(l-r) Renderings via Fischer Makooi Architects and Watchtower Real Estate
In 2016, Jehovah’s Witnesses put on the market 69 Adams Street, a four-story building in DUMBO that came with 157,410 square feet of new development potential. The Manhattan Bridge-adjacent site was ultimately purchased by the Rabsky Group for $65 million in December 2016. The sale was part of the religious organization's move to offload its Brooklyn properties as it transitions operations to a new upstate New York headquarters.
Now the first images of a new tower at the site has been released by Fischer Makooi Architects. The renderings and Google Earth scenes show a 26-story, slab-shaped tower with a smattering of terraces and neat rows of bay windows that make the most of the bridge, river, and skyline vistas. Demolition permits for the pre-existing four-story building, which housed a recreation center, were filed in September 2017.
Renderings via Fischer Makooi Architects
The zoning designation allows for a residential tower with commercial, community, and retail space, most of which appears to be what Rabsky Group has in mind. The ground floor will be devoted to retail space and lobbies designed to purposely interact with the street. The building’s middle component will be offices with large bay windows. The 225 studio through two-bedroom residential units on the upper levels will be well-positioned to take advantage of jaw-dropping views of the Manhattan skyline. According to Fischer Makooi Architects, the more frequent bays in the residential component were designed to reflect local neighborhoof architecture.
Residential amenities will include a 24-hour concierge-attended lobby, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a lounge, and a game room. The fenced-in rooftop tennis court in the project’s predecessor has sadly not made its way into the new design, though it may be difficult to keep one’s eye on the ball with such stunning bridge, river, and skyline views. There will instead be a furnished roof deck.
Rendering via Fischer Makooi Architects
The new building will also have 90 attended parking places, but there is no shortage of ways to get around between the nearby York Street subway station, the DUMBO/BBP 1 ferry stop a little further away, and the pedestrian paths on the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. Closer to home, it is a short walk from local hot spots like Superfine, Westville, Brooklyn Flea, POWERHOUSE, and Main Street Park.
With completion some years off, information is not yet available for rental prices. CityRealty listings show that the median DUMBO rent is $3,495/month for studios, $4,395month for one-beds, and $5,179/month for two-beds. Current DUMBO apartment listings can be seen here.
Pre-existing recreation center at the site
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