Near the base of the Williamsburg bridge, the exterior of a 23-story residential tower sticking out of the back of the landmarked neo-Classical Dime Savings Bank is standing tall.

Located at 277 South 5th Street, the tower was designed by Fogarty Finger Architects. It stands behind and shadows the longstanding bank, spanning almost the entire block, from behind the bank to Marcy Avenue.

White panels on the facade, windows, and plantings on the large terraces have been installed. Leasing for The Dime, as it is known, started in August, according to CityRealty. Some work is still finishing up on the ground floor along the Marcy Avenue side of the development.

277 south 5th street

A 36-foot-long scribbly mural by the street artist Caledonia Curry, better known by her nom de plume Swoon, adorns the side of the building facing Marcy. According to Brooklyn Paper, more of her work will eventually be found in the lobby of the tower.

The building has 177 residential apartments, according to city records. An affordable housing lottery for 54 of those apartments, set at 130 percent of Area Median Income, launched in February. Listing photos for market-rate apartments show typical one- and two-bedroom apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows, open kitchens with islands, and a muted beige and white color palette.

277 south 5th street

There will be 301 total parking spaces underground, three retail spaces on the ground floor and an area for an ambulatory diagnostic or treatment health care facility.

Offices will take up the second, third, fourth and fifth floors. Recreation space for the residential tenants will be on the second floor, along with exercise rooms, a reading room and library on the fifth floor and a lounge on the 22nd floor, according to DOB filings.

The site in 2005. Photo by Gregg Snodgrass for PropertyShark

Developers Tavros Capital, Charney Construction & Development and 1 Oak Development bought the site in March 2016 for $80 million. The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously in April of 2018 to designate the bank. The owner, along with two others, spoke in favor of the designation at an earlier public hearing. The tower was already well along when the bank was under consideration for landmarking, so the tower was not reviewed by the LPC. At both the designation and the public hearing, little was said of the development that now dominates most of the block.

277 south 5th street

The project joins a burst of construction and a rapidly changing skyline in what was once the low-rise neighborhood of south Williamsburg. Nearby is the Morris Adjmi-designed The Williams at 282 South 5th Street, and two towers already completed at the Domino Sugar Factory along Kent Avenue. And the towers of Eliot Spitzer’s massive rental complex, located at 420 Kent Avenue, can easily be viewed from here. A 26-story tower is planned nearby at 159 Broadway next to the event space The Weylin in the now restored former Williamsburgh Savings Bank.

Facing a once central square now fractured by a bus depot and highway, the Dime brings more height and density to a corner that in the 19th century was the heart of Williamsburg.

Rendering via Fogarty Finger Architecture and Interiors

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