4 FEBRUARY 14, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
More apts., less spots in new R’wood Tower plan
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@QNS.COM
@ROBBPOZ
T he developers planning to erect
Ridgewood’s tallest apartment
structure have submitted
revised blueprints to the Department
of Buildings (DOB) to include more
residential units and slightly fewer
off -street parking spaces.
Ridgewood Tower Development
LLC, a holding company for developer
AB Capstone, fi led the revised plans
on Jan. 31. According to the DOB’s
online database, the new plans for
the 17-story structure to be developed
at the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue
and Palmetto Street include 138
apartments and 341 parking spaces
in the cellar and fi rst fl oor.
That’s a slight change from the
original plans for the Ridgewood
Tower, which listed 129 apartment
units and 352 off-street parking
spots. The updated plans would
also create a 942-square-foot, fi rstfl
oor community space, and several
“retail stores” on the fi rst through
fourth fl oors.
Five days aft er the new blueprints
were fi led, the DOB also received
an application from the holding
company to begin construction of the
tower’s foundation.
Both the foundation fi ling and the
new blueprints are subject to pending
zoning approval, according to the
DOB database. The site is located
in an C4-3 zoning district, which
allows for the development of mixeduse
buildings.
Construction of the Ridgewood
Tower has been a work in progress
— and a target of critics — since 2015,
when AB Capstone fi rst announced
the project.
Aft er a few false starts, in 2017,
the development fi rm put the nearly
40,000-square-foot site on the market
for almost $35 million. However, in
March 2018, AB Capstone averted
the sale after obtaining a $37.5
million mortgage for the tower’s
construction, as reported in the
Commercial Observer.
According to the revised plans, the
building’s cellar will house 243 fully
attended off -street parking spaces as
well as building service rooms, the
superintendent’s offi ce and elevator
machine rooms. Another 98 offstreet
parking spots will be located
on the first floor along with two
loading berths, a residential lobby,
a commercial lobby, the community
space and retail stores.
The fi ft h through 13th fl oors of the
building will have 13 apartments
per fl oor; the 14th fl oor will have
a multi-purpose room, an indoor
gym and a laundry room, along
with six apartments and an outdoor
recreational space.
The site of the proposed Ridgewood Tower at the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and Palmetto Street, as seen in
2017. File photo/QNS
Keeping things green in Ridgewood
Scores of Ridgewood residents brought their used electronics to Rosemary’s Playground for safe disposal
during a collection drive on Jan. 26. As shown, State Senator Joe Addabbo is pictured with members of
the Lower East Side Ecology Center, which helped spearhead the drive.
Photo courtesy of State Senator Joseph Addabbo
The 15th and 16th fl oors will have
seven apartments on each fl oor, and a
penthouse apartment will be located
on the 17th fl oor. A cooling tower for
the building’s HVAC system will be
housed on the roof.
The Ridgewood Tower would top
out at 208 feet, or 43 feet taller than
the 165-foot-high twin bell towers of St.
Aloysius Church, which is considered
Ridgewood’s tallest structure,
according to Forgotten NY.
In recent years, housing advocates
have criticized the project as a symbol
of gentrifi cation in Ridgewood and
neighboring Bushwick. Groups
such as the Ridgewood Tenants
Union believe the project will help
continue to drive up rents around the
neighborhood, pricing out long-time
residents.
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