Speculators are having their day as a prime pocket of waterfront land across from Manhattan is emerging as a destination for locals and visitors. The semi-industrial district wedged between North Williamsburg
and Greenpoint
is seeing a large influx of high-end hotel, office, and retail development, as residential uses are limited in and around the North Brooklyn Industrial Business Zone.
Several projects have sought special permits to build larger and more flexibly, enduring the city's lengthy Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). As low-slung, mural-adorned warehouses give way to more polished structures, the district centering on Wythe Avenue is poised to become Brooklyn's own version of the Meatpacking District, and a sweeping expansion of Bushwick Inlet Park is expected to further accelerate the growth. Existing mainstays of the area include The Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Bowl, Vital Climbing Gym, and the event space 74 Wythe (formerly the club Output). A new huddle of hotels includes the Wythe Hotel, Hoxton Hotel, The William Vale, and The Williasmburg.
Several projects have sought special permits to build larger and more flexibly, enduring the city's lengthy Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). As low-slung, mural-adorned warehouses give way to more polished structures, the district centering on Wythe Avenue is poised to become Brooklyn's own version of the Meatpacking District, and a sweeping expansion of Bushwick Inlet Park is expected to further accelerate the growth. Existing mainstays of the area include The Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Bowl, Vital Climbing Gym, and the event space 74 Wythe (formerly the club Output). A new huddle of hotels includes the Wythe Hotel, Hoxton Hotel, The William Vale, and The Williasmburg.
At 29 Wythe Street, directly north of the iconic William Vale Hotel, Double U Realty
is erecting one of the most eye-catching office buildings in Brooklyn. Designed by the clever and covert firm of ARCHIMAERA
, the nine-story project is an affront to the glass box and throws the kitchen sink of design elements to enliven its exterior. Rounded corners on both North 13th and 14th Street, monumental street-level arches, inset terraces, and a tapered form wrapped in brick and shingled glass conveys the dynamism of the new Brooklyn, while hopefully giving passersby a double take.
Topping out at nine stories, 130 feet high, 29 Wythe will contain approximately 160,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of retail, with floorplates measuring up to 36,000 square feet. According to details found on the commercial leasing website Loopnet, asking rents start at $48/ft2 for sub-cellar space, $65/ft2 for office floors, and $85/ft2 for ground-floor space which will benefit from 20 foot ceiling heights. Nonsensically, the development will bring a 324-car parking garage to the increasingly congested area. The G train stops five blocks north of the site at Nassau Street, and several bus lines and New York Ferry serve the area.
According to Double U Realty's website, co-founder Jay Weitzman began his career in the garment industry, where he acquired warehouses in Williamsburg in the 1980s to make and store his inventory. Realizing the growing value and potential of such properties, he partnered with Michael Weitzman and founded Double U LLC, a company dedicated to investing in, developing, and renovating properties throughout New York City.
Also on Wythe Avenue, the William Vale and WIlliamsburg hotels were designed by ARCHIMAERA
103 North 13th Street is directly next door to 29 Wythe and nearly finished (ARCHIMAERA)
ARCHIMAERA, formerly known as Albo Liberis, has designed a small campus of buildings in the area that include the strutting William Vale Hotel and the Williamsburg Hotel with its water tower bar. Their work is a refreshing departure from the sea of cookie-cutter developments that have mushroomed throughout Williamsburg, and typically push the zoning envelope, explore materiality, and prioritize public and private outdoor space.
Directly east of 29 Wythe, ARCHIMAERA has designed a seven-story jewel box at 103 North 13th Street. Now nearing completion, the building has high ceilings, a brick facade with chamfered walls, and floor-to-ceiling windows. Constructed atop a pre-existing warehouse, the ground floor will be devoted to retail, the second floor to light manufacturing uses, and five floors of offices— some with terraces — above. Below street-level, there will be a 142-car parking garage. The site is owned by Simon Dushinsky’s Rabsky Group who once planned to bring an industrial-inspired hotel designed by Karl Fischer Architects to the site.
This past spring, details and renderings emerged for an eight-story commercial building at 1 Wythe Avenue between North 15th and Banker streets and sited in the North Brooklyn Industrial Business Zone. Developer Schlomo Karpen wants to build a combination of office, retail, and light manufacturing space, and has started the clock on a special permit to increase the building's size and height. The prow-like design with a large fourth-floor terrace was also shaped by ARCHIMAERA. It will have a combination of floor-to-ceiling picture windows, fully glazed expanses, and several setback terraces. The developer is requesting a waiver for parking requirements, downsizing from the 246 spaces required as-of-right, to 71.
Renderings of new Acme Smoked Fish building via Gensler
A few blocks north at 30 Gem Street, the acclaimed fish purveyors Acme Smoked Fish is navigating the city's ULURP public review process to build a new 654,300-square-foot commercial and manufacturing facility expected to create up to 2,000 jobs. Designed by the international firm of Gensler, the design of variegated volumes is said to evoke the heavy manufacturing and industrial history of Greenpoint. To span its entire block and stand 200 feet tall, the project will have a four-story, 95,000 square-foot fish factory; a nine-story, 545,000 square-foot office building; and 150 parking spaces. Facing Wythe, the team proposed a pedestrian plaza and several retail spaces. The land-use review process is expected to be completed by the end of 2021 and if approved, the building is estimated to be finished in 2024.
25 Kent Avenue
North Williamsburg's first ground-up office building in 40 years opened at 25 Kent Avenue in 2019. Similar in scale to 30 Gem, the eight-story, ziggurat-style structure was designed through a collaboration between Gensler and designer Hollwich Kushner (HWKN). Distinctive features include very high ceilings, elongated terraces with river and skyline views, and a facade that blends traditional brickwork with floor-to-ceiling windows. The 480,000-square-foot building was steered through a partnership between Rubenstein Partners and Heritage Equity Partners and conceived as a hub of innovation, where tech, creative, design, production, and light manufacturing industries could collaborate and thrive together. Tenants include Amazon Music and fashion brand Kith. The ground floor hosts a public plaza, art space, and small-scale retail. The building is between North 12th and 13th streets, directly across from the expanding Bushwick Inlet Park.
Bushwick Inlet Park will seamlessly create a green space from from Marsha P. Johnson State Park (formerly East River State Park) to the Bushwick Inlet. Expected to finish in 2023, the new park will feature wet marshes, native plantings, a small beach, and a kayak launch.
Shelved design for a project at 87 Wythe Avenue (Rendering via Cayuga Capital)
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