Downtown Brooklyn Could Get Its Own Empire State Building: Report

The historic old bank and surrounding property at 9 Dekalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn (near Fort Greene) has found a probable buyer, reports Crain’s New York on Wednesday.

JDS Development Group — the same firm behind the shiny new condo tower that will reportedly rise more than 1,400 feet over Billionaire’s Row in Manhattan — is in contract to pay $90 million for the former Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn building and the 300,000 square feet of land it sits on, says Crain’s.

The bombshell report also reveals that JDS developer Michael Stern could, if he wanted to, build Brooklyn’s new tallest building at the site.

The bank at 9 Dekalb Ave. is a 150-year-old landmarked Neo-Roman building with a domed roof and an ornate interior. But perhaps more important than the building, which could become a prime retail location for an upscale brand like Apple, are the development rights that come with it: roughly 300,000-square-feet.

Mr. Stern could use them to build a tower next door at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension, a property he owns in partnership with [real estate developer Joe Chetrit]. Combined with existing air rights, a nearly 600,000-square-foot tower could rise there.

A PR representative for JDS Development Group says she ”cannot confirm or comment on the report.” However, she pointed to the speculative nature of the Crain’s article.

The Empire State Building is 1,454 feet tall, so that would be a tough height to beat, although Stern could do it — again, if he wanted to. No building in Brooklyn has yet surpassed 1,000 feet.

According to the 9 Dekalb’s broker, Cushman & Wakefield, the property will be vacant in August 2015.

The company calls it “a rare opportunity for an investor or user to acquire one of the most architecturally significant properties in Brooklyn and all of New York City, with prime retail potential.”