At number 16 on our year-end countdown of the tallest construction projects in New York is One Third Avenue, a 725-foot-tall mixed-use skyscraper in Downtown Brooklyn‘s Alloy Block complex. Designed and developed by Alloy Development, the 63-story structure will yield 583 residential units, with 153 designated as permanently affordable. The project will also include 60,000 square feet of Class A office space and 30,000 square feet of retail. The structure is aiming for the title of tallest Passive House-engineered building in the world and will rise between State Street and Lafayette Avenue.
Work is progressing on the tower’s cleared footprint, which is located on the opposite side of the Alloy Block complex from the completed first phase at 505 State Street. The building will stand between two historic brick-clad school buildings that will be incorporated into its base.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
A telescopic crane was seen lowering long cylindrical rebar bundles into the ground to support the skyscraper’s foundations.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
Meanwhile, crews are almost done gutting the three-story building at the southwest corner. Temporary steel bracing has been erected to maintain its structural integrity during the adaptive reuse process. This structure, along with the one at the opposite corner, formerly formed a contiguous building that housed two public schools before their relocation to 380 Schermerhorn Street and 489 State Street. Both of these developments were recently completed in Alloy Block’s first phase.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
One Third Avenue. Photo by Michael Young.
The aerial renderings in the main photo and below preview One Third Avenue’s height and scale over the surrounding neighborhood. The monolithic rectangular massing is clad in a uniform grid of oversized operable windows measuring 6 feet wide by 7.5 feet tall, allowing for sweeping views and optimal daylight exposure.
Rendering courtesy of Alloy Development.
Rendering courtesy of Alloy Development.
Surrounding the window grid is a sculptural framework of beveled black paneling, which will create a distinctive visual effect when viewed at particular angles.
Rendering courtesy of Alloy Development.
The street-level rendering below looks east from the corner of 3rd Avenue and State Street, showing the sharply pleated charcoal-hued façade on the bottom floors. The cubic volume of the podium will be topped with a landscaped terrace aligned with the height of the neighboring structures from the 19th century. The restored buildings will feature illuminated window sills and ground-floor retail space.
Rendering courtesy of Alloy Development.
Residential interiors will feature a rough-hewn exposed concrete aesthetic.
Rendering courtesy of Alloy Development.
The residential lobby for One Third Avenue will be located within the existing building on State Street, while the commercial entrance will sit on the busier corridor of Schermerhorn Street alongside the forthcoming Temple Square Plaza. The development’s office space will be housed in the skyscraper’s bottom six stories, and the residential component will occupy floors 11 through 60. The affordable housing units will begin at $1,023 per month.
Passive House design elements will include an airtight building envelope and filtered fresh air. The residential and office components will also share energy resources to minimize waste heat.
This past summer, Alloy Development and The Vistria Group closed on $535 million in capital for construction on the second phase of The Alloy Block. Nearby transit options include the A, C, G trains at the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station; the 2, 3, 4, 5 trains at the Nevins Street station; and the B, D, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4, and 5 trains and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) at the Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center transit hub.
One Third Avenue’s anticipated completion date is slated for 2028.
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Talk about a squeeze job-Maybe a shoe horn would help
Wonder why they made the base so unpleasant next to the two beautiful historic facades? It’s heavy looking and reminds me of Brutalism style. The interior apts. look like jail cells. Wild juxtaposition of a sleek exterior and barren interior.
Another straight up and down box!
I love Alloy, and I do love the texture of the facade, but I think the massing misses the mark. I would have loved to see a better form on the skyline (like their two original proposed versions) instead of the former CBS headquarters tower from Midtown dropped into Downtown Brooklyn.
I just want something other than Brooklyn Tower (which I love) as an icon on the skyline.
Brooklyn version of 432 Park Avenue
Imagine trying to hang a painting or a tv in your concrete apartment
This definitely makes Brooklyn Tower look even better, but a one third avenue doesn’t sound like enough.
Huge fan of this look
Great photo sequence here, of the old, and the new..
I like the idea of a podium that is entirely independent of the tower. We experience the two in different ways and the design should reflect that. The tower is part of the skyline and the podium is part of the neighborhood.
yeah i like the base. looks like a little cafe there for the rest of us, which is nice. the tower facade is also pretty great, too bad its just on a box though.
Yielding 583 residential units, is WAY BETTER than the mere 26 units at 262 5th Ave, at 820 feet high, (safety deposit boxes in the sky for the global super rich), so in terms of “unit yield to footprint ratio”, it could be worse, I like the preservation of the old buildings & just hope the “integration” of the 725 foot tower synergizes better aesthetically upon actual finish design/completion🤷♂️
Much as I love brutalism, concrete is horrible for the environment. I hope this is reflected in their LEED rating.