New Towers for Williamsburg

I know, shocking, right?

This is actually a good overview of the current state of the Williamsburg waterfront, which is looking pretty towery. The last piece of Northside Piers started leasing this week (in case you missed the huge sign on top of the building). Developer Douglaston has also broken ground on the last of its Edge towers next door. This will complete the 2005 rezoning aspect of the Williamsburg waterfront. Domino is nearly demolished (the last of the bin structure went this week). ODA has filed plans for the first towers at Kedem Winery, which for once promises some real architecture for South Williasmburg (though the site is constrained by its zoning envelope, so the overall massing is unlikely to change).

One new (to me) piece of information from the article – Con Ed says that its North 3rd Street site will go on the market early next year. That site is zoned manufacturing, so expect a big affordable housing play there. But the site is also a great opportunity for open space, and any development should come with an extension of the waterfront esplanade to Grand Street. Further south, something seems ready to happen on the DCAS site just south of the Williamsburg Bridge. Again, a great opportunity for sorely needed open space for the Southside.

Also not shocking, development of Bushwick Inlet Park continues to lag a good ten to fifteen years behind the development curve. The city is near to signing a deal on the Motive site, a largely inaccessible plot that wraps the inlet itself. But nothing seems to be in the offing for the CitiStorage site (which may or may not be in play itself). So the likelihood of of the city living up to its promise for a real park at Bushwick Inlet – the supposed jewel in the crown of the 2005 rezoning – is pretty remote.