The teaser website for 388 Bridge Street?Brooklyn's next tallest tower?just hit the Internet. Here now, a resident of 388 Bridge's closest competition, the Brooklyner, turns a knowledgeable eye on the 388 Bridge marketing materials.
For months—nay, more than a year—now I've watched the building across the street grow from a hole in the ground on a somewhat sketchy street (one night last year, no joke, we tracked down help upon hearing muffled screams coming from the security booth on the construction site) into the tallest, glitziest skyscraper in Brooklyn. At home, in the lobby of The Brooklyner—now relegated to being Brooklyn's second tallest building—chatter about the looming project was nosy but hushed, with everyone obviously craving information without wanting to seem too obvious about it.
Of course, this all-consuming siren is 388 Bridge Street, a 590-foot, 53-story rental/condo hybrid developed by Stahl. Given the general craziness of the Brooklyn market right now, those open, aerie-like interior renderings, and the lack of (completed) residential inventory on these few blocks of the neighborhood, it's a fair bet that the building won't be cheap. At some point in the near future, it's not inconceivable that someone will pay—just speculating here, of course—a million bucks for a two-bedroom unit exactly one block away from a store called "Nice For Ladies," a restaurant that deigned to name itself "Dining Room," a chicken fast-food joint that sells pizza, and Mint Chip, a short-lived candy shop whose marketing strategy involved having a guy sit on a bucket on the sidewalk while screaming and handing out fliers.
It goes without saying that rents, too, will likely be more expensive than those at The Brooklyner, which, a few short years after opening, is no longer considered "cheap." But will 388 Bridge be cooler? Better? Smarter? Prettier? More popular? Will its 46th-floor "sky lounge" trump our 51st-floor "beach"? Was it premature to upgrade from a preferential-rate one-bedroom (the lease signed more than three years ago, before the hallway on our floor was even wallpapered) to a market-rate two-bedroom before scoping out the goods next door, the way one is advised to do at a New Year's Eve party full of cute singles? While pricing hasn't been released yet, 388 Bridge Street's recently activated teaser site indulges some of our voyeurism as to what, exactly, is going on next door. Let's cast off these pesky fences between neighbors and take a look, shall we?
? We begin just like any other episode of 24, with a full-bleed black box and some ominous-looking letters.
? As the dark clouds part, yielding a beautiful, partly cloudy Brooklyn evening, the views afforded by the building take shape. One World Trade practically pierces the sunset. Below, DoBro's municipal buildings, the peaceful townhouses of Brooklyn Heights, and the bridges glitter like fireflies. Everything is not illuminated, though, particularly not The Brooklyner, until recently Brooklyn's tallest building. It is 388 Bridge Street's fiercest competitor, and it must be darkened.
? And with some nice colors and a creative use of opacity, the stale stench of competition fades away, leaving inspiring commands. Do all this stuff, now.
? Though there are many interior renderings floating around out there, the teaser site features only one. And yep, it actually looks pretty nice. No false advertising, either: this room is definitely "flooded with light," and it definitely has high ceilings and clean lines. Sure, the interior decorating is sparse and unrealistic, but in the grand scheme of renderings this one actually isn't half bad...
? ...oof! Random trumpet. So close, rendering, so close!
? "People move to Brooklyn for the creative lifestyle, the air, the light—and the views." To avoid roiling the Brooklyn-vs.-Manhattan subset of Curbed commenters, let's just address that last point: according to Emporis, there are currently only 10 buildings in the entire borough that measure at or above 400 feet, including the Verrazano Bridge and two projects (388 Bridge among them) that aren't even finished yet. Sure, there's a spate of skyscrapers on deck for Downtown Brooklyn, but at the moment, no, people are not moving to Brooklyn "for the views." Besides, even if that were true, as the Journal pointed out a few months ago, it's not something a developer should brag about lest these monoliths become reduced to "places from which to watch Manhattan, not things to be seen themselves." That sky lounge sounds fun.
? Spending all day inside is weird and a little creepy but hey, a children's playroom for the growing young-family population in DoBro sounds great! But will all those kids actually have a place to go to school?
? When those fifth-floor barbecues get old and you do decide you want to "pack up for a day outside," 388 Bridge Street, much like every building in the contiguous United States, is located either a car ride or a subway ride away from Manhattan. Still, it's such a "nexus of culture, commerce, and recreation" that it's actually a vortex—the Barclays Center and Junior's, ordinarily two staples of Brooklyn residential development marketing materials, are too far down Flatbush for a shoutout.
? Yikes, the big questions. Good thing there's no mention of those affordable units. When all is said and done, will the people stand united or will the glassy tower crack?
· All 388 Bridge Street coverage [Curbed]
· 388 Bridge Street [official site via Brownstoner]