“King of the Borough,” Brooklyn Tower, Offers Some Affordable Housing

Brooklyn Tower is the first supertall skyscraper in the New York City’s Brooklyn borough. The mixed-use building is the tallest structure in New York City that isn’t in Manhattan.

Today, the building adds affordable housing in a city notorious for its sky-high rent.

The Bare Essentials: Brooklyn Tower

New York The Brooklyn Tower

The Brooklyn Tower stands at 1,073 feet. It is the 10th tallest skyscraper in New York City.

SHoP Architects designed the 93-story building, which is also called 9 DeKalb Avenue.

The skyscraper is mainly residential. However, it’s attached to the historic Dime Savings Bank building in downtown Brooklyn. The Classic Revival structure opened in 1908.


The Dime Savings Bank Building

Dating back to 1908, the Dime Savings Bank Building sits at the base of 9 DeKalb Avenue. Its columns, hexagonal rotunda and white-marble facade now contain a retail space for the neighborhood.

The bank in the neoclassical building closed in 2002, when it became an event space. Now, it blends with the sleek new residential Brooklyn Tower.


Brooklyn Tower’s Affordable Housing Units

Both apartments and condos are inside the Brooklyn Tower. In fact, 20 percent of the apartments in 9 DeKalb Avenue qualify as affordable housing. 

People can apply via the state’s housing lottery system to rent one of these apartments, which are mostly studios or one-bedrooms. A resident qualifies as long as they earn less than 130 percent of the median income in the surrounding ZIP codes.


The Units and the Cost

The units in the building stay true to the exterior. They feature marble, bronze, and stainless steel finishes. Wooden doors have mahogany finishes and brass hardware, as well as appliances by Miele. The layouts in the building are also unique. They are laid out like stacked hexagons, which is a nod to the shape of the Dime Savings Bank, 

The most distinguishing feature of the building is the 110-foot-tall floor-to-ceiling windows in every unit.

Rental apartments take up the bottom section of the building. There are 150 condos starting on the 53rd floor. Prices go from $875,000 for a studio all the way up to $8 million for a four-bedroom condo.


Fabulous Amenities

The Brooklyn Tower has 120,000 square feet of amenity spaces, which take up the fifth and sixth floors. First, there’s an outdoor terrace that goes around the dome of the bank building. It also has three swimming pools and an adjacent cocktail bar and a lounge.

The indoor fitness center has a fourth swimming pool that is a whirlpool and a 75-foot lap pool.

In addition to the usual meeting rooms, dining room, kitchen, billiards room, and movie room, there’s also an amazing basketball court on the 66th floor. In fact, it is the tallest residential basketball court in the world. The 66th floor also has a dog run and an outdoor playground. The space is open on all sides to cut down on the building’s swaying.


Brooklyn Tower vs. One World Trade Center

Each of these skyscrapers ranks as the tallest in its own borough.

The reality, however, is a staggering difference of 703 feet between the height of the two with the One World Trade Center being the tallest. That’s more than some supertall buildings measure on their own.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)FAQ

Does Brooklyn have skyscrapers?

The New York borough of Brookly has more than 60 skyscrapers that are either finished or topped out. they are all at least 295 feet tall. the tallest building in Brooklyn is 8 DeKalb Avenue, also called the Brooklyn Tower.

How many apartments are in Brooklyn Tower?

The new tower at 9 DeKalb Avenue will have about 150 condominiums and 425 apartments. The condos will be on the 53rd floor or higher. 

Is the Brooklyn Tower completed?

The mixed residential skyscraper topped out on October 28th 2021. The completion date is in 2022 and apartments will be available for rent in the second half of the year.

What are the tallest buildings in Brooklyn?

After the Brooklyn Tower, which ranks first at 1,073 feet, Brooklyn Point is second at 720 feet. In third place is 11 Hoyt (626 feet) followed by The Hub (611 feet). AVA DoBro (596 feet) rounds out the top five tallest.

Is Brooklyn Tower a luxury apartment building?

The skyscraper is for the most part a residential building that has luxury condos but also rental units, 20 percent of which are affordable housing. The section that is in the attached Dime Savings Bank building is for retail.