Developer Ratner to Build Brooklyn's Tallest Building

sevenoneeighty

Subject: Developer Ratner to Build Brooklyn's Tallest Building

[url]http://www.nypost.com/seven/11272007/news/regionalnews/developer_ratner_to_build_brooklyns_tall_451333.htm[/url

DEVELOPER RATNER TO BUILD BROOKLYN'S TALLEST BUILDING
By RICH CALDER

November 27, 2007 -- Say hello to "Mr. Brooklyn."

Despite having to shave nearly 100 feet off his planned Atlantic Yards tower dubbed "Miss Brooklyn," mega-developer Bruce Ratner could still wind up with the borough's tallest building.

Preliminary renderings of another Ratner building - the proposed "City Tech Tower" on Downtown Brooklyn's Jay Street feature a design by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano showing a massive structure - which some online estimates yesterday put at 1,000 feet tall.

One image supplied by France-based Artefactory of the little-known plan even shows the reflection of the Empire State Building on City Tech Tower's glass-and-steel façade.

While the developer's Forest City Ratner Companies declined to comment on the specifics, a spokesman said estimates of the height "were way off base."

Sources familiar with the project say they expect it to top off at around 700 feet - which would still far exceed the 512-foot Williamsburg Savings Bank tower in Fort Greene as the borough's tallest building.

A year ago, Ratner agreed to trim the height of "Miss Brooklyn" from 620 feet to 511 feet to guarantee political support for the massive $4 billion NBA arena/residential/commercial space complex in Prospect Heights.

City Tech Tower, which is not part of Atlantic Yards, would hold 600 market-rate apartments, office space for New York City Technical College and retail space, city documents show. The tower would also serve as the new front entrance for Ratner's MetroTech office complex. Construction is expected to be complete in 2011.

A 2004 rezoning for Downtown Brooklyn allowed for unlimited height restrictions along a 20-block stretch of its commercial core, and as the Post previously reported, at least one other mixed-use project, called "City Point" is also expected to tower over the Williamsburg Savings Bank site.

City Point would bring 900 apartments and 600,000 square feet of retail to the former Albee Square Mall site. Several sources said they expected City Point to edge out Ratner's project as the tallest tower but said that could change when final plans are submitted.

Ratner spokesman Loren Riegelhaupt said the developer "is very excited about the project's potential but we are in the beginning phases and can't discuss specifics." He said the renderings were preliminary and not authorized to be released.

Joseph Chan, who heads the city's Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, said he is "excited" that Piano is the latest critically acclaimed architect to sign on to contribute to downtown Brooklyn's new skyline – joining a list that includes Frank Gehry, who is designing Atlantic Yards.

In Downtown Brooklyn, some shoppers had mixed reactions about the planned tower.

Joseph Amadano, a 43-year-old banker, said the project would be a big boost to City Tech while helping alleviate the Big Apple's housing shortage.

"I'm sure a lot of professionals working in MetroTech will be vying to move here," he said.

But Lisa Gerringer, a 28-year-old actress, said she believes this project is all about Ratner looking to get back some of the cash he lost by agreeing to lower the height of "Miss Brooklyn."

"It's like this is his new ‘Mr. Brooklyn,' and I'm sorry but I have a real problem with just how high a lot of these buildings in the downtown are

caseopele

FFS, will someone drop that megalomaniac in the middle of Brownsville a la Survivorman already?

lilbangladesh

WHY is that man determined to turn us into Baby Manhattan?

It's spawning!!! KILL IT!!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:

hamilton

Subject: *****cough,cough*****

It appears Brooklyn is going to challenge Hong Kong in over development and overcrowding
Our transit system is overloaded and traffic is already at a stand still.

I guess our health and comfort are not in consideration when our tax dollars are squandered on the rich builders

If this excessive building goes unchecked we will be known as The Asthmatic Borough.

The question that comes to mind is , why do small men like Markowitz and Bloomberg insist on building Phallic symbols at our expense?

lilbangladesh

Actually, asthma rates are far worse in Upper Manhattan and western Queens, thanks to power plants and garbage transfer points.

My asthma has cleared up since I moved to Brooklyn.