The rentals reshaping Gowanus: A guide to the neighborhood’s new apartment buildings
Photo by Alan Harris on Flickr
Thanks to a 2021 rezoning expected to create 9,000 new apartments, paired with an environmental clean-up of the long-contaminated canal, Gowanus is booming. More than 140 residential buildings are planned for the neighborhood, and several are already completed, attracting individuals and families seeking amenity-rich buildings and easy access to Manhattan and other parts of Brooklyn, while being relatively more affordable than neighboring Carroll Gardens and Park Slope. At the center of the community is the Gowanus Canal, which, as its federally-mandated Superfund cleanup continues, is expected to become a new waterfront park, flanked by a promenade, retail, and recreational space. As development continues to reshape the neighborhood, we’re taking a look at the best new rental projects in Gowanus.
Some of the properties featured here are part of paid partnerships, which help support our editorial work. All buildings are selected and independently reviewed by the 6sqft team.
Society Brooklyn
500 Degraw Street, 504 Sackett Street
Society Brooklyn is comprised of two 21-story towers along the Gowanus Canal. Developed by PMG, the project offers over 500 apartments across the two buildings, along with 57,000 square feet of retail space.
Designed by SLCE Architects, the two buildings are split between Society Brooklyn at Degraw, which has 344 studio to two-bedroom apartments, and Society Brooklyn at Sackett, which has 173 one- to three-bedroom units. Homes come in two unique color palettes and feature stainless steel appliances, in-unit washer/dryers, and smart thermostats. Select residences have outdoor space.
One of the major perks of the development is its new waterfront esplanade and park, designed by SCAPE. Composed as a “series of active urban rooms,” as the landscape architects describe, the park includes a picnic grove, a play area, and canal-facing benches made of reclaimed wood, all surrounded by a native plant species that can withstand flooding. Additional amenities include a fitness center, a co-working lounge, a rooftop terrace, an outdoor pool and sundeck, on-site parking, and much more.
Rent currently starts at $3,290/month for a studio, after concessions. See all availabilities at Society Brooklyn here.
420 Carroll
420 Carroll Street
The first project completed under the Gowanus rezoning, 420 Carroll, includes a 21-story tower and a 16-story tower connected by an underground tunnel. Developed by Domain Companies and VOREA Group, and designed by FXCollaborative, the building has 360 mixed-income apartments, ground-floor retail, including a grocery store and pottery studio, and a 470-foot-long public promenade along the canal.
Alan Mainer Studio designed the homes, which feature open floor plans, plank wood flooring, custom kitchens with paneled appliances, and Bosch washer and dryers. Select units come with walk-in closets and private terraces.
The tunnel connecting the towers allows residents in both buildings to access amenities, which include a library, co-working spaces, multiple outdoor spaces, a fitness center, a children’s playroom, bike storage, and more.
The design-forward co-working space, The Shop, takes up 3,000 square feet on the second floor of 420 Carroll. The Shop is partnering with Arts Gowanus to offer subsidized space for local artists. Private office memberships are available for individuals and teams of up to 10 people.
Move-ins began last February, and currently,420 Carroll is nearly 90 percent leased. Available apartments are priced from $4,300/month for a one-bedroom, before concessions. Get more details on available apartments at 420 Carroll here.
655 Union
655 Union Street
On the Gowanus-Park Slope border, 655 Union is a high-end rental with 143 apartments and a full suite of amenities. The building sits at the nexus of classic Brooklyn neighborhoods like Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, while Manhattan is just three stops away via the R train found on the same block.
Developed by Avery Hall and Gindi Capital, the 13-story building offers one- and two-bedroom apartments. Residences feature large living areas and high-quality materials throughout, like marble countertops, custom flooring, and custom wood cabinets that hide appliances. Additional perks include in-unit laundry and oversized windows.
The amenity spaces are impressive, particularly the rooftop pool and deck with lounge chairs, grills, and an outdoor shower. As part of the building’s top-floor “Club Union,” residents can enjoy a well-equipped “study” for work-from-home sessions, a communal media room, a private dining room, and a gym with a yoga room. On the second floor, there’s a peaceful, landscaped garden with space for outdoor yoga classes.
Current availabilities at 655 Union start at $4,900/month for a one-bedroom. Learn more about living at 655 Union here.
544 Carroll
544 Carroll Street
On the corner of Carroll Street and 4th Avenue, 544 Carroll is a 17-story tower with a facade inspired by warehouses of industrial Gowanus. Designed and developed by Avery Hall, the building boasts a geometric facade of oversized windows and steel framing, with a contrasting, light-filled interior. There are 133 apartments with condo-quality finishes and more than 6,000 square feet of amenities. This month, the building rented a four-bedroom duplex for $25,000/month, a new record for the neighborhood.
The building offers some of the largest new apartments in Gowanus, a major draw for families. One-bedroom units range in size from 650 to 750 square feet, two-bedrooms are between 1,050 and 1,250 square feet, and three-bedrooms can be up to 1,650 square feet. There’s also a four-bedroom duplex that takes up 2,500 square feet and has a terrace and private rooftop.
Designed by Cl-oth Interiors and Avery Hall, the apartments feature organic elements, like hewn stone and wood, oversized windows, and soaring ceilings. Perfect for entertaining, kitchens have oversized marble islands designed for gathering and high-end appliances. Apartments come with in-unit washer/dryers, custom window shades, and smart heating and cooling systems.
The amenity package at 544 Carroll takes up three floors, including four communal outdoor areas, like a west-facing patio and a roof deck with 360-degree views. Residents can access the “Kids Cave,” a playroom with a life-like cave, a sprawling fitness studio, a bright co-working lounge, a pet spa, and even parking, for select residences. The building offers community programs every month, like yoga, gardening, and meditation classes, rooftop movie nights, and more.
Apartments are currently priced from $4,856/month after concessions for a one-bedroom. See all availabilities at 544 Carroll here.
The Carroll
33 4th Street
While technically not in Gowanus, the new development at 33 4th Street, The Carroll, sits within the area rezoned in 2021. Developed by GH Management and designed by IMC Architecture, the eight-story building is the first new upscale multi-family building in Carroll Gardens in 15 years.
Apartments feature in-unit laundry, kitchens with Caesarstone countertops, custom high-end cabinetry, and stainless steel appliances, and bathrooms with soaking tubs, heated floors, and marble features. Residences range from studios to two-bedrooms.
Amenities span 12,000 square feet, including three outdoor areas on the ground floor and a seventh-floor setback and rooftop. There’s a fitness center and a pet spa on the lower level, and a co-working space, a kids’ room, and a lounge on the first floor. On the 7th floor, there’s an open-air dog run, a rooftop with sunbeds and grilling stations, and a library.
Leasing launched last October, with apartments priced from $3,200/month for studios. See full availabilities and get more details on The Carroll here.
Instrata Park Slope
150 Fourth Avenue
Straddling the Park Slope-Gowanus border, the 12-story Instrata was among the first luxury rentals on Fourth Avenue when it was completed about a decade ago. Designed by Ismael Leyva Architects, the building has an asymmetrical facade, with a red brick base, glass top, and setbacks above the eighth floor. Instrata Park Slope offers 95 apartments ranging from studios to two-bedrooms and an extensive amenity package.
Bright and airy apartments feature open layouts, oversized windows, hardwood floors, and soaring ceiling heights. For added convenience, residences have individual climate control and in-unit washer-dryers.
Residents have access to a gym, a tenant lounge, a dedicated bike room, a pet spa, on-site parking, and a doorman. A roof deck provides 360-degree views of Brooklyn and beyond, as well as areas to lounge and grill.
Current availabilities at Instrata Park Slope start just under $3,600/month before concessions for a studio. Learn more about the building here.
Baltic House
556 Baltic Street
Another newcomer is Baltic House, a glassy tower on the corner of Third Avenue and Baltic Street. Described as bringing “modern luxury to the heart of Gowanus,” the rental rises 11 stories and has 92 apartments, all of which have open-concept layouts, floor-to-ceiling windows, and stainless steel appliances. The building opened a housing lottery last year, with 23 apartments set aside for New Yorkers earning 40, 60, and 100 percent of the area median income (AMI).
Amenities include a well-equipped fitness studio, a co-working space with communal spaces and private rooms, a game room, a playroom, and a pet spa. The building also offers two outdoor spaces, a rooftop terrace, and a landscaped rear yard on the street level.
Apartments at Baltic House are currently priced from around $3,000/month for a studio and go up to $6,300/month for a two-bedroom, two-bath unit. Get all the details here.
The Baltic Canal
526 Baltic Street
One block over is the Baltic Canal, an 11-story rental a block from the Gowanus Canal. The new 99-unit development offers studios to two-bedroom apartments, all with oversized windows, high-end appliances, and energy-efficient heating and cooling.
Amenities touch on wellness, leisure, and work. Residents have access to a meditation room, sauna, and fitness center, two work areas (including one outside), a movie room, cafe, and a rooftop with prime Brooklyn views.
Apartments at The Baltic Canal currently start at $3,900/month for a one-bedroom. Find all current availabilities here.
175 Third Street
A major development we will be keeping an eye on is 175 Third Street, a 1,100-unit mixed-use tower designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). As 6sqft reported last year, the building, which will sit on the Gowanus Canal and rise 27 stories, will become the biggest building in Gowanus upon completion. Charney Companies and Tavros are developing the one-million-square-foot project as part of their giant Gowanus Wharf complex.
Designed in collaboration between BIG and dencityworks | architecture, 175 Third Street will feature a facade of cast-in-place concrete and stacked blocks that connect on the east side to “form a descending U-shape opening towards the waterfront.”
The Canal-facing building will offer 1,100 studio to three-bedroom apartments, including 250 affordable units, and a mix of retail and artist spaces on the ground floor. Amenities will include a rooftop with a lounge and an outdoor pool; Life Time announced last year plans to open a three-level fitness center.
Perhaps most notable is the project’s sprawling waterfront park, designed by James Corner Field Operations. The waterfront park along the Gowanus Canal will connect 2nd and 3rd Streets and include a recreation court, a dog run, a lawn, fitness nooks, seating, and plantings.
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