Revised plans are set to be presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) for the residential conversion and rooftop expansion of the Hotel Bossert at 98 Montague Street, a 14-story Renaissance Revival landmark in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn. Designed by SLCE Architects and developed by SomeraRoad, the 117-year-old structure spans roughly 187,200 square feet and will yield 61 condominium units, according to offering plan filings. The project will also include a 3,200-square-foot ground-floor restaurant from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, infill within the building’s existing courtyards, and new window openings.
98 Montague Street, via LPC proposal.
The updated presentation follows our last update in July 2026, when the commission heard the initial proposal at its June 23 public hearing and took no action, leaving the application pending. The updated plan sets the 13th and 15th floors further back from the historic parapet, regularizes the fenestration into a symmetrical arrangement centered on the historic façade organization, and simplifies the 13th-floor cornice. The color of the addition’s cladding has been darkened to enhance contrast with the historic façade material, visible mechanical equipment at the 14th floor has been relocated to eliminate the need for screening, and the stair and elevator bulkheads above the 15th floor have been reduced in size and reconfigured, according to the presentation materials.
Previous and current rendering of proposal for 98 Montague Street, via LPC proposal.
The enlargement’s exterior walls and cornices will be clad in porcelain panels, while window frames, glass guardrails, and mechanical screens will carry a dark PPG Duranar finish. Rear balconies have been changed to a dark metal finish with metal picket rails to emphasize the reading of the light court, and the rear of the addition will be finished to match the façade below. The submission also includes visibility studies from 12 vantage points across Brooklyn Heights, intended to demonstrate the limited visual impact of the revised massing on the historic district.
Previous and current rendering of proposal for 98 Montague Street, via LPC proposal.
Originally Opened in 1909 as an apartment hotel designed by Helmle & Huberty for Brooklyn lumber magnate Louis Bossert, the building was expanded in 1913 and gained its celebrated two-story Marine Roof restaurant in 1916, according to the presentation’s historic photographs. Long known as the “Waldorf-Astoria of Brooklyn,” the hotel hosted the Brooklyn Dodgers’ celebration of their 1955 World Series championship. The Jehovah’s Witnesses, which began leasing space in the building in 1983 and purchased it in 1988, owned the property until 2012, when it sold for $81 million to David Bistricer and Joseph Chetrit. Their plans to reopen the property as a boutique hotel stalled and ultimately ended in foreclosure. SomeraRoad acquired the building for $100 million in May 2025 from Beach Point Capital, which had taken title at a foreclosure auction that February.
An offering plan for the 61-unit conversion was submitted to the New York State Attorney General on June 3 and is awaiting acceptance. Residences will be geared primarily toward three- and four-bedroom buyers. Work began in July, with city records showing permits issued this year for interior demolition, boiler, electrical, lighting, and scaffolding work. The Union Square Hospitality Group restaurant, the group’s first full-service restaurant in Brooklyn, is slated to open in 2028.
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I’ve shared the link to this widely with many across Brooklyn Heights, including the Brooklyn Heights Association, various local media, and individuals.
As you can imagine, exactly what’s been going on (or not) with the Bossert has been widely discussed in the Heights for decades. A quick Google search on the Brooklyn Heights Blog will find links going back literally decades.
I’ve also bought and scanned in many postcards showing the Bossert in better days, and shared the images with the current redevelopers and others.