Scrutiny is about to begin of a proposal for the tallest tower in Brooklyn, one that would be impossible to ignore.
Two developers have submitted plans in recent weeks for a 1,066-foot building in Downtown Brooklyn, which would be almost twice as high as anything surrounding it. The complex, at 9 DeKalb Avenue, would also bring the current surge in supertall towers across the East River from Manhattan.
The 73-story structure, to be built by JDS Development Group and the Chetrit Group, would be more than double the height of the 512-foot Williamsburgh Savings Bank building, which has been the tallest in the borough for nearly a century.
The plans were drawn up by SHoP Architects, whose portfolio includes another of the most recognizable new buildings in Brooklyn, Barclays Center.
For this project, the architects say they drew inspiration from the limestone-columned Brooklyn Dime Savings Bank, which sits next door to the site of the tower, and which would be incorporated into the property. The bronzed ribbons running up the tower’s glassy sides draw on details of the bank, and its hexagonal shape echoes the bank’s footprint.
Part of the tower would rest on a rear portion of the bank, which the developer hopes to demolish; this could become a sticking point, since the bank is a New York City landmark.
The bigger issue for many would seem to be the height, even in a neighborhood and city marked by tall towers.
“Yes, the city planned this for a new Brooklyn,” Gina Pollara, the newly appointed president of the Municipal Art Society, said. “But does the public really understand what the cumulative effect of all these towers will be on the public realm?”
In 2014, JDS and Chetrit spent $46 million on the 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension, a five-story midcentury building that covers about a third of the triangular site and would be demolished to accommodate most of the tower. In December, the developers acquired the bank building, until last year a branch of JPMorgan Chase, for $90 million. They plan to use its soaring Beaux-Arts spaces for shops as well as incorporating roughly 300,000 square feet of air rights that would make the tower’s spire possible.
A 1,066-foot tower can be built along Flatbush Avenue without any special approvals from the city, but since the exterior and interior of the bank building — opened in 1908 and expanded in 1932 — are protected, alterations to the bank must be approved by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. A hearing before the commission is scheduled for March 15.
The developers were also scheduled to appear before Brooklyn Community Board 2 on Wednesday evening, though the board will play only an advisory role.
Unlike the Manhattan towers rising more than 1,000 feet, the Brooklyn structure, with nearly 500 units, is planned as a rental apartment building, according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorized to discuss them publicly. The developers also applied for the 421-a program, which provides tax breaks for including subsidized apartments in luxury buildings, before it expired last year, and would set aside at least 20 percent of the units as affordable housing.
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