New renderings have been revealed for 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension, a proposed 80-story residential skyscraper in Downtown Brooklyn. Designed by TenBerke Architects and developed by Rabina and Park Tower Group in collaboration with the city’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development, the 840-foot-tall structure is slated to yield 1,263 rental units with 20 to 30 percent reserved for affordable housing. The development would repurpose the existing seven-story mid-century building into its podium with 66,000 square feet of retail space on the first two floors and office space on levels three and four. The trapezoidal 1.2-acre property is bounded by DeKalb Avenue to the north, Fulton Street to the south, Hudson Avenue to the east, and Flatbush Avenue Extension to the west.
The aerial rendering above looks north at 395 Flatbush Avenue showing the revamped podium structure spanning the full footprint of the lot and topped with a landscaped amenity deck. The tower would then rise with an L-shaped massing comprising two intersecting volumes. The lower portion features three shallow setbacks on its slender southern face, while the taller perpendicular bulk would reach the full height and incorporate three corresponding cantilevers on its western elevation. The façade is depicted composed of red brick framing floor-to-ceiling windows in a multi-story grid.
The below images show the 51-year-old structure currently occupying the property, along with the proposed renovations. The building’s black steel façade would be replaced with a modern glass curtain wall with a brick columns, and a cutout at the northwest corner would expose some of the landscaping atop the podium to street view. The entrance is shown tucked under the same corner within a recessed diagonal wall.
The current conditions and proposed alterations for the existing structure at 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension.
The below elevation diagram details the heights of 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension’s podium and tower volumes. Further images preview the massing from alternate angles.
The height of each section for the new 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension.
Elevation diagrams for 395 Flatbush Extension.
The following ground-floor plan maps out the reconfigured retail space, residential and commercial/retail lobbies, and loading docks.
The project would also include a 4,750-square-foot public plaza surrounding the building, with the largest expanse at the southern corner of the block.
Ground floor plan for 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension.
In addition, the project is also planned to include a new subway entrance for the DeKalb Avenue station, which serves the B, Q, and R trains. The below preliminary renderings outline the appearance of the new entrance at the northwest corner of the property.
The proposed revamped subway entrance at 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension.
Facade materials for the base of 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension.
If built to its proposed scale, 395 Flatbush Extension would stand as the second-tallest structure in Brooklyn, surpassed only by the 1,066-foot-tall Brooklyn Tower.
Rabina and Park Tower Group jointly control the property through 2072 under a long-term lease with the city. The site is currently zoned exclusively for commercial use, and would need to be rezoned to include the proposed residential component. A public hearing on this modification is expected to occur later this spring.
Plans presented by HPD in March to the Public Design Commission call for 253 to 279 of the 1,263 rental units to be set aside for those making 80 percent of the area’s median income (AMI) or less. This would amount to roughly $155,300 for a family of four in 2024 figures. The developers will likely aim for affordable housing tax breaks under 421-a replacement-program 485x, which would require construction to utilize higher-wage union labor. A total development cost remains to be determined.
Plans for 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension were announced on Wednesday by Mayor Eric Adams alongside his vision for the “City of Yes” zoning reforms.
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i’m just happy they are tearing down that god/awful billing it’s replacing.
Looks like it is being repurposed and incorporated into the new structure.
Better than that ugly building at the corner.
A nod to the Affirmation Tower facing west, a traditional tower facing south… Love it.
I actually think the existing building could be great if given a proper cleaning and upgrade. Alas…
The new tower plays well with City Point. Not a big fan of the cantilevers though.
Love this! The existing building is hideous and needs to go.
the existing building is awful and was like a nail the coffin of Downtown Brooklyn (home of dept stores, Brooklyn paramount, dodger fans, ladies who lunch….)
Happy to see it gone.
This one looks ok, but just a lot of massings. Would be nice to wedding cake to the top.
devil will be in the details
and lets build for sale product – Downtown Brooklyn should have stability not just renters
I’ve been hoping that this building would get replaced for a long time. While nicer than the one diagonally across from it at 20 Flatbush Ave, they’re both eyesores and a relic of Downtown Brooklyn’s past.
The only (temporary) downside is that this one block stretch of Flatbush between Fulton and DeKalb is already known for terrible traffic and is probably going to be even worse for another 3-5 years. Hopefully the developers stage construction materials on Hudson Ave as opposed to Flatbush to help mitigate that.
I am a retired AT&T employee. Before the Ma Bell breakup AT&T had over 30,000 employees in NYC five boros, most in Manhattan but over a thousand at 395 Flatbush Ave., as well as some former NY Telephone Co divisions.
While 395 may not be “pretty”, it did serve as a place of employment before all the high prices of NY have chased the countries largest corporations out.
Nice to see a repurpose.
Hi. I was feeling nostalgic for 395 Flatbush Avenue Ext. I was one of those Ma Bell, pre- and post-divestiture employees. Like you, I’m retired, but that was my first job with the company. I started with NYNEX and was sent to ATTCOM after divestiture. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. The new building’s design looks promising. Hopefully, it will add to the revitalization of Downtown Brooklyn.
“the high prices of NY have chased the countries largest corporations out?” NYC is far more economically successful today than it was forty years go.
Amazing! It would be great for the city to finally give a facelift and expansion to that horridly ugly building after all these years. Can’t believe how under-developed that massive site has been for half a century. Wish it was knocked down, but this is a fantastic adaptation
Love the balancing here between setbacks and cantilevers, hope this gets realized.
Finally that POS building is getting a makeover and expansion. That has been a painful eyesore for decades
This really can’t happen soon enough. Stoked about this proposal. Let’s tear down the turd across the street next. The intersection of Flatbush and Fulton has the potential to be the Shibuya Crossing of NYC. Ok maybe not quite, but the potential upside is huge. Love seeing Downton Brooklyn come into its own!
Yay! Another boring rectangular box! Brooklyn skyline is pathetic forever…
the rents in the so called affordable units will rise as high as that tower when its all done, rents in the AMI are just to high, 1,000 plus units and it will receive 100,000 applicants
THE BEAT GOES ON IN DOWN
BROOKLYN I LIKE !
This would be awesome to see on the skyline! A great reuse of that ugly building on site right now
Great to see more housing and an underutilized property repurposed. While the deign is a bit ungainly and certainly no award winner, the best part is its height which will really help balance out the new Brooklyn skyline. Too many new towers are aligning at 500 feet. This will help fix that.
I agree David 👍, it does help balance out ‘SHoP’ architects “Gotham-esque” super-tall, the 74 story “b’kly tower, (“ungainly” too), they did that Steinway super-tall on 111 W. 57th St, which I think is kewler looking aesthetically, but lord have mercy is that one dizzyingly THIN, anyways, as long you give this “ungainly” 80 story tower the “👍”, I’m happy😅, so long as David,(aka; “the toughest architectural critic from here to Hoboken”), is content, i’m good 👍 too, (lol @ “won’t be winning any awards😅), I hear ya there.
The problem with the existing site is partly that there is a large homeless population there and it’s just super dirty in general, I think partly because of the building retail tenants, McDonald’s and 7-eleven in particular.
This makes me so happy. BUILD IT.
Alight CM Hudson time to walk the walk on housing
Amazing design! Can’t wait!
I’ll miss the existing. Just needed new glass. The expressive structural frame with oversized flanges and moment plates were a welcome landmark on Flatbush. Too bad.
It looks like an ominous, lifeless, and monstrous presence in the neighborhood. No wonder it’s attracted homeless people, trash, and neglect over the decades.
What public plaza? It’s called a sidewalk. And the volume increasing with height on an 800 foot building will screw up the skyline.
Next one should be the building across the street where CVS is located. That building is the ugliest of all.
Not much imagination…should be a lot better
Why would you put that much weight and height in that spot. It is already over crowded in that area. All these added tall buildings just further weaken the infrastructure and block out the natural sunlight. It doesn’t excite me, it scares me.