A landmark building in one of New York City's most historic neighborhoods is entering a new chapter in a milestone conversion. Brooklyn's Hotel Bossert is set to be transformed into luxury condos, reborn as the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Brooklyn Heights, marking the luxury brand's introduction to the borough. Construction of the new residences is slated to begin later this year, with completion expected in 2029, according to the team behind the project.
Developed by SomeraRoad and Marriott International, the storied hotel is located at 98 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights, which is often considered America's first suburb. The neighborhood is famed for its tree-lined streets featuring 19th-century architecture that serves as "a remarkable example of stylistic development rarely found in any American City," the Landmarks Preservation Commission said in a 1965 report. That year, the neighborhood became a National Historic Landmark and the city's first historic district.
Historian Kevin Draper, the founder of NY Historical Tours, told Newsweek: "When the Hotel Bossert was built in 1909 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, it was very much for Brooklyn what the Waldorf-Astoria or Plaza Hotel was to Manhattan." The building's defining architectural elements include its original geometric pattern brick façade, sculpted granite and limestone base, ornate terra-cotta cornice and window details, as well as arched double-height windows, intricate cast-iron railings and lion's head keystones. These features will be "meticulously restored, preserving the building's historic character," the team behind the conversion said in a statement. Working alongside a team of architects, designers and preservation experts, Ian Ross, the founder and managing principal of SomeraRoad, said: "We are thoughtfully restoring this historic property while creating a residential experience that honors the Bossert's rich legacy and celebrates the enduring appeal of Brooklyn Heights." The building is also expected to feature a public restaurant from the Union Square Hospitality Group, founded by Danny Meyer, on its ground floor.
The Ritz-Carlton is among several luxury brands that have ventured into Brooklyn in recent years, such as Chanel and Hermes, which have opened brick-and-mortar stores in Williamsburg. The hipster Brooklyn neighborhood has been shedding a bit of its bohemian/edgy image with the arrival of luxury developments, including the Williamsburg Wharf, and hotels such as the William Vale and the Wythe Hotel. The planned conversion of the Hotel Bossert comes amid a growing call for the repurposing of existing buildings over the construction of new ones in view of the U.S.'s aging building stock.
Around half of the country's 125 million buildings are at least 50 years old, according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Research has shown that the reuse of existing buildings can avoid 50 to 75 percent of the carbon emissions associated with new construction, the organization notes. Earlier this year, Gordon Gill, the architect behind the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, which is set to be the world's tallest building upon completion, told Newsweek that the future of architecture is not in building higher, but in rethinking what we have.
"It's the existing building stock you have to keep your eye on … refreshing that stock and keeping them relevant, part of the sustainability legacy," said Gill, a co-founder of the Chicago-based firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG). The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Brooklyn Heights joins a string of other adaptive reuse projects in the Big Apple, such as the famed Flatiron Building, one of the city's most iconic landmarks that is also undergoing a residential transformation. Given the building's origins as an "apartment hotel," Jessica Peters from Douglas Elliman, a real estate agent based in Brooklyn, sees the planned conversion as a "full-circle moment" for the historic structure.
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