There’s a lot of buzz in the air about the borough’s future tallest tower, coming soon to Downtown Brooklyn. Here are all the key details you need to know.

Located right next door to Junior’s Cheesecake on a triangular-shaped block carved out by Flatbush Avenue Extension, Dekalb Avenue, and Fleet Street, the tower at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension is going to be big.

Structurally connected to the iconic Dime Savings Bank building, the new hexagonal building is nearly double the height of the borough’s current tallest structures.

Height: 73 stories and 1,066 feet tall

The massive tower can be at built as of right with the existing air rights. However, because the Dime Savings Bank is landmarked — both inside and out — the proposal needs to go through landmarks approval.

Work has yet to start on the site. Right now, it’s taken up with a five-story office building. The demo permit for the existing structure has yet to be approved.

Developers: JDS Development Group and Chetrit Group

JDS is known for another super-tall building, the nearly 1,500-foot-tall condo tower at 111 West 57th Street. Chetrit Group is in the midst of building a striking mixed-use hotel and retail complex with apartments, the M500, at 500 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg.

JDS and Chetrit are able to build so tall in the case of 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension in part because they purchased the adjacent Dime Savings Bank — and its 300,000 square feet of air rights — for $90 million in late 2015.

Architect: SHoP

SHoP Architects are the creative minds behind some of the largest developments in Brooklyn — including the now under-construction Domino Sugar Refinery buildings, the Barclays Center arena, and two residential buildings in Pacific Park/Atlantic Yards.

The firm is known for bold, visually striking designs.

Design: Unconventional

The design for 340 Flatbush is unusual. Its shape was inspired in part by the hexagonal footprint of the Dime Savings Bank. The dark vertical lines of the building also echo some of the bank’s architectural details, according to the New York Times.

The tower’s main materials — inspired again by the bank — will include white marble, crystal gray vision glass, bronzed metal and blackened stainless steel, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

A portion of the building would connect with the historic bank structure below — which will in turn be repurposed as retail space.

What the tower will be: 417 rental apartments

The massive building will have 463,470 square feet of residential space in the form of 417 rental units and another 92,694 square feet of commercial space, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

Twenty percent of the rental units would be affordable, as per the 421-a tax break requirements (the developers applied before the break expired).

When will it be built: Early 2019

That timeline may shift around depending on a number of factors, but at the moment, 2019 is the estimated completion date.

Possible snag: Landmarks

The tower’s current design will connect directly to the rear of the historic Dime Savings Bank building. This would mean demolishing a portion of the landmarked bank. The interior design also call for removing existing teller counters in the landmarked interior of the building.

This could be an issue with landmarks. However, a Community Board 2 subcommittee meeting this week was supportive of the design and unanimously approved it.

What does this tall tower mean for Brooklyn?

“[T]he city planned this for a new Brooklyn,” said new Municipal Art Society President Gina Pollara in the New York Times story. “But does the public really understand what the cumulative effect of all these towers will be on the public realm?”

Some see the building as another marker of the entry of Brooklyn as a tier-one city, separate and apart from Manhattan. Others see it as the Manhattanization of Brooklyn.

What do you think?

[Source: NYT | Eagle]

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