Burg Bombshell: Edge Developer Planning Huge Rental

Big news this morning in the Wall Street Journal: Edge builder Douglaston Development intends to construct a 500-unit rental on the Williamsburg waterfront parcel where Three Northside Piers was supposed to rise. According to the story, Douglaston plans to break ground in March for the 40-story building. Toll Brothers is walking away from plans to develop a third Northside Piers building on the site because, according to senior VP David Von Spreckelsen, the “Williamsburg market is strong, but for most of us developers, it’s not a place where we were making a lot of money.” Douglaston’s plans for a third Edge condo—on the land where Smorgasburg and the Brooklyn Flea are held—are currently on ice, but the firm’s principal Jeff Levine says there’s a great deal of demand for rentals in the neighborhood and he expects to rent apartments in the building for $55 to $60 a foot, or around $3,000 for a one-bedroom. The Journal notes that the $300 million development could be “Brooklyn’s most ambitious new residential project since the recession.” Douglaston still needs to work out nitty-gritty financing details before the tower is a go. The tower, rendered above at right, will be 10 floors taller than the Two Northside Piers, which goes to 30 stories.
Williamsburg Slated For New Rental Tower [WSJ]