NEW YORK | 88 Willoughby St. | 596ft | 57 fl | Demo

[desertpunk]

Avalon Willoughby West - 88 Willoughby St. Brooklyn New York

image hosted on flickr


Location: 88 Willoughby St. Brooklyn NYC

Developer: Avalon Bay

Architect: SLCE

Type: residential

Units: 861 rental

Height: 596 ft.

Floors: 57

Start construction: N/A

End construction N/A




WSJ

NY REAL ESTATE RESIDENTIAL DECEMBER 12, 2011
Developers Launch Battle Of Brooklyn


curbed

By LAURA KUSISTO
The battle to build Brooklyn's tallest tower is about to begin with two developers planning to break ground next year on residential buildings that will loom nearly 100 feet over any of their predecessors.

At the beginning of next year, Stahl Real Estate, a company with 60-year roots in the borough, will break ground on a 590-foot tower at 388 Bridge St. That would make it the borough's new tallest tower.

But its reign could be short-lived. By late next year AvalonBay Communities Inc. plans to begin building its new Willoughby West project just down the street, which will rise 57 stories and 596 feet, adding 861 new rental units to the market.

The developments will continue a shift for brownstone-dotted Brooklyn, which has been seeing a steady growth in the number of luxury apartment towers. While development slowed in the years following the recession, it's seeing a resurgence thanks in large part to strong demand for rental apartments.


propertyshark

Manhattan developers have competed for decades over who has built the tallest tower. Currently, for example, Extell Development Co. is building what will be the borough's tallest apartment building across 57th Street from Carnegie Hall, at 1,004 feet. Meanwhile, a venture of Los Angeles-based CIM Group and developer Harry Macklowe are planning a 1,300-foot building a few blocks away on Park Avenue.

For more than 80 years the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower—37 stories and about 512 feet tall—presided over Brooklyn's skyline. In 2010, the Brooklyner, developed by Equity Residential and the Clarett Group, put the title back in play when it edged out the bank building by about 2 feet and more than 14 stories. The recession put a temporary halt to such ambitious projects, but now developers are dusting off their plans.

[...]

[Fardeb]

Just about anything will be better than the Brooklyner. If 388 Bridge St is supposed to start soon, does it have its own thread yet? Couldn't find one.

[tim1807]

Great addition for Brooklyn.

[kingsc]

It just happy it doesn't have brown on it.

[Fardeb]

There is supposedly some activity happening at the 388 Bridge Street site finally, according to SSP.

If this one gets going later this year, could be two new highest rising at the same time. Add whatever they end up doing with phase 3 at Citypoint a few years from now and you're looking at a nice little cluster of ~600 ft towers,perhaps a bit higher than that at Citypoint.

[sweet-d]

It's okay looking not special but not boring.

[royal rose1]

WOW! I love you New York! This one just slipped under my radar completely.

desertpunk, I must ask you, because if there is anyone in my life who I think can answer this accurately it's you! Do you think the development in Brooklyn right now is sustainable? Obviously it's a desirable place, and it gets more desirable as Lower Manhattan's population grows. But I'm skeptical of where these new tenants are coming from, and what can legitimize the need for so many new condos. Just a thought. I think the only place with similar construction in the US is Toronto, and that metro is growing rapidly. NYC on the other hand is growing slow, so I just wonder where these people come from, especially since the market is about as saturated as can be.

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by royal rose1

WOW! I love you New York! This one just slipped under my radar completely.

desertpunk, I must ask you, because if there is anyone in my life who I think can answer this accurately it's you! Do you think the development in Brooklyn right now is sustainable? Obviously it's a desirable place, and it gets more desirable as Lower Manhattan's population grows. But I'm skeptical of where these new tenants are coming from, and what can legitimize the need for so many new condos. Just a thought. I think the only place with similar construction in the US is Toronto, and that metro is growing rapidly. NYC on the other hand is growing slow, so I just wonder where these people come from, especially since the market is about as saturated as can be.

Brooklyn is more about rentals but as apartment prices and rents in Manhattan keep rising, refugees are crossing over to save serious bank in BK. More than any other borough, Brooklyn is squarely in the path of the overflow from Manhattan and that means much more will be happening there. Toronto is experiencing an overheated condo boom initially fueled by affordability and a lack of alternate choices but is now increasingly fueled by the same speculative forces that sent Miami over a cliff four years ago. Because banks here won't lend for condos, only rentals are going up in the 'affordable' price ranges. When the housing market recovers, NYC condo development will go NUTS.

[Fardeb]

That news is about 388 Bridge Street , still without its own thread right?

[kingsc]

The development in Brooklyn was strong before the 2008 market crash. And now it's trying to make a comeback. But it's not like all of Brooklyn seeing a skyscraper boom, It's mostly just the downtown area.
That's because unlike the rest of Brooklyn, downtown has relatively easy access to Manhattan. With the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges. The train hub at the Atlantic Yard, the BQE and the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. And there's also an amazing view of Manhattan.

[royal rose1]

Originally Posted by kingsc

The development in Brooklyn was strong before the 2008 market crash. And now it's trying to make a comeback. But it's not like all of Brooklyn seeing a skyscraper boom, It's mostly just the downtown area.
That's because unlike the rest of Brooklyn, downtown has relatively easy access to Manhattan. With the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges. The train hub at the Atlantic Yard, the BQE and the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. And there's also an amazing view of Manhattan.

Also, I think the best possible commute to Manhattan on foot is the commute over the Brooklyn bridge!

I mean, I understand the reason Brooklyn is being developed all of a sudden. It's proximity to lower manhattan has been the reason downtown Brooklyn has gotten so big! However, the development just seems excessive in such a saturated market.

[kingsc]

Think of Brooklyn like you think of any other large city in the US. And the size of downtown Brooklyn has nothing to do with Lower Manhattan. It's growth has everything to do with the popularity of Brooklyn it's self. People want to live here, and downtown is one of the safest areas of Bk to live.

[yankeesfan1000]

Originally Posted by royal rose1

Also, I think the best possible commute to Manhattan on foot is the commute over the Brooklyn bridge!

I mean, I understand the reason Brooklyn is being developed all of a sudden. It's proximity to lower manhattan has been the reason downtown Brooklyn has gotten so big! However, the development just seems excessive in such a saturated market.

I really don't wanna start a city v city but to put things into perspective, Brooklyn has nearly the same population of Chicago, 2.5 vs 2.7, and since 1990 BK has grown in population almost 9%. There's plenty of room for more development. And as kingsc mentioned, as it gets safer, more people move there, as more people more there more amenities like gyms, grocery stores, etc start to pop, and it starts to snowball. I'm just holding out for a signature 200M tower in BK.

[babybackribs2314]

DoBro isn't the only area seeing development--there are huge proposals all along the BK waterfront, with over 10k units in the works. BK is booming and I fully expect the DoBro skyline to be more impressive than Jersey City's within a decade.

[sbarn]

I would not call the rental market anywhere in NYC "saturated". Vacancy rates in Manhattan are less than 1% - so the spillover into other boroughs (particularly Brooklyn) is significant. I would argue that there are many other popular neighborhoods in BK beyond downtown, like Fort Greene, Park Slope, Williamsburg among others.

[kingsc]

Those neigborhoods are in the general downtown area. Head further in my area Brooklyn and you'll be entering the dangerzone.

[desertpunk]

Avalon Bay Completes Purchase Of 88 Willoughby Site

image hosted on flickr

Completing a four-years process, residential developer AvalonBay Communities has acquired the last two properties from United American Land needed to construct an 861-unit rental apartment building in Downtown Brooklyn, at 88 Willoughby Street. When completed, the tower is currently expected to be the tallest residential building in the borough.

AvalonBay, a real estate investment trust based in Arlington, Va., paid United American $125.5 million for 11 properties at the corner of Willoughby and Bridge streets in a series of sales that began in 2008, an analysis of city property records show.

Most recently, the REIT paid $17.6 million for 94 Willoughby Street and 383 Bridge Street, two three-story buildings with a total of more than 42,000 square feet of development rights, city records filed yesterday show. The sale closed September 24.

The Brooklyn rental market remains strong, David Behin, president of investment sales at brokerage MNS, said. “There is not as much inventory as needed, and people keep coming in,” Behin said. He was not involved in the transaction.

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The REIT is planning a 596-foot tall rental tower that is vying with Stahl Organization’s 590-foot apartment building at 388 Bridge Street to be the tallest residential tower in Brooklyn. The development sites are directly across Bridge Street from one another.

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[desertpunk]

DOB Issues More Demo Permits for Willoughby West

The Department of Buildings issued three more demolition permits for the massive Willoughby West rental development planned for Willoughby Street between Duffield and Bridge streets. One’s for the large four-story building at 214 Duffield Street, on the corner of Willoughby. You can see what that building used to look like after the jump. Another demo permit is for the three-story building at 373 Bridge Street, and the last for a one-story building at 98 Willoughby Street. The row of townhouses along Bridge Street are long gone (see the photo after the jump) as well as another grouping of townhouses along Willoughby (pictured above). It won’t be long before this lot is totally empty. Demolition permits started coming through early this year after the developer spent years picking up all these properties. A 57-story, 861-unit rental tower will go up on this corner.

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http://www.newyorkyimby.com/2012/08/...sidential.html