NEW YORK | One Willoughby Square | 540 FT | 36 FLOORS

[chris08876]

65-Story Tower Coming to 420 Albee Square, Downtown Brooklyn

Current Site: (Currently empty parking lots)



Info:

Downtown Brooklyn continues to gain serious height, and the neighborhood’s largest filing of the Great Permit Frenzy of 2014 has come in for 420 Albee Square, which JEMB Realty is developing. The new building permit lists SLCE as the architect of record, and the tower will stand 65 stories and 620 feet tall, becoming one of the tallest buildings in the borough.

As-is, 420 Albee Square will rise higher than either 388 Bridge — Brooklyn’s current tallest — or the Avalon Willoughby Square, which will soon eclipse it. Both of those towers crest just under the 600-foot mark.

Permits for JDS’ 340 Flatbush Ave. Extension would make that building the tallest by far, standing nearly 800 feet tall, and the third phase of City Point could also rise to a similar height. While 420 Albee Square is major compared to the current skyline, it will actually be fairly contextual to the Downtown Brooklyn of the 2020s, which will become increasingly prominent from perspectives across the region.

Per The Real Deal, JEMB picked up the site for $38.5 million in April, though additional air rights must be part of the assemblage, as the tower will measure 751,548 square feet. That will be split between 271,203 square feet of commercial development on the lower levels, and 480,435 square feet of residential space, divided amongst 620 apartments.

Downtown Brooklyn’s residential development boom continues to accelerate, and buildings like 420 Albee Square are necessary en-masse to solve the city’s affordability crisis. The only remedy is increased supply in areas with adequate transit capacity, and while many neighborhoods face restrictive zoning that eliminates otherwise prime opportunities, Downtown Brooklyn serves as a model for how transformation can occur. New units — likely rentals — will still be relatively expensive, but the sudden surge in inventory is likely to mitigate future increases, as thousands of apartments will soon be rising simultaneously.

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http://www.yimbynews.com/2014/09/per...-brooklyn.html

[Fardeb]

I figured we would hear something about these lots soon, big developments in every direction right nearby so they weren't gonna last long.

Nice to see it will be joining the ranks of the taller buildings in Brooklyn.

[NYguy]

This is perfect, as Brooklyn's tallest towers begin to form a cluster between Fulton and Willoughby Streets, joining the current tallest...

[NYRebel]

Yes!!!!

Truly the Brooklyn skyline of the 2020's will be magnificent if it keeps this pace. From Pacific Park (Atlantic Yards), Williamsburg, and Downtown!

The question will be which developer will producer a signature tower BK will be known for?! Exciting times for the borough and city!

[NYguy]

The new building permit lists SLCE as the architect of record, and the tower will stand 65 stories and 620 feet tall, becoming one of the tallest buildings in the borough.

Building permit lists the height at 679 ft, which sounds more accurate for a 65-story tower. It will probably reach 700 ft. There will be 620 units, or apartments.


http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/Jo...ssdocnumber=01

Building Height (ft.): 679
Building Stories: 65
Dwelling Units: 620

So, it's about a hundred ft behind Stern's tower. Wonder how high Barnett will stretch his tower.



http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/JB...allbin=3000316

There will be 10 units on each floor from 4 - 65, so it should be a pretty solid tower. Beyond that, there's a "lower roof" and an "upper roof", whatever that means.



Also, I'm assuming that Willoughby Square park is still in the works, haven't heard much about it, but the towers will border it.



http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2010...lp-design-wil/




http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/0...rking.php#more

[chris08876]

Credit: towerpower123

[NYguy]

This one easily gets forgotten about, but it will be a similar development to CityPoint accross the street.

[Crawford]

Looks pretty good. Nice to have some office towers mixed in with the new residential and hotels.

Mods should change thread title to 600 ft.

[chris08876]

Extra rendering I forgot to add.


Also an extra article on the tower: http://www.capitalnewyork.com/articl...ding-long-last

[NYguy]

Plans for 420 Albee Square were first filed over a year ago. They initially called for a 65-story tower with 650 apartments and over 270,000 square feet of commercial space on the lower floors. Another round of applications scaled the building down to 35 stories in March, and those plans detailed a 232,000-square-foot project with 248 apartments and 36,500 square feet of commercial space on the first four stories.

Now the city has persuaded the site’s developer, JEMB, to switch the development to office space.

This is big news, because the rezonings of downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City were done to encourage office development in those areas, but residential has been eating away pretty much all new development in either place.

Manhattan-based JEMB Realty will construct a 400,000 square-foot office tower at 420 Albee Square, between Fulton and Willoughby streets—a development the administration said is part of its goal of meeting the demand citywide for 60 million square feet of office space expected during the next decade.

http://www.nycedc.com/press-release/...-local-leaders

“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer. “This project is yet another step in the push to create a new commercial business district in Downtown Brooklyn that goes back to the Group of 35 Report I commission over 10 years ago. Tech is booming in Brooklyn – and these are businesses that only want to grow in Brooklyn – Brooklyn is in their DNA. We must make sure adequate commercial space exists to allow continued job growth. Kudos to Mayor de Blasio for this forward thinking development and the larger goal of adding 3.1 million square feet of new office space in Downtown Brooklyn.”

And praise from the CB...

"With a vacancy rate of 3.5 percent in Downtown Brooklyn, the building that is planned cannot be built fast enough," said Community Board 2 Chairperson Shirley A. McRae. "The community board hopes this is the first of several new commercial buildings."

Tallest office building in Brooklyn...


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...e-demand-rises

New York City officials announced plans for what may be Brooklyn’s tallest building, a 600-foot (180-meter) office tower in the borough’s downtown.

...If completed today, the building would be the tallest in Brooklyn, said Elie Gamburg, the senior designer for the project with the architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC. There are a number of residential projects under consideration that may end up taller, he said.
At 600 feet, the new office tower would surpass 388 Bridge St., a 590-foot apartment tower completed last year in downtown Brooklyn, according to research firm Emporis.com. For decades, the borough’s tallest office tower, at 512 feet, had been 1 Hanson Place, a 1929 building that was converted to apartments about 10 years ago.

[NYguy]

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2015...cial-building/

With much fanfare, city officials and developer Jemb Realty Monday officially announced a 35-story commercial building to be built at 420 Albee Square. The announcement was heavy on prepared statements of support from local politicians but light on the details, such as when construction might start or end. The building was no secret, however, as permits were filed in March.

At 35 stories and with 400,000 square feet of office and retail space, the building will be one of Brooklyn’s tallest. It is part of a trend of skyscrapers coming to downtown that includes a planned 1,000-foot tower at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension next to beloved Brooklyn icon Junior’s Cheesecake.

https://twitter.com/BPEricAdams/stat...630464/photo/1



https://twitter.com/NYCEDC





http://nypost.com/2015/11/10/firm-re...lest-building/

Firm reveals plans for Brooklyn’s tallest building

By Rich Calder
November 10, 2015

City officials and developer Morris Bailey of JEMB Realty unveiled plans Monday to build a 40-story, 600-foot-high tower with 400,000 square feet of office space at 420 Albee Square in the heart of downtown Brooklyn.

The project, which is expected to break ground next year and be completed by 2018, would surpass a 590-foot-high residential tower at 388 Bridge St. in height — although other Brooklyn projects in the pipeline could potentially be taller, including a 1,000-foot-high mixed-use building proposed for 340 Flatbush Ave. Extension.

http://blog.archpaper.com/2015/11/kp.../#.VkKWc1WrTDc

[Eidolon]

It's a pretty nice tower! I just wish it would have been 200 feet taller.....

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Eidolon

It's a pretty nice tower! I just wish it would have been 200 feet taller.....

Perhaps if this had been in Manhattan where there is more demand, it would have been. But it's a start, and Brooklyn needs the office space.

But this is what I have been saying about New York's office buildings, and the need to continually build. It's a city that just can't rely on office stock built over 50 years ago, and why sometimes older buildings have to get demolished. Our buildings aren't just here for show.

“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.

“This project is yet another step in the push to create a new commercial business district in Downtown Brooklyn that goes back to the Group of 35 Report I commission over 10 years ago. Tech is booming in Brooklyn – and these are businesses that only want to grow in Brooklyn – Brooklyn is in their DNA. We must make sure adequate commercial space exists to allow continued job growth. Kudos to Mayor de Blasio for this forward thinking development and the larger goal of adding 3.1 million square feet of new office space in Downtown Brooklyn.”

3.1 msf is just a drop in the bucket overall citywide, but it's a significant amount of new office space added to Downtown Brooklyn where a lot of residential development is taking place. I wonder what other developers in the area the city can or will target for a "flip".

[NYguy]

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories...-02-19-bk.html

Report: Brooklyn in midst of high-end office building boom

BY LAUREN GILL
February 12, 2015

Brooklyn is no longer Manhattan’s back office!

Developers are erecting high-end office buildings across the borough, and real estate experts say big companies are now rushing to relocate inside them so they can tap into the local talent pool — bucking Kings County’s image as a place to stash away support staff in cheap digs

.....Demand is so high, some developers are ditching their plans for luxury residential towers to create swanky office complexes instead.

In October, Glacier Global Partners abandoned a condominium project inside a Dumbo waterfront warehouse to fit it out for businesses. And the next month, Jemb Realty announced it was scrapping a planned apartment building Downtown — which boasts some of the lowest vacancy rates in the city — to create a 40-story commercial building.

Jemb claims businesses are now beating down its door to snag space in its Albee Square West building — the first new office tower to rise Downtown in more than a decade — when it opens in 2018.

“They want us to build faster and they’re very excited to get in there,” said president Jacob Jerome.

Jerome says around 80 percent of the businesses looking at the building are creative companies hoping to move out of the overcrowded Manhattan market to the borough many of their employees call home.

“People want to live and work in Brooklyn,” he said.

http://newyork.citybizlist.com/artic...a-office-tower

[NYguy]

http://www.realestatearts.com/Renderings

[chris08876]

I'm kinda not a fan of the current design. The older one by KPF Architects was top notch. Granted a filler is a filler, but the KPF would have added a nice touch to DoBro with its 181 Fremont vibe.

In the end, it is what it is. Another skyscraper for the area.

[chris08876]

Credit: Tectonic

[Zerton]

I like it! It looks somewhat similar to Times Square Tower.



Source: http://www.turnerconstruction.com/ex...s-square-tower

[chris08876]

IDEALLY LOCATED IN THE DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN TECH TRIANGLE

One Willoughby Square will be a 505,000 square-foot best-in-class boutique office tower built to the highest architectural standards. The Property will feature a unique and elegant façade integrating glass and pre-cast panels as well as two set-backs creating the illusion that sections of the building are floating. Development will combine the highest quality design, construction, interior finishing, as well as feature one of Downtown Brooklyn’s premium amenity packages. Soaring 36 stories above the city, One Willoughby Square will be among the tallest structures in Brooklyn, providing panoramic 360-degree sight-lines of New York Harbor, the Lower Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn.

Furthermore, the Property will benefit from its strategic location adjacent to a planned underground parking garage and one-acre Willoughby Square Park which also serves as a building amenity and provides the lower floors of the Property with park views and permanently protected light and air.

JEMB Realty’s One Willoughby Square will be the first speculative ground-up office development project in Downtown Brooklyn in decades. Construction of this major venture is expected to get underway in the fourth quarter of 2016.

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http://www.jembrealty.net/development

[chris08876]

New architect and concept supposedly for this development.