrace. Though delivery of 86 Fleet’s 440 rentals units is more than a year away, its market-rate prices will be comparable to several new Downtown Brooklyn rental towers in the area such as the Avalon Fort Greene, Ava DoBro, and 388 Bridge Street, where studios start from $2,643, one-bedrooms from $3,200, and two-bedrooms from $4,995.

Aerial renderings via CityRealty

Follow updates on 86 Fleet Place at CityRealty

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Rendering based on potential height, via CityRealty

As the result of the $90 million acquisition of Brooklyn’s landmarked Dime Savings Bank building by developers Michael Stern (111 West 57th) and Joe Chetrit, a new residential skyscraper in Brooklyn could nearly reach the height of the Empire State Building.

The historic Neo-Roman building at 9 DeKalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn–next door to the famed Junior’s Restaurant–comes with 300,000 square feet of development rights, which, combined with existing air rights next door at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension (which the pair bought last summer for $43 million), could be used to build an adjacent tower of nearly 600,000 square feet. The likelihood of a tower that reaches between 1,000 and 1,200 feet has been mentioned by sources close to the deal.

No building outside Manhattan has bested 1,000 feet–and few Manhattan buildings do. The Empire State Building clocks in at 1,250 feet (1,454 including its spire). A 1,775-foot residential tower is currently being developed by Extell Development at 217 West 57th Street–the tallest one to approach that height currently.

Rendering based on potential height, via CityRealty

Stern has made news for his slender and controversial 1,400-foot apartment tower currently under construction at 111 West 57th Street. Similarly, the 9 Dekalb deal would combine a landmarked structure with new construction to create a luxury residential property. The 150-year-old landmarked bank building could be used as a lobby entrance for the new residential tower or as retail space.

[Via Crains]

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We all know Brooklyn’s residential market is scorching hot, but its hotel market is booming as well. Two hotels recently opened at the borough’s Manhattan Bridge entryway, the 174-room Dazzler Brooklyn Hotel and the 116-room Hampton Inn. The latter has just begun construction on a 145-room expansion on an adjacent lot at 156 Tillary Street, and we’ve uncovered the first look at what the 22-story Stonehill & Taylor Architects-designed tower will look like (an encore to the striped-brick banality that rose in the first phase).

Aerial rendering courtesy of CityRealty

The New York Marriott Brooklyn Bridge was the borough’s first new full-service hotel when it opened in 2008. Today, Brooklyn and Queens account for a quarter of the city’s hotel rooms. Many of the new projects have risen on sites within current/former manufacturing zones. The expanded Hampton Inn replaced a four-story 19th century loft building in a former light manufacturing area that was rezoned back in 2004 to allow the growth of commercial and residential uses in Downtown Brooklyn. Since then, a handful of 40-story towers such as BKLYN AIR, Oro, and Avalon Fort Greene have risen nearby, and many of the remaining manufacturing buildings have been converted to apartments such as the Toy Factory Lofts and 177 Concord. According to the Pratt Center for Community Development’s 2015 report “Hotel Development in NYC: Room for Improvement,” revenue generated from hotels is often double that of commercial and industrial uses on a per-square-foot basis.

As for the expanded Hampton Inn, excavation work is wrapping up and the foundation slab and walls will soon be poured. The tower will ultimately rise 230 feet high at the forefront of the Downtown Brooklyn skyline. Guests on upper floors will have stellar views of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and beyond, which in this case includes the East River bridges and Manhattan skyline. Floors 2-12 will have eight hotel rooms each, and floors 13-20, seven rooms. The 22nd floor will have a rooftop eating and drinking establishment, and the ground floor will have a destination restaurant and dining garden, according to the architect’s website.

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Yesterday, we reported a staggering 22,000 residential units are on their way to the northern end of Brooklyn by 2019, 6,412 (29 percent) of which are slated for the half-square mile neighborhood of Downtown Brooklyn. Now, we have our first look at a small chunk of that count: a 105-unit residential building under construction at 237 Duffield Street, in the heart of the borough’s central hub.

Last year, Brownstoner broke the news that a new set of building applications were filed for the long-stalled site that was once planned to be a 21-floor, Karl Fisher-designed Indigo Hotel that featured an undulated glass skin and lavish roof deck.

The construction site at 237 Duffield Street with the first two buildings of the City Point development looming in the background.

New Jersey-based Castle Rock Equity Group have switched the project’s gears from hotel to residential just as the once lackluster business district reaches a threshold of residents where it can provide adequate shopping and dining amenities. Next year, Arcadia Realty Trust’s City Point development will bring 650,000 square feet of new retail to the area, including a much-anticipated DeKalb Market Hall.

Penned by Jersey-based Urban Tectonics, 237 Duffield will host 105 residential units with retail space on the cellar and ground floors. The 232-foot tall, bland stack of red bricks and gridded windows will gel nicely within Brooklyn’s second canyon of mediocrity that has overcome the short stretch of Duffield between Fulton and Willoughby streets. Since the neighborhood’s 2003 upzoning, a crop of 20 or so story hotels have risen that include Hotel 718, the Sheraton Brooklyn hotel, and an Aloft hotel. Avalon’s 800+ unit mega-rental, Ava DoBro bookends the block, and behind, along Albee Square, two other residential towers are planned: ODA Architecture’s 436 Albee Square and JEMB’s 420 Albee Square.

Is this all we can expect for Downtown Brooklyn’s future

237 Duffield will be swallowed by a forest of upcoming skyscrapers planned for the area. Google Earth images courtesy of CityRealty

Follow updates and see more images of 237 Duffield at CityRealty and have a closer look at CityRealty’s Brooklyn New Development Report here.

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Image via Field Condition

When it was announced that Brooklyn would be host to the world’s tallest prefab tower, many believed that a new era of construction was upon us. Called the B2 Tower, the building would rise as stacked 32-story structure, affording all the perks of a conventional edifice, but be quick and inexpensive to build. But as it has been well-documented, the project, announced way back in 2012, has been a major flop. Stricken with delays and countless lawsuits flying left and right, the building today has only reached about half of its height. So where did things go so wrong? A fascinating piece by the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report‘s Norman Oder on City Limits provides some incredible insight into the project that has failed to deliver on just about every promise put forward.

“Today, the reality of B2 has not matched the anticipation. The building—delayed, stalled, and since re-started to reach half its ultimate height—will take more than twice as long as promised and cost far more than projected,” Oder writes. “B2, also known as 461 Dean Street, remains mired in lawsuits filed by Forest City and its former partner Skanska, with dueling charges of incompetent execution and flawed design.”

More frightening are the documents dug up by the journalist to tell the story of the development. Although Forest City has told the press that everything is back on track and that there are no flaws in the technology—”We are committed to completing the world’s tallest modular building by using the same technology that we started it with,” developer Bruce Ratner told the Daily News in January—the pages acquired by Oder reveal otherwise. He shares his findings:

“… state documents acquired via a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request paint a more ominous picture. Half of the first 39 apartments suffered significant water damage. The first four floors were ‘largely gutted,’ according to reports from consultant STV, which serves as owner’s representative for Empire State Development (ESD), the state agency overseeing/shepherding the entire Atlantic Yards project, which has been renamed Pacific Park Brooklyn.”

In response to the leakage problems seen in April through July 2014, the builders began bringing modules to the site unfinished with drywall to be installed later, “undermining the concept of completing as much as possible in the factory,” Oder says. The documents also show that “a walk-through at B2 revealed that many [units] lacked appliances, sinks and toilets. Some had unfinished flooring and wall work. Also required was ‘on-site leak-damage repair/replacement of water-damaged ceilings, walls and floors, and possibly other elements such as electrical.’”

There was also mold in the building, and “over the late spring and summer, more water damage emerged, as well as quality control issues, including torn gaskets, dents, and scratches to the exterior façade.” Referring to the misaligned modular units, it was found that “one mod was such a tight fit…that a worker used a crowbar to try and move it.” In other cases, they had to “shave drywall…to squeeze in mods.”

Oder reached out to Forest City for answers to some specific concerns, but they declined his request. Spokesman Jeremy Soffin instead offered the response: “Progress on B2 has been excellent since work resumed earlier this year and we are on track to complete the building next year. We remain enthusiastic about the potential for high-rise modular construction in New York.” Empire State Development also told him that it is “satisfied with the pace of construction on the B2 site.”

Oder’s piece is a fascinating read that expands on the issues related to the engineering, assembly, and production of the modules, as well as the arrogance of many of the parties involved in pushing the project forward.

Read it here >>

[Via Treehugger]

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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.

All renderings courtesy of Hoyin Tong, SRAA+E

SRAA+E’s concept models, shown above, depict a much larger development than previously filed. A slender, Flatiron-like, 40-story tower soars above the old office building and is crisscrossed by diagonal cutaways. The prominent corner of Montague Street and Cadman Plaza West was once home to a ten-story Italianate-style building that housed the offices of the Brooklyn Dodgers and was the location where Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson to become the first African-American major league baseball player. The building was replaced in 1962 by the 77,250-square-foot Class A office building that stands here today.

All site images courtesy of Midtown Equities

According to The Real Deal, property transaction firm Massey Knackal holds a 19,000-square-foot lease for the third floor until 2016. The retail storefronts have held a succession of bank branches over the years and TD Bank and Bank of America are its current tenants.

Left to Right: 280 Cadman Plaza West, 146 Pierrepont Street, and 153 Remsen Street

Surrounding the development site, several new residential projects are on the horizon. One block away, the Stahl Organization is putting the finishing touches on the transformation of the Brooklyn Trust Company Building into 12 spacious condominiums that are priced around $1,400 per square foot. On another triangular-shaped lot on Cadman Plaza West, Hudson Companies has been making headway to build a Marvel Architects-designed, 36-story condo tower that provides a city branch library in its base. According to data from CityRealty, Brooklyn Heights has recorded average closing condo prices of $1,133 per square foot, or at an average price of $1,124,757, through the first six months of this year.

Two rental projects near the site are also underway. One door down from Midtown Equities’ site, Jonathan Rose Companies is readying a block-though lot at 146 Pierrepont Street for a 68-unit, 19-story rental development. Another 19-story rental tower is underway at 153 Remsen Street by Quinlan Development Group.

Follow updates for 205 Montague Street and all Brooklyn Heights developments at CityRealty.

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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.

The tower site at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension is adjacent to the iconic Junior’s Restaurant and is being co-developed by the Micahel Stern-led JDS Development Group and the Chetrit Group. Last month, the team closed on the purchase of the neighboring Dime Savings Bank of New York for $90 million whose air rights will most likely be transferred to the tower site, allowing for a building upwards of 600,000 square feet. It’s also been suggested that the tower could rise higher than the 1,250-foot Empire State Building, which would not only make it the tallest building in the outer boroughs, but the tallest skyscraper on the East Coast outside of Manhattan.

Future Brooklyn skyline depicting 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension in the center, via CityRealty

Building permits on file from June 2014 detail a much smaller tower of 65 stories and roughly 400 residential units. SHoP is recorded as the architects of record; the firm is also handling another supertall tower for JDS at 111 West 57th Street. 340 Flatbush is one of many new projects going up in Brooklyn; in fact, the northern end of the borough alone will get 22,000 new apartments over the next four years, according to a report from CityRealty.

Stay updated on the development of 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension at CityRealty.

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B2 Tower photo © Field Condition

“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.

To create the same effect, most skyscrapers use a different technology, a tuned mass damper, “which uses a steel or concrete weight to resist movement and giant tanks of water to weigh down the building” (think of it as a giant pendulum). Tall, thin towers here in New York are increasingly using dampers, including 111 West 57th Street, 432 Park Avenue, and 220 Central Park South, but they’re typically not employed for structures under 800 feet.

That’s where the fluid harmonic disruptors come in, as Thornton Tomasetti, who has exclusive rights to the technology in the U.S., is marketing it as a cheaper and lighter alternative to dampers. “For the physics-averse,” explains the Real Deal, “think of the device as a balloon in the water. If the balloon contracts, the water moves toward it. If it expands, the water is pushed away.” The three-feet-in-diameter polyvinyl chloride pipes will be installed when the building is completed, expected to be early next year. If all goes well, and penthouse residents are spared possible bouts of sky-high motion sickness, the firm hopes to use the NASA technology in many supertall towers.

[Via TRD]

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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.

Google Earth renderings via CityRealty; images based on the sole rendering posted showing a 1,000-foot tower at the site.

JDS and SHoP are also working together on the 1,428-foot Manhattan tower at 111 West 57th Street. This Billionaires’ Row building has a height/width ratio of 24:1; in Brooklyn it will be 12:1, which is still pretty slender for the borough. Another similarity in the projects that Yimby points out is that they’re both integrating historic, landmarked structures. In Manhattan, it’s Steinway Hall, and in Brooklyn it’s the Dime Savings Bank.

Sales are expected to launch in mid 2018 with a completion date in 2019. Stay up-to-date on the progress of 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension at CityRealty.

[Via NYY]

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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.

Google Earth rendering via CityRealty; images based on the rendering posted showing a 1,000-foot tower at the site.

The new supertall will boast 600,000 square feet across 90 floors, mostly dedicated to condos and rentals. There will also be 140,000 of commercial space at the tower’s base, while the 100,000-square-foot Dime Savings Bank, which is a landmarked structure, will be leased out as a retail and rental space. Crain’s adds that the Beaux Arts building may also serve as the main entrance to the new development given its grand architecture, which includes decorative ceilings and marble columns.

Sales are expected to launch in mid 2018 with a completion date in 2019. Stay up-to-date on leasing and listings at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension over at CityRealty.

[Via Crain's]

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• First 1,000+ Foot Tower Outside Manhattan May Rise in Downtown Brooklyn

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.

According to the construction documents referenced by Yimby, the residential portion of the SHoP Architects-designed tower has increased to 463,470 square feet (up from 446,734), but the number of apartments has decreased to 417 (from 495). Residential units begin on the seventh floor, where there will be 12 homes, and culminate on the 69th and 70th stories with two units each. There will be a residents’ lounge complete with outdoor terrace on the fifth floor. As for the commercial space on floors one through four, set to be a mix of office and retail space, the square footage has dropped to 92,694 (down from 140,000). The Dime Savings Bank is landmarked, so it can’t be demolished or altered, and is expected to also become retail space (it’s unclear if that’s factored into the 92,694 square feet).

The permits still need Department of Buildings approval, but sales are expected to launch in mid 2018 with a completion date in 2019. Stay up-to-date on leasing and listings for 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension over at CityRealty.

[Via NY Yimby]

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• First 1,000+ Foot Tower Outside Manhattan May Rise in Downtown Brooklyn

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.

Construction shots via 6sqft

The 52-story, 568-foot skyscraper rises from a former parking lot and will be the second tallest building in the borough when it opens later this year. The 580,000-square-foot rental tower is being developed by the Gotham Organization and DT Salazar Inc. under HDC’s Mixed Income Program and HPD’s Inclusionary Housing Program, where more than half of its 586 units will be set aside at below-market-rate rents.

FXFOWLE Architects are the designers and provide a conservative masonry and glass curtain wall that complements the brick and mortar neighborhoods of the brownstone belt while still conveying the borough’s exciting future. The ground floor will host 11,000 square feet of retail space and will open onto a plaza shared with BAM’s Theatre for a New Audience.

According to the announcement, amenities will include a 24-hour attended lobby, on-site resident manager, roof deck/terrace, fitness center, playroom, resident lounge, concierge, bike storage, and a laundry room. Additional fees may apply to some amenities. Due to the building’s orientation and location, many units will be granted expansive views of the Manhattan skyline and the East River bridges.

Google Earth rendering via CityRealty

For future market-rate listings, visit CityRealty. Those who qualify for the lottery can apply here.

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Renderings courtesy of FXFOWLE Architects

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…

The aforementioned Dime Savings Bank building is both an exterior and interior landmark, and though the developers plan to use the Beaux-Arts space for shops, their plans call for the demolition of one of the bank’s walls in order to rest part of the tower on its rear portion. Thanks to the air rights transfer, the height is within zoning regulations, but because of the historic status, all alterations to the bank building will need to go through the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

SHoP, however, seems well attuned to the historic nature of the site, noting that they drew inspiration from the bank building’s limestone columns. These are echoed in the bronze ribbons that run up the sides of the glassy tower. They also mirrored the bank’s footprint in the tower’s hexagonal shape. Michael Stern, founder and managing partner of JDS, told the Times, “We’re really excited to give Brooklyn a building that isn’t bashful, that isn’t shy. We want this project to encapsulate everything that is great about Brooklyn’s past and everything that is great about Brooklyn’s future.”

The first LPC hearing is scheduled for March 15th. If all goes according to plan, sales are expected to launch in mid 2018 with a completion date in 2019. Stay up-to-date on leasing and listings for 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension over at CityRealty.

[Via NYT]

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• All 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension coverage on 6sqft

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.

Designed by SHoP Architects, the 73-story supertall will have 500 rental units, at least 20 percent of which will be affordable under the city’s 421-a program. As 6sqft previously reported, the firm “drew inspiration from the bank building’s limestone columns. These are echoed in the bronze ribbons that run up the sides of the glassy tower. They also mirrored the bank’s footprint in the tower’s hexagonal shape.”

The project began 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) 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 tower.

The bank is both an exterior and interior landmark, meaning all alterations will need to be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The developers plan to use the Beaux-Arts space for shops, but they also plan to demolish one of its rear walls, which may get tricky. The first LPC hearing is scheduled for March 15th, and depending on the outcome, these renderings may not be in the final incarnation. If the schedule progresses as planned, sales are expected to launch in mid 2018 with a completion date in 2019. Stay up-to-date on leasing and listings for 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension over at CityRealty.

[Via Curbed]

RELATED:

• New Rendering, Details of Brooklyn’s Future Tallest Tower
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• All 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension coverage on 6sqft

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.

The apartment comes in just over 1,000 square feet. With the open floorplan also comes 11-foot ceilings and the original factory windows, which nearly take up the entire wall.

The dining and office area is right off the living room. We love the lighting above the dining room table — it looks like a super-modern chandelier.

The open kitchen is also adjacent to the living room. The current floorplan ensures easy access to each space and lots of room if you are looking to throw a party. The kitchen has plenty of cabinets and counter spaces, but is separated from the rest of the apartment by a breakfast bar that looks like it also doubles as a huge cutting board.

The master bedroom also gets tons of light, with double exposures from the east and south. Those massive windows look out onto the expanse of Downtown Brooklyn. The second bedroom is significantly smaller, with a lofted bed above an office space. But overall the apartment gets points for its spacious, lofty vibe — we wouldn’t expect anything less from a former toy factory.

[Listing: 176 Johnson Street, #7A by Eyal Dagan for Sotheby's]

[Via CityRealty]

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Photos courtesy of Sotheby’s

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.

Under HDC’s Mixed Income Program and HPD’s Inclusionary Housing Program, more than half the building’s 586 units will be set aside at below-market-rate rents. Those apartments are 56 studios, 113 one-bedrooms, 85 two-bedrooms, and 28 three-bedrooms available to households earning between $28,835 and $200,400 per year, depending on family size. Prices will begin at $801 per month for the studios, $861 for one-bedrooms, $1,042 for two-bedrooms and $1,196 for three bedrooms. The units will be rent stabilized and the monthly rent includes gas.

Amenities will include a 24-hour attended lobby, fitness center, playroom, resident lounge, concierge, bike storage, and laundry, but additional fees might apply. Many units will provide far-reaching views of the cityscape that include the East River and the Manhattan skyline.

Downtown Brooklyn skyline from the Gowanus Canal. 250 Ashland Place is on the right-side of the photo next to The Hub (with the crane) and the glassy 66 Rockwell Place

Via CityRealty

A preference for half the affordable units will be given to residents who live in Community Board 2, and city employees get a preference for 5 percent of the units. Applications are due today, April 11. Apply online though the city’s affordable housing lottery website here.

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