561 Pacific tops out, changing scale at Fourth Avenue near Site 5; "tranquil refuge" to face massive construction project

Photo: May 9

The announcement that 561 Pacific Street--the 12-story building replacing Church of the Redeemer on the west side of Fourth Avenue--has topped out suggests the changing scale of Boerum Hill/Gowanus as it nudges up against Downtown Brooklyn and the Pacific Park site.

Notably, it changes the scale near Site 5, currently home to Modell's and P.C. Richard, but not nearly as dramatically as either the approved replacement building at that Pacific Park parcel or the potential replacement.

As I wrote in May 2017, the already approved Site 5 building, 250 feet tall, would be twice the height of the condo building. The floated but not yet unofficially proposed massive two-tower project at Site 5, involving a shift of bulk from the arena block and a new state approval plan, could stretch 785 feet, a much more dramatic transition.

The new building, developed by Adam America Real Estate, is touted as "a tranquil refuge at the nexus of four of Brooklyn's most exciting neighborhoods."

The "Japanese-influenced interior design helmed by ODA Principal and Director of Interior Architecture, Ryoko Okada" may indeed appear tranquil, as noted in the rendering below, supplied by the developer. But it won't stay so tranquil if and when that two-tower project is built across the street.

Courtesy of Visualization One/ODA New York

What about Site 5?

Note that the press release regarding Five Six One Pacific, as it's officially known, didn't mention future Pacific Park construction.

"Discerning buyers from Brooklyn, Manhattan and beyond know that Boerum Hill offers the best of both worlds: the tree-lined Brownstone Brooklyn experience along Pacific Street and all the conveniences of modern city living at the nexus of the BAM-Barclays Cultural District, close to so many restaurants, galleries and shops, cultural venues and parks,” said Brendan Aguayo of The Aguayo Team at Halstead Development Marketing, exclusive sales and marketing firm for the development. "This building, by virtue of ODA's design, including Japanese-inspired interiors by Ryoko Okada, is exactly what buyers are looking for right now."