https://www.brownstoner.com/developm...m-application/
Proposed Rezoning for 29-Story Towers in Broadway Junction Area Inches Forward
Nov 29, 2023
by Anna Bradley-Smith
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Broadway Junction’s transformation to a commercial and residential hub is a step closer, with developer Totem Group filing plans to rezone a nearby triangle in Ocean Hill bordered by Van Sinderen, East New York, and Atlantic avenues and Fulton Street to pave the way for four towers ranging from 21 to 29 stories.
The transformation will be a stark one: The largest building proposed, which will front East New York Avenue and Fulton Street, could be taller than Downtown Brooklyn’s 1 MetroTech Center – measuring 445 feet tall, according to the filings. The other three towers are proposed at between 330 and 400 feet.
However, Totem principal Tucker Reed told Brownstoner the application is a starting point for the project, and there will be plenty of opportunity for the community to shape the development, including right-sizing it. Locals expressed to Brownstoner cautious optimism that the project has the potential to benefit existing residents by bringing jobs and services to the area while not causing displacement. The Broadway Junction subway station is in Ocean Hill close to the borders of Bushwick, Brownsville, Crown Heights, and East New York.
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“What’s unique about what we’re trying to do is that we’re coming early and yes, you have to put a proposal on the table to start a conversation because otherwise you’re just talking about clouds in the sky,” Reed said.
The rezoning application for the development, dubbed Herkimer-Williams, was filed November 17. Some of Totem’s requests to the City Planning Commission include changing the zoning of the development site, allowing for increased floor area ratio, issuing a Large-Scale General Development special permit, and eliminating Herkimer Street between Williams Place and Fulton Street to create one large site.
Together, the changes would facilitate the development of 596 new residential units, office, retail, light industrial, and community facility spaces in the area currently dominated by parking and storage facilities, the application says. Totem owns or controls through agreements with the owners all of the properties to be redeveloped as part of the rezoning.
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The site bordered by Van Sinderen Avenue, Herkimer Street, Williams Place, and Fulton Street, which is bisected by elevated tracks, is planned to be open space, linking to the newly renovated Callahan-Kelly Playground located under and around the Broadway Junction station. Reed said a small kiosk-like building could be built on the site, where “a local entrepreneur could set up shop” or there could be a rotation of small local businesses.
On the site to its south, bordered by Van Sinderen Avenue, Herkimer Street, Williams Place, and Atlantic Avenue — and also bisected by elevated subway lines — a 29-story, 384-unit residential building is proposed, according to the application. The building could include retail space, a dedicated area for Calvary Free Will Baptist Church (which will be demolished for the project), and underground parking.
Reed said the Totem-owned 1890s building on the corner of Atlantic and Van Sinderen avenues, which was formerly a hotel and now houses Noble Signs, will be preserved as part of the project, as will the hotel next door, which is not owned by the developer.
The final site, bordered by Williams Place, East New York Avenue, and Fulton Street, is planned to have three buildings: one 24-story, 212-unit building, and two commercial buildings – one 21 stories and one 24 stories. It will also have public and private green space, the documents say.
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