New renderings have been revealed for the proposed residential conversion of the former Jehovah’s Witness global headquarters at 25–30 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn. Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects and developed by CIM Group, the project will involve a vertical expansion of two buildings in the former Watchtower Building complex and will yield 661 rental apartments, with 25 percent designated as affordable housing. The development will also include 113,000 square feet of commercial space and community facility space. The five interconnected office and warehouse buildings are located around the intersection of Columbia Heights and Vine Street, directly across from Hillside Dog Park.
The largest building at 25 Columbia Heights will stand 210 feet tall and feature a multistory addition. The façade will be composed of a uniform grid of floor-to-ceiling windows, and the structure will culminate in a flat roof with a bulkhead and small roof deck. The other primary building at 30 Columbia Heights will stand 154 feet tall and will incorporate new construction above the original roof line and around the southern end of the superstructure. The building will feature a large landscaped rooftop terrace.
The above aerial rendering shows 25 Columbia Heights running east to west and 30 Columbia Heights standing parallel with the East River. The below image previews the two vertically expanded structures from the water.
Rendering courtesy of CIM Group.
The following diagrams detail the current structures and their proposed expansion. The building at 25 Columbia Heights will go from 12 to 17 stories and yield 392 rental units as well as 14,850 square feet of commercial and community facility space.
The “Welcome” sign building at 30 Columbia Heights will be expanded from 13 to 14 stories and yield the remaining 269 units, commercial space, and enclosed parking. The other three low-rise properties are all situated along the southern end along Columbia Heights. Their roof lines will remain untouched.
Diagram courtesy of CIM Group.
The waterfront properties were originally built for the former Squibb pharmaceutical complex, then purchased by the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1969 and became known as the Watchtower buildings. The large red sign facing the East River was an iconic part of the Brooklyn skyline until its replacement with the current “Welcome” sign in 2017.
Jehovah’s Witness sold the property for $340 million to CIM, Kushner Companies, and LIVWRK and relocated to Warwick, New York. The developers initially planned to redevelop the site as Panorama with new retail and office space. These plans were scrapped when Kushner Companies and LIVWRK pulled out of the project in 2018.
The nearest subways from the site are the A and C trains at the High Street station, the 2 and 3 trains at the Clark Street, and the F train at the York Street station.
25–30 Columbia Heights will soon enter the uniform land use review procedure (ULURP). If all goes according to plan, construction could get underway sometime early next year with a completion date in 2029.
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Exactly the kind of proposal that ought to be able to proceed as quickly as possible.
Take examples like this to rewrite zoning regs, ULURP and related steps to make it possible to get these done yesterday.
It’s about time something actually happened here. Jehovah’s Witnesses sold the property in 2016.
yes and they paid $0 in transfer taxes, saving … billions
de Blasio could have enforced a one time payment in lieu of taxes from the church, this was a for profit sale.
But, did not.
Church got billions, City got zilch.
Billions? Can you explain this to me like I’m a two year old… they sold it for $340 million dollars and DeBlasio didn’t question their tax- exempt status and poof, it somehow turned into billions?!
They sold alot more then this site – basically the Dumbo area – not just this building. Relocated to upstate New York.
Transfer taxes are a small percentage of the sales price (like 2%). JW sold a portfolio for $2B. 2% of $2B does not equal billions.
Also, PILOTs are negotiated in lieu of real estate taxes. The City has no ability to arbitrarily apply them elsewhere.
YOU don’t make any sense. Of the subway was the problem you start with the underground not the with the scaffolding.
Wow!!!!best community in all of NY!!
A solid background to the ‘Star of the Show’
I am glad the space is being put to good use. It’s been a long time coming!
Glad this is happening, but would be much better with a slender tower on top. As proposed it basically a giant wall. Better than nothing though.
They could call it Kingdom Tall
Watchtower Towers
Watch Towers