City Planning to certify Moskovits’ bid for Williamsburg zoning change

Toby Moskovits’ Heritage Equity Partners is seeking a zoning alteration for its planned nine-story, 480,000-square-foot office building in Williamsburg – one of the first new office buildings in Brooklyn in decades – that would eliminate use restrictions on the property.

The Department of City Planning is expected to certify Moskovits’ application on Monday, with the Brooklyn developer hoping to amend requirements that more than half of the property, located at 25 Kent Avenue between North 12th and North 13th streets, be used for medical, school, nonprofit or religious facilities.

Moskovits and her partners instead want to use nearly all of the building’s square footage to cater to Brooklyn’s growing office sector, according to Crain’s, with TAMI tenants flooding to the borough in search of work space. A component of the project would be reserved for light manufacturing use.

City Planning’s certification of the application would initiate a months-long approval process known as ULURP, which would solicit opinions from the local community board and borough president before requiring approval from both City Planning and the City Council for the zoning change to go through.

City Councilmember Steve Levin, who represents the Williamsburg area, supports the project, a spokesperson told Crain’s, while Moskovits said she is “confident that our plan for 25 Kent Avenue will resonate with community members and elected officials.”

The city’s real estate industry, meanwhile, is reportedly keeping a close eye on Moskovits’ application, as its outcome would give developers a better idea on how the city treats office projects slated to rise in former manufacturing zones. [Crain’s] – Rey Mashayekhi