All along the former Watchtower site, CIM Group is eyeing hundreds of housing units, including a large patch of the affordable kind.
CIM is proposing turning the former Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarters site in Brooklyn Heights into a 661-unit complex, Gothamist reported. Details of the proposed rezoning of the waterfront site remain sparse, but there would be 165 affordable units in the project.
The Watchtower site includes five buildings at 25 and 30-58 Columbia Heights. The buildings formerly served as the headquarters for the religious group, but have largely sat vacant since they were sold a decade ago.
CIM purchased the site from the Jehovah’s Witnesses for $340 million in 2016, one of the largest deals in the borough’s history at the time. CIM was joined in the deal by LIVWRK and Kushner Companies, but the latter pulled out of the development site in 2018, according to Brownstoner, and CIM appears to be going it alone moving forward, Crain’s previously reported.
The site was once known for the iconic “Watchtower” sign that stood above the campus, but it was torn down several years ago. CIM harbored plans for a media production facility as part of the repositioning of the site a couple of years ago, but this appears to be another swap.
The rezoning application requires further review from Brooklyn Community Board 2, the borough president and City Council before moving forward. A public scoping meeting is being held by the Department of City Planning on Thursday.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses spent decades unloading their vast Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights holdings after shifting headquarters upstate. In November, Midtown-based Hubb Properties paid $85 million for 181 Front Street, a 12-story, 105-unit apartment building in Dumbo that once belonged to the organization, but was sold by the Carlyle Group.
Last summer, CIM and Osiris Ventures bought 190 Berry Street from Rudy Gabsi’s LENY for $55.7 million out of bankruptcy.
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