Apartments Finishing Up at Former White Castle Site in Williamsburg

Apartments on the former site of a White Castle in Williamsburg are looking nearly done as construction nears the finish line at 781 Metropolitan Avenue.

The building has topped out and a glass safety barrier has been installed along the roof line. On the Metropolitan side of the building, the windows and doors are in. On the Humboldt side, some window and sidewalk work remains.

The building, designed by Issac and Stern, stands eight stories and has 81 units. The orange-brown brick building is pierced by sections where the windows are outlined in contrasting metal, varying the facade. The windows are less quaint than the ones in the rendering, which resemble early 20th century factory windows with many mullions.

Developer Adam America has become well known for its large condo and rental developments in Brooklyn in recent years.

Notable projects include the State and Bond Townhouses, condos with an unusual design at 190 South 1st in Williamsburg, a converted Dumbo warehouse at 51 Jay Street, and a boxy ODA Architecture design at 251 1st Street in Park Slope.

Rentals include 120 Union Avenue in Williamsburg and 1525 Bedford Avenue in Crown Heights.

Issac and Stern have also been busy with Brooklyn projects of late. The firm worked with Adam America on 1525 Bedford and The Nevins in Downtown Brooklyn.

Adam America paid $6.275 million for the Metropolitan Avenue property in May of 2013. An application for a demolition permit for White Castle was approved in 2014.

When we last checked in on the site in 2015, the former burger spot had been reduced to just metal framing. White Castle’s exodus from the borough is something of a trend — Brooklyn lost three of the cheap eats locations in only three months in late 2014 and early 2015.

The other shuttered locations are also giving way to apartment buildings, natch. A 98-unit building is under construction at 959 Atlantic Avenue in Clinton Hill, and leasing launched earlier this month at 531 Myrtle Avenue, also in Clinton Hill.

Five White Castles remain in Brooklyn, in Sunset Park, Bushwick, Brownsville and East New York, where home prices per square foot have not cracked $1,000.

[Photos by Susan De Vries unless noted otherwise]

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