Kushner Companies moves forward with 21-story Dumbo building

Plans are moving ahead for the massive, long-undeveloped site at 85 Jay Street in Dumbo. In December of last year, Kushner Companies forked over $345 million to the Jehovah’s Witnesses—who have been offloading their Brooklyn properties for years—for the 135,000-square-foot parcel, which was then being used as a parking lot. It was the second part of Kushner's 2016 Watchtower acquisition, the first being the $340 million purchase of the Watchtower office building.

Now, The Real Deal reports that the developer filed plans with the Department of Buildings for 85 Jay in partnership with CIM Group and LIVWRK. According to public records, the 21-story, 874,149-square-foot property will 737 apartments over 812,978 square feet, along with 60,017 square feet of commercial space. The architect of record is Morris Adjmi, who collaborated with Kushner Companies on 30 Journal Square in Jersey City and the conversion of the Austin Nichols House in Williamsburg.

Since the 2016 purchase, this project has largely been kept under wraps. These latest DOB filings reveal a downsized plan from what was rumored to be a two-towered, 1.1 million-square-foot building with both rentals and condos. (The site may also be eligible for DCP’s Brownfield Cleanup Program, as detailed in this Camera Obscura piece.)

• Kushner Companies files plans for 737-unit Dumbo building [TRD]
• Kushner Companies reportedly taps Morris Adjmi for huge Dumbo building [Curbed]