Google Earth aerial with 85 Jay in center right (CityRealty)
Update 11/30/2018:: Additional images and info added to reflecti construction progress.
Earlier this year, we showed off renderings of Handel Architects' provocative, albeit unselected design for 85 Jay Street in DUMBO. Now we can present real drawings submitted to the Department of Buildings showing us the complex’s layout, scale, and massing. The development team, a partnership between LIVWRK and CIM Group, scooped up the three-acre, full-block property from the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2016 for $345 million. Kushner Companies, an intial minority stakeholder in the project, sold their 2.5 percent share to CIM according to reports from the Post and The Real Deal.
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The always contextually-sensitive Morris Adjmi Architects are tasked with 85 Jay’s design. With 1.1 million square feet in play, they’ll have to juggle a tight zoning envelope and the site’s proximity to the DUMBO Historic District, East River waterfront and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway; all while making the development palatable to the vigilant surrounding community.
Building permits were filed last November and are now approved. From what we can gather from previous reports and city filings, there will be 732 rentals and condos units spread across four wings ranging from eight to 21-stories in height. The two tallest buildings are offset from each other and are positioned at the northwest and southeast corners of the block — likely to bring residences unobstructed views of the Manhattan Bridge and city skyline. Apartments will range from studios to four-bedrooms and amenities will include a rooftop pool.
Closer to the ground will be multiple retail spaces, an enclosed courtyard, and a 712-car parking garage thanks to zoning stipulations. The project's expansive central courtyard will rival Oosten, the Apthorp and the Belnord in scale.
Closer to the ground will be multiple retail spaces, an enclosed courtyard, and a 712-car parking garage thanks to zoning stipulations. The project's expansive central courtyard will rival Oosten, the Apthorp and the Belnord in scale.
Axonometric Diagram of 85 Jay via NYC DOB
While the zoning diagrams don't provide much in terms of building design and articulation, it shows that uppermost floors will progressively recess. The site plan specifies two rooftop swimming pools (which we highlighted in blue), leading us to believe the amenity roster will be absolutely insane. From city paperwork, we know there will be sets of lounges, game rooms, screening rooms, playrooms and communal basking and grilling on roof decks.
An official sales launch and project reveal is likely in the coming months. This past July, the developers secured a $600 million-plus construction loan from J.P. Morgan Chase Bank. In March, the Commercial Observer reported that the development team has leased a retail space in 10 Jay Street for their sales gallery. The project is expected to be complete in 2021. With DUMBO's limited inventory causing it to be the priciest neighborhood in Brooklyn, we expect these pads to fly off the shelves.
The project's deep foundations (to be filled with parking) going in as of late November (CityRealty)
From the Manhattan Bridge
The newly-opened rentals at 181 Front Street just north of the 3-acre site
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New Developments Editor
Ondel Hylton
Ondel is a lifelong New Yorker and comprehensive assessor of the city's dynamic urban landscape.
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