Extell's 138 Willoughby via YIMBY; Construction photo via CItyRealty
The third and final phase of Downtown Brooklyn’s 1.9-million-square-foot CityPoint development is now well under construction. A recent site visit shows that excavators and earth movers are busy picking away at the rectangular chunk of Brooklyn soil at 138 Willoughby Street, between Albee Square West and Flatbush Avenue Extension. Set to soar 696 feet tall, per recently approved permits, the building is expected to finish in two to three years —well before the much-taller 9 Dekalb, positioned one block to the south. Brooklyn is in the midst of its own modern-day skyscraper race, with the title for Brooklyn’s tallest having been claimed by 5 different buildings since 2009: One Hanson, Brooklyner, 388 Bridge Street, AVA DoBro and soon-to-be-finished Hub.
Site photo; CityRealty
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The 665,000-square-foot development is being spearheaded by Extell Development and will be their first major project in the borough. The busy developer picked up the site for $115.5 million in 2015 from Acadia Realty Trust and Washington Square Partners. According to YIMBY, the 59-story building is proposed to hold 450 condos that will sit atop a 4-story retail podium. The design architects are reported to be Kohn Pedersen Fox, who are also behind the design of One Willoughby West next door. The two skyscrapers will front a new 2-acre park called Willoughby Square, which was prescribed as part of the 2004 rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn by the Bloomberg Administration.
A tall and iconic tower has long been envisioned for the site. A batch of conceptual renderings released by the city to illustrate the 2004 rezoning showed a soaring, glass-clad tower on the site that was crowned by a tall spire. In 2005, the site became a top contender to host the temporary offices of the United Nations as they prepared to renovate their landmarked Secretariat Building.
Vision of CityPoint's phase three by COOKFOX Architects
Previous visions for the site
138 Willoughby is slated for delivery by 2020. The tower will join CityPoint’s two other residential buildings: 7 Dekalb and City Tower developed by the Brodsky Organization and designed by COOKFOX. The residential components all sit atop a massive five-story retail podium that has drawn big-name retailers such as Century 21, City Target and Alamo Drafthouse.
138 Willoughby Street in future Brooklyn skyline; CityRealty
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