Bushwick’s Masonic Temple set for resi conversion

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved plans this week for a residential addition at Bushwick’s Masonic Temple that will turn the property into an apartment building.

Landmarks unanimously approved the application for an addition on the top and rear of the property at 1054 Bushwick Avenue, which owner Yoel Wertzberger wants to turn into rental apartments. Wertzberger acquired the building, on the corner of Bushwick and Gates avenues, for $2 million in September 2014.

The former Masonic Temple will hold 28 rental units, according to the Brooklyn Eagle, with Red Hook-based ND Architecture & Design telling Landmarks commissioners that the “supplemental apartments” brought by the addition would generate revenue necessary for the redevelopment’s financial viability.

The 96-year-old building, designated as an individual landmark in 2014, housed an indie rock concert and party venue for several years after the Masons’ Ridgewood Lodge disbanded in the last decade. [Brooklyn Eagle] – Rey Mashayekhi