Last summer, the Times reported that Extell had acquired the third and final piece of City Point, a sprawling mixed-use development in Downtown Brooklyn. The developer rolled out initial renderings for their 59-story tower at 138 Willoughby Street in January, and now we have a better look at what will eventually be one of Brooklyn’s tallest towers.
After having its first proposal rejected, a supportive housing institution in Brooklyn has received approval to expand its campus. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to allow both demolition and new construction on the campus of the Institute for Community Living (ICL), located at 839 St. Marks Avenue, at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue in the Crown Heights North Historic District.
Last year, residential development in the South Bronx was booming. This year, builders are looking at their future tax bills – without the 421-a tax break – and realizing that it’s safer and cheaper to build hotels than apartments.
The residential, mid-rise street wall around McCarren Park in northern Brooklyn is receiving its latest addition as the six-story apartment building at 544 Manhattan Avenue nears exterior completion. Permits indicate Nicholas Notias of Flushing-based Neptune Mechanical, LLC as the owner and the firm also serves as the construction manager. LMW Engineering Group, LLC is also involved with the project.
RFR Holding, LIVWRK, and Kushner Companies are preparing to enter into contract to purchase the 11-story, 733,000-square-foot office complex at 25-30 Columbia Heights, in Brooklyn Heights, in addition to the vacant full-block, 135,000-square-foot development site at 85 Jay Street, in DUMBO, from the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The team of developers are paying $700 million for the properties, according to the New York Post. 25-30 Columbia Heights, which is commonly called the “Watchtower,” is the organization’s current headquarters. It could possibly be turned into a commercial hub, similar to how the same developers converted the former Jehovah’s Witnesses properties at 81 Prospect Street into offices back in 2014. As for 85 Jay Street, the site has been long approved for roughly 1.1 million square feet of development. That’s as many as 700 to 1,000 residential units, which could boost the neighborhood’s population by a third, Brownstoner reported a few months ago.
