By Alexandra Alexa, Tue, April 16, 2019 Current construction shot of Brooklyn Point by CityRealty (L); Photo of the view courtesy of Williams New York (R)
Brooklyn Point, Extell’s first outer-borough tower rising at 138 Willoughby Street officially topped out this week at 720 feet, and the views from near the top are even more incredible than expected. The 68-story high-rise designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox will contain 458 luxury units, ranging from studios to three-bedrooms, starting at $850,000 and reaching over $4 million. On track to be completed by 2020, it’ll be Brooklyn’s tallest building (at least until the 1,000-foot building planned for 9 DeKalb Avenue rises) and boast the highest outdoor infinity pool in the western hemisphere.
Check out the views!
By Devin Gannon, Fri, March 15, 2019 Rendering of 570 Fulton Street via Slate Property Group
The New York City Council this week voted to approve a proposed 40-story building in Downtown Brooklyn, adding to the slew of new high-rises coming to the historically low-slung neighborhood. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the council voted to approve zoning measures that permit Slate Property Group to build at 570 Fulton Street. With council approval, the 200,000-square-foot mixed-use building will move on to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s desk next, despite concerns from the local community board.
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By Michelle Cohen, Wed, February 20, 2019 Understudy; image credit: Liz Clayman.
Downtown Brooklyn’s City Point is pulling out all the stops to boost its cool factor. The 1.8-million-square-foot mixed-use development at 445 Albee Square West is already home to the subterranean food mecca known as Dekalb Market Hall as well as the popular dine-in cinema-slash-supper-club Alamo Drafthouse. City Point recently announced the additions of a speakeasy-style cocktail bar called Understudy within the food court and Dekalb Stage, a 7,500-square-foot events and live entertainment space just next door.
More fun per square foot, this way
By Michelle Cohen, Tue, February 12, 2019 Image courtesy of Downtownbrooklyn.com.
Downtown Brooklyn Partnership announced today the selection of a joint proposal from design firms WXY Studio (WXY) and Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG Architects) for a public realm action plan aimed at implementing long-term improvements to Downtown Brooklyn’s plazas, streets, and public spaces to keep pace with the neighborhood’s unprecedented growth. According to a press release, the two firms will conduct a comprehensive study and create an implementation plan for Downtown Brooklyn’s public realm and help “advance Downtown Brooklyn as a competitive, national urban center.”
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By Michelle Cohen, Tue, February 12, 2019 McNally Jackson bookstore on Prince Street. Image by Carl Mikoy via Flickr.
Bad news took a U-turn at the start of this year when beloved independent bookstore McNally Jackson announced that it would not be closing its doors on Prince Street in Soho after all. The news came a few months after after owner Sarah McNally, who opened the store in 2004, announced the store would be moving out of the neighborhood due to a 136 percent rent increase (from $350,000 to $850,000). The flagship location of the bookstore is not merely staying open; it will be launching new branches in Williamsburg and Laguardia Airport, and as New York Magazine reports, is on an expansion binge of sorts with stores planned for South Street Seaport and Downtown Brooklyn‘s new City Point complex.
More books for everyone
By Michelle Cohen, Thu, January 31, 2019 Rendering: Economic Development Corporation.
It appears that residents at Downtown Brooklyn‘s new Brooklyn Point development won’t be getting their “beautifully landscaped one-acre oasis” after all. Plans to add a new park atop a high-tech parking facility on Willoughby Street across from City Point in Downtown Brooklyn are officially off the table, Brooklyn Paper reports. The plan was set in motion a decade ago under the Bloomberg administration. City officials said Wednesday that a deal with the developer chosen for the job back in 2013 failed to close.
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By Alexandra Alexa, Thu, January 31, 2019 Located in the award-winning, SOM-designed Toren in Downtown Brooklyn, this duplex penthouse at 150 Myrtle Avenue boasts three exposures and sweeping views of Williamsburg and Manhattan. On the 30th of 37 floors, the corner residence offers three bedrooms and three baths in a dramatic double-height space for the asking price of $2,100,000. And though these glassy, open spaces can often feel void, this one has been warmed up with creative decor and a curated collection of plants.
Get the tour
By Lucie Levine, Mon, January 7, 2019 Since it opened in 1859, the Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn has been integral to the history of the borough it calls home. True to its name, you could open a savings account with just a dime. The first person to make a deposit was a man named John Halsey who invested $50. Scores of Brooklynites followed suit, and by the end of the bank’s first business day, 90 people opened accounts; by the end of the first month, more than 1,000 people were depositing at Dime.
But the bank cemented its prominent status in 1908 when the first subway tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn opened and Dime moved into its grand neo-classical building on Dekalb Avenue and Fleet Street. After the bank closed in 2002, the landmark still stood in all its former glory, operating as a special event space. Three years ago, JDS Development filed plans to build Brooklyn’s tallest tower adjacent to Dime, incorporating its Beaux-Arts interior as retail space for the project. And with work now underway, 6sqft recently got a behind-the-scenes tour of Dime Savings Bank with Open House New York.
Explore the history and future of Dime Savings Bank
By Devin Gannon, Tue, November 6, 2018 Rendering via SHoP Architects
Since the plan to bring the first supertall tower to Brooklyn was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in the spring of 2016, few updates have been announced about the project. While construction kicked off last year, work on 9 DeKalb Avenue was stalled for months. But YIMBY reported on Tuesday that construction of the Downtown Brooklyn tower appears to have made some progress, with its foundation now visible and workers on site. The planned 1,066-foot-tower is being developed by JDS Development, with SHoP Architects handling its design.
More this way
By Devin Gannon, Fri, October 26, 2018 Via Extell
The highest apartment ever built in Brooklyn just hit the market for $3.9 million. The penthouse sits on the 68th floor of Extell Development’s tower, Brooklyn Point, which at 720 feet remains the tallest building in the borough. The corner residence contains three bedrooms, three baths, and will boast incredible views of Manhattan via windows with North and East exposure. Brooklyn Point, at 138 Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn, is still under construction, but officially launched sales in March, with condos starting at $837,000.
See the penthouse
