CBS2 Gets Inside Look At 9 DeKalb Avenue, Brooklyn's First 'Supertall' Skyscraper
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- What will be Brooklyn's tallest building is under construction.
Once it's complete, it will be the borough's first "supertall" building, meaning it's higher than the typical skyscraper, CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported Thursday.
Look up - way up! The tower at 9 DeKalb Avenue, next to Albee Square, tops out at 93 stories. Duddridge took a ride up for a behind the scenes look.
"It's about 1,066 feet tall. It'll have a series of three pools around the dome of the old bank building," said Michael Stern, CEO of JDS Development Group.
The historic Dime Savings Bank is being worked into the design, bringing together old and new.
"The Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn was the third largest savings bank in the borough and played a really significant part in the growth and development of the borough. It was landmarked in 1994, recognized for its architectural significance and its commercial success," said architectural historian Dr. Marci Clark.
The Brooklyn tower will be home to 550 residences, a combination of for sale condos and rental units, 30% of which will be affordable housing. It's being built by JDS Development Group and was designed by SHoP Architects.
"We really thought, like, are we bringing a supertall from Manhattan to Brooklyn? And we were like no, Brooklyn is just such an amazing, rich, cultural place. It needed it's own icon. It needed it's own Empire State Building," said Gregg Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects.
Downtown Brooklyn residents were invited to sign the final beam that will be installed at the top of the building.
"I just hope that it brings good things to Brooklyn," one person said.
"I think it's going to be a new part of history," said another.
The tower is the peak of the borough's evolving skyline.
"You can't keep New York down. We built through the depths of the pandemic and now delivering the building and finishing it right in the middle of this amazing recovery and renaissance," said Stern.
The first residents are expected to be able to move in by fall 2022.
There will also be 100,000 square feet of commercial space. Retailers will be announced soon. The first shops will open in about a year.
