Surprise: BP Adams Likes Toby Moskovits' Controversial 'Burg Office Plan -- Here's Why

In an unexpected move Tuesday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams gave thumbs up to a proposal for a massive, block-long office complex at 25 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg’s protected industrial zone — aka Williamsburg’s extremely trendy hotel and nightclubbing district, home to Brooklyn Bowl and Wythe Hotel.

At issue is whether the development, from Toby Moskovits of Heritage Equity Partners, will create or destroy high-paying jobs in Brooklyn. BP Adams thinks it will do the former.

But there’s another wrinkle: It could expand the long-promised Bushwick Inlet Park as well.

Adams approved the proposal for the neighborhood-reshaping, block-long development, with conditions, as part of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).

While Adams likes the development and its potential to create a large quantity of both blue-collar and high-tech jobs for area residents, he requested modifications to the application to ensure the complex prioritizes long-term manufacturing.

Additionally, Adams requested the city sell bonds “based on the anticipated increase in property tax revenues from 25 Kent Avenue” and use the profit to complete the long-delayed Bushwick Inlet Park. (The city promised the park to locals as part of the 2005 rezoning of the waterfront, but so far has delivered on only a small slice.)

You can read the full text of Adams’ decision here.

If the office park makes it through the rest of the lengthy ULURP process, it will bring a nine-story, 383,040-square-foot office complex to the nabe. The building, to be developed by Toby Moskovits‘ Heritage Equity Partners and Rubenstein Partners, with architectural firm Gensler and boutique firm HWKN handling the design, will be built between Kent and Wythe avenues and North 12th and 13th streets.

While the building itself is as of right, the developers are seeking a variance from the city for the mix of uses inside. The goal is to have retail, offices and light manufacturing, and drop the requirement for community space.

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