One of Brooklyn’s largest new developments has been proposed along Flatbush Avenue, at 625 Fulton Street, which could rise 941 feet to its rooftop. The site is a large trapezoidal piece of land just steps away from JDS Development’s 9 DeKalb Avenue. A major rezoning plan has been put forth that could potentially bring close to 1,800,000 gross square feet of mixed-use development to the nearly 89,000 square foot property, measuring about two acres in size. The site is bounded by Fulton Street to the south, Hudson Avenue to the west, DeKalb Avenue to the north, and Rockwell Place to the east.

YIMBY last reported on the site back in 2016 when it was acquired by the Rabsky Group for $158 million. Since then, the site of 625 Fulton Street has remained empty. Demolition of an existing building on one of the lots will have to be finished before excavation and construction on the new upcoming project can begin. Skidmore Owings & Merrill is designing the new tower.

There are three lots that make up the 89,000-square foot, trapezoidal-shaped perimeter called the “Project Area;” Lot 1, Lot 10 (80 DeKalb Avenue) and Lot 35. Lot 1 is 63,053 square feet and is currently vacant while Lot 35 spans 12,217 square feet with an existing three-story building. Both lots are part of what is called the “Development Site,” which measures a total of 75,270 sf (1.73 acres) and sits within the actual perimeter of the nearly 89,000 square foot Project Area. Lot 10 is an 11-year old subdivision of Lot 1, and is approximately 13,628 square feet. It has an existing 36-story, 405 foot high mixed-use building with retail and underground parking. It is not part of the Development site but still sits within the parameters of the Project Area. It will remain standing and not be demolished.

625 Fulton Street is proposed to have 739,000 square feet of commercial office space, 60,547 square feet of commercial retail space, 902 residential units with 25 percent of them being affordable units, and a 640-seat public elementary school spanning about 82,500 square feet. Underground parking space for 350 vehicles will span two sub-levels measuring around 116,000 gross square feet, and about a quarter of an acre of public outdoor space will also be situated at street level, along with a 2,410 square foot enclosed accessible area to the public.

Some of the necessary approvals that have to be set first include a zoning map amendment to rezone the Development Site from a C6-4 (DB) district to a C6-9 (DB) district; a zoning text amendment to allow for a maximum FAR of 20.0 or 21.0 if a C6-9(DB) site includes a public school facility; a review by the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) to approve the construction of the proposed public elementary school on the site, and subsequent review by the Mayor and City Council while maintaining the standards set by the New York City School Construction Authority Act. All of this will be reviewed under the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR) process.

Below are diagrams some of the possible building massings with different setback scenarios. With approvals, the plan would rise to 941 feet.

Construction of the project is expected to begin sometime in 2020, and will be completed by 2023 if all goes according to schedule.

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