Condos Will Replace 19th Century Wood Frame on Now Vacant 'Burg Corner

A six-story, 43-unit condo development with ground floor commercial space is set to rise on a currently vacant site at Kent Avenue and North 6th Street in Williamsburg. Until recently, the corner lot held a number of smaller commercial and residential buildings, including a 19th century wood-frame house with a gable roof.

When Brownstoner stopped by 133 Kent Avenue earlier this week, the site was a hub of activity. About a dozen workers were on site with a pile driver, concrete truck, and other machinery. Department of Buildings records show permits have been approved for foundation and excavation work.

DOB records also show a new-building permit was issued to Konstantin Gubareff of Prospect Developers II on December 6, three days after a press release was sent out announcing the sale of the site from L3 Capital to Joyland Group and Prospect Development for $48.25 million. The release noted the new residential units would be condos.

Joyland Group already owns a number of mixed-used buildings in the neighborhood, including The Wave at 828 Metropolitan Avenue (which city records show it partnered with Prospect Developers on), The Copper Lofts at 255 Lorimer Street, and Lorimer House 265 Lorimer Street. Prospect Developers, meanwhile, also has a new project planned for Gowanus. L3 Capital, which sold the site to the two development companies, is already a major landlord in the neighborhood, renting to Hermès, Chanel, Everlane, Google, and Madewell.

BKSK Architects is behind the building’s design, according to the permit and the press release. The firm has worked on other Brooklyn projects including the Polhemus Memorial, Center for Fiction, and a mixed-use development at 325 Henry Street.

Renderings show the planned corner building, which will stretch down North 6th Street, will resemble one of the early 20th century factories in the area with a red brick facade and multi-paned industrial style steel windows. Some apartments will have balconies with glass railings. The building has setbacks starting on the fourth floor, creating terraces for some apartments.

The building will be 75 feet tall with more than 71,969 square feet of space, according to permits. Of the latter, more than 55,100 square feet will be devoted to residences and more than 16,869 square feet that will make up the store portion. There will be no parking on site.

The site at 133 Kent Avenue comprises what were once a bunch of separate lots holding small residential and commercial buildings.

City records show the buildings at 49 and 51 North 6th Street and 131 and 133 Kent Avenue were demolished in 2017, while the building and rear extension at 53 North 6th Street were razed in 2022. The latest two buildings on the property to come down were 125 and 127 Kent Avenue, which were both signed off on this year, records show.

The razing of low lying commercial and residential buildings to make way for bigger residential complexes is no new trend. The appearance of the area has changed dramatically over the past two decades thanks to the 2005 rezoning, which brought skyscrapers to the waterfront.

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