A possible sale of the air rights on JPMorgan Chase’s downtown Brooklyn branch could pave the way for a 50-story tower atop famous cheesecake haven Junior’s.
The landmarked bank locale at 9 Dekalb Avenue holds hundreds of thousands of unused development rights above, which could be sold to the buyer of the Junior’s site at 386 Flatbush Avenue next door.
“Every developer in New York City is looking at this,” Stephen Palmese, partner at Massey Knakal Realty Services, which is handling the sale of the Junior’s site on the corner of DeKalb and Flatbush avenues, told Crain’s.
The bank declined to comment to Crain’s on any plans.
Should JPMorgan Chase’s untapped air rights be rolled into the sale, a property up to 385,000 square feet and 50 stories high could sprout on the site. That height would put the building just three stories below Brooklyn’s current record holder, a 53-story skyscraper at 388 Bridge Street and one shy of the 51-story tower at 111 Lawrence Street. According to Crain’s, the structure would most likely be home to residential units or a hotel.
Junior’s owners say they will reopen their famous eatery in whatever structure replaces the current building. [Crain’s] — Julie Strickland