The Brooklyn Tower at 9 DeKalb Tops Out—Taking the Crown as Brooklyn’s First Supertall Skyscraper

Developed and built by JDS Development Group and designed by SHoP Architects, The Brooklyn Tower at 9 DeKalb Ave becomes a defining new landmark for the borough and a transformative addition to the New York City skyline.

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – October 28, 2021 – JDS Development Group and SHoP Architects announce the topping out of The Brooklyn Tower at 9 DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn—the borough’s first supertall skyscraper—at 1,066 feet. Here heritage and modernity meet: The landmarked Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn has been creatively incorporated into an imaginative new building that soars to 93 stories and sets a new standard for the borough. Formed by interlocking hexagons and dramatic cascading setbacks in a facade of shimmering bronzes and deep blacks, the Brooklyn Tower is a monumental new residential building in Downtown Brooklyn with unprecedented views over city, river, and harbor. The project will house residences for sale and lease, with retail at its base.

Rising from the native geometries of the neighborhood streets, the Tower’s striking form draws inspiration from the hexagonal composition and patterning of the historic Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn and its landmarked interior, where locals could once open a savings account for as little as a dime. Designed by esteemed architects Halsey, McCormack & Helmer (1931-1932), a significant expansion of Mowbray & Uffinger’s building (1906-1908) on the same site, the historic structure has been celebrated by critics for its civic-minded urban design and was designated a New York City landmark in 1994. As one of the largest savings banks constructed in the country, the institution played a critical role in the development and growth of Brooklyn, and serves as a prominent gateway to the Fulton Street Mall shopping district. Decommissioned as a working bank, the space will become publicly accessible once again as a new retail flagship. The 115-year-old structure is being carefully restored and thoughtfully integrated with the new tower through the introduction of a retail entry at Flatbush Avenue Extension and at Fleet Street (one of the tower’s two entrances), where residents will enter the tower’s main lobby through the Ionic colonnade. On the roof deck, residents will be able to swim, lounge, and barbeque around the historic dome.

The distinctive materiality of The Brooklyn Tower incorporates white marble at its base, and evolves to blackened stainless steel and shades of bronze and copper as the tower ascends. The facade powerfully holds its shape, texture, and materiality at every angle, deploying a wide variety of fluted, cylindrical, and triangular shapes arranged in a strongly vertical composition between oversize glass panes. This combination of effects gives The Brooklyn Tower an expression that is at once welcoming, seriously dramatic and extravagantly playful.

Globally recognized for its historic architecture, verdant tree-lined streets, abundant greenspace, vibrant culinary scene, and thriving creative community, Brooklyn has long enjoyed and celebrated a unique cultural identity distinct from the other boroughs. Brooklyn welcomes and sustains a diverse population from all backgrounds, fostering deep contributions across a variety of industries. The design of the Brooklyn Tower honors the undeniable spirit, expressive culture, and rich diversity and history that Brooklyn is known for, standing proud as a symbol of these everlasting attributes.

The Brooklyn Tower is bound by DeKalb Avenue, Fleet Street, and Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn. This is of the most connected neighborhoods in New York City, with unrivaled transportation access to 13 subway lines, 11 commuter trains via the LIRR at Atlantic Center, and 22 Citibike stations. Downtown Brooklyn lives at the intersection of three of Brooklyn’s most beloved Brownstone neighborhoods (Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, and Fort Greene), with proximity to DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights. Downtown Brooklyn is the third-largest central business district in New York City and home to a robust technology and innovation sector, shopping along Fulton Street and nearby Atlantic Avenue, and more than 100 arts and cultural institutions, including centers for the neighborhood and the city the Brooklyn Art Museum, BRIC, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Barclays Center. Brooklyn is a major culinary destination, with nearby DeKalb Market Hall, Grand Army, Gage & Tollner, Roman’s by Andrew Tarlow, and the famed Junior’s Cheesecake. Residents will also be in proximity to some of the city’s finest public parks and greenspaces, including beloved Fort Greene Park just five blocks away, the recently revitalized Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the borough’s flagship Prospect Park. Significant new growth in the residential and hospitality sectors has ushered in a new era of 24/7 living in the neighborhood, while other streetscape transformations are underway.

“Today marks a significant milestone for Brooklyn and New York City as The Brooklyn Tower reaches its peak, continuing Brooklyn’s long history of design innovation and bold thinking,” said Michael Stern, Founder and CEO of JDS Development, the developer and builder of the project. “We take great pride in the thoughtful work that SHoP and our construction team at JDS have done to create this unprecedented new tower, while carefully preserving the historic Brooklyn landmark.”

The Brooklyn Tower represents yet another large-scale adaptive reuse project in New York City by JDS Development Group. The firm is known for complex assemblages, self-performing construction in New York City projects, and moving markets through transformative, design-forward projects that have raised the bar for new development real estate and challenged the status quo.

The Brooklyn Tower is the third large-scale, mixed-use project by JDS and SHoP in New York City, which include the iconic 111 West 57th Street on Central Park (another supertall with a landmarked adaptive-reuse component) and the American Copper Buildings on the East River. Additional large-scale projects are in the works for the Lower East Side at 247 Cherry Street, and in Brickell, Miami, at 1 Southside Park.

The Brooklyn Tower features approximately 550 residences—150 residences for purchase and 400 residences for lease—with almost 100,000 square feet of retail at its base. The project also includes over 100,000 square feet of amenities, including state-of-the-art health and fitness spaces offering diverse programming, and unprecedented, elevated outdoor loggias for skyline lounging and recreation. Thirty percent of the rentals are designated as affordable housing. Residences for purchase start at an elevation over 500 feet, where most penthouses cap nearby new development projects, and offer sweeping views through floor-to-ceiling windows of the Manhattan skyline, the East River, the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor, Prospect Park, and all of Brooklyn. Residence interiors were designed by AD100 design firm Gachot Studios, with amenity interior design lead by Krista Ninivaggi of Woods Bagot, and landscape design by HMWhite. The building will engage a wide network of creative talent from the borough and beyond in the project. Douglas Elliman is the exclusive marketing, sales, and leasing agent.

The Brooklyn Tower is anticipated to launch residences for sale in early 2022, residences for lease mid 2022, and open for occupancy late 2022, forging a new residential and commercial destination for New York City. For more information and to stay informed on the project’s progress, please visit: thebrooklyntower.com or @thebrooklyntower on Instagram.

For high-res imagery and video of The Brooklyn Tower, please visit here

JDS Development Group is a team of innovators and builders pioneering progressive new forms of large-scale urban development that challenge the status quo of the real estate industry. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in New York, JDS is a national firm focused on acquisition, development, and construction, recognized for its architecturally significant mixed-use projects that respond to each community and push the boundaries of engineering and design. JDS projects include The Brooklyn Tower, 111 West 57th Street, The American Copper Buildings, Walker Tower, Monad Terrace and other award-winning collaborations with the world’s top architects and designers. jdsdevelopment.com @jdsdevelopmentgroup

SHoP Architects is a New York-based global design leader, with iconic projects completed or underway across more than 72 million square feet on five continents. SHoP takes a high-performance approach to design and planning that introduces definitive new and enduring architecture to the great city skylines and streetscapes. The innovative practice forefronts the activation of dynamic public spaces, the use of technology to imaginatively reinterpret authentic building materials, a results-driven sustainability imperative and an emphasis on the research and deployment of adaptive methods of project delivery. Notable projects include Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, the American Copper Buildings and the supertall residential tower 111 West 57th Street in Manhattan, the new Uber Headquarters in San Francisco, the recently opened Collins Arch complex in Melbourne, Fulbright University Vietnam, Codrico Tower Rotterdam, and multiple diplomatic facilities including in Milan and Bangkok, under a Design Excellence contract with the U.S. Department of State. The diverse and trendsetting work of the firm has been widely celebrated with a variety of honors, among them the Smithsonian’s National Design Award for Architecture. In 2021, SHoP through the ESOP process became a 100-percent employee-owned company—furthering a commitment to a culture of innovation and the next-generation practice of architecture.

Melding timeless craft with modern technology, Gachot creates work with a refined aesthetic and radical sense of place. Simplicity, elegance and acute attention to detail are the guiding values. Every project is treated as a unique expression rather than the vehicle for a rigid aesthetic. The studio was founded by John and Christine Gachot as a collaborative practice with service as its core principle. The team brings together diverse skills in real estate development, art direction and interior design to create thoughtful environments.

K&CO, founded by Krista Ninivaggi in 2014, is a boutique interior design studio recently merged into the global firm, Woods Bagot. The interior design team is directed by Ninivaggi, who serves as a visual thought leader for a range of forward-thinking clients, from lawyers to DJs. She and her team specialize in the cross section between interiors and architecture—carrying rich conceptual designs into the programming, material selection, and furniture design. The attention to detail instills even the largest projects with a boutique feel. The studio works in a highly collaborative approach with clients by learning from their business practices and users to best address their needs. Whether in new or existing structures, the team strives to create immersive environments that satisfy the senses, layering tactical and visual experiences for richer and more diverse spaces. From welcoming residential spaces to progressive workplaces to conceptual hospitality programming, the team’s spaces promote new and unexpected interactions, with the aim of fostering a broader range of unexpected collaborations and innovations.

• Developer: JDS Development Group
• Builder: JDS Construction Group
• Architect: SHoP Architects
• Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn Architects: Mowbray & Uffinger (1906-1908); Halsey, McCormack & Helmer (1931-1932)
• Residential Interior Design: Gachot Studios
• Amenities Interior Design: k&co
• Landscape Design: HM White
• Structural Engineer: WSP
• Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing Engineer: JB&B
• Curtain Wall Consultant: MW Skins
• Civil Engineer: AKRF Engineering, P.C.
• Geotechnical Engineer: Mueser Rutledge
• Wind Engineer: RWDI