Schematic rendering of 29 Jay Street via Philip Habib and Associates
Applicants for a new office proposal in DUMBO have submitted an Environmental Assesment Statement (EAS) to the City Planning Department to rezone its lot to allow for higher than prescribed streetwall height. The site, addressed at 29 Jay Street was reportedly scooped up by the Forman Group in 2012 and is currently occupied by a two-story building formerly home to the performing arts institution St. Ann's Warehouse. The EAS provides an initial analysis of potential effects the future project might bring to its surroundings and will allow the agency to determine if the project's impact necessitates a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
An approved rezoning would allow the new building to reach a maximum height of 150 feet. Per the EAS, the building would accommodate approximately 212,710 square feet of office space and 12,225 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Images and drawings produced for illustrative purposed show an 11-story building with floor-to-ceiling windows and cross-bracing not unlike the Morris Adjmi-designed Atlantic Plumbing Building in Washington D.C. If all goes according to plan, completion is estimated for 2021.
Proposed development site via Philip Habib and Associates
Additionally, 29 Jay Street is in the DUMBO Historic District, which means the Landmarks Preservation Commission will eventually need to approve the project's scale and exterior design before moving forward. While the existing building at the site was deemed a "non-contributing resource," it does have an artistic history:
The one-story building formerly on-site was once home to acclaimed theater company St. Ann’s Warehouse until it moved to its new headquarters a few blocks away at 45 Water Street. Upon their departure, the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet moved into the cavernous space nearly twice the size of its original Tribeca home.
Google Earth aerial showing location of 29 Jay Street (CityRealty)
Further down Jay Street from this proposal, Glacier Global Partners is finishing up their reimagination of a sugar refinery-turned-class-A office building at 10 Jay Street. Its design by ODA Architecture makes it a distinctive addition to the Brooklyn waterfront. The Real Deal reported in 2016 that marketing agency Translation LLC has signed a 35,000-square-foot lease in the building.
10 Jay Street via Ondel/CityRealty
Content Specialist
Michelle Mazzarella
Michelle is a contributing writer and editor for real estate news in New York City
6sqft delivers the latest on real estate, architecture, and design, straight from New York City.
