Brooklyn Heights Public Library1

Hudson Companies today released new renderings showing a different, less glassy look for the wedge-shaped mixed-use tower it plans to build on the site of the Brooklyn Heights public library at 320 Cadman Plaza West.

The release of the renderings comes just before Community Board 2’s Land Use Committee plans to hold a public hearing on the redevelopment of the site Wednesday as part of the formal land-use review process the proposal must go through.

As readers will recall, Marvel Architects is designing a new 36-story building with 139 apartments at 280 Cadman Plaza West, the current location of the library’s Cadman Plaza branch. Hudson Companies is in contract to buy the site for $52,000,000 and the library will own a condo on the ground floor. The library will relocate during construction.

Hudson will also build 114 units of affordable housing in Clinton Hill as part of the deal, as we have reported.

The Brooklyn Heights Blog reports that St. Anne’s School, which had previously expressed interest in purchasing below grade space in the building, is no longer planning to buy space there.

The meeting takes place at 6 pm on Wednesday, June 17 at the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, Dibner Building, Room LC400, 5 Metrotech Center. The new renderings were first published by the Daily News.

CB 2 Land Use Committee to Consider Library Deal; St. Ann’s Won’t Take Space There [BHB]
Brooklyn to Get Its Very Own Flatiron Building on Site of Public Library [NY Daily News]
Brooklyn Heights Library Coverage [Brownstoner]
Renderings by Marvel Architects, Photo by Suzanne Spellen

Brooklyn Heights Public Library2

Above, another new rendering released today.

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Above, a previous rendering with a similar triangular footprint but fewer floors and a more glassy facade.

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Above, the existing low-slung Cadman Plaza branch at 280 Cadman Plaza West in Brooklyn Heights.


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. The original scheme was appealing because it stepped down to the point of the triangular site. Many of the other schemes were large massive blocks – just as this has become. Bait and switch.

    Hey citizens: you want a nice library and affordable housing – this is the price you have to pay.

  2. Who cares what the freakin’ building looks like. Selling library land/buildings is not a good idea. Developers get their turf/money and the libraries: get nothing(except smaller). Look at what happened with the Donnell library. It doesn’t exist anymore.
    Libraries should always own their buildings and the land below it. Never should they be a tenant in a condo building: then they will always be subject to the whims of the building owner/board.
    The taxes from all the new development should be able to support the library system. If not, get rid of 421.
    That money would surely help the libraries as well as many other social causes.

  3. Holy cow, couldn’t agree more. So much uglier. So much taller! Not just a little taller but A LOT. Hard to tell because the perspective on the renderings is different but appears to be 25-33% taller than the first release

    Looks like you need to move at least one street in from the edge of the historic district if you don’t want to be in the shadow of one of the many planned monstrosities that’ll be ringing the Heights soon. Sayonara, Monroe Place

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