Two Trees submits draft impact report for two-tower, 1,250-unit complex in Williamsburg

David Walentas’ Two Trees Management submitted a draft environmental impact statement detailing plans for its massive two-tower, 1.3 million-square-foot, mixed-use development with 1,250 dwelling units located at River Street between North 1st and North 3rd Street in Williamsburg. The project was previously known as River Street and has been renamed River Ring.

According to the plans, the 1.3 million-square-foot development will be comprised of approximately 1.1 million-square-feet of residential space, 50,000-square-feet of community facility space, 60,000-square-feet of commercial office space, 23,000-square-feet of local retail space, and 250 parking spaces. The two towers would be 49-stories and 64-stories, and rise to approximately 560-feet tall and 710-feet tall, respectively. Of the 1,250 units, 313 are planned to be affordable.

The plan also includes approximately 135,073-square-feet of public open space.

The plans were disclosed in an application seeking a zoning map amendment, zoning text amendments, large-scale general development special permits, a change to the city map, waterfront certification and authorizations, and a landfill action to facilitate the development.

The plans have been in the works for years, but the path forward was always expected to be a long one, with approval required from City Hall, the Department of City Planning, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and more, before moving forward.

The full development site is comprised of Block 2355, Lots 1 and 20; Block 2361, Lots 1, 20, and 21; Block 2376, Lot 50; and portions of Metropolitan Avenue and North 1st Street. The proposed site includes two non-applicant owned blocks.

ConEd had owned and operated the site since 1993, using it as a fuel oil storage complex for its North First Street Terminal. The complex was then decommissioned in 2012, leading to the demolition of the tanks.

James Corner Field Operations and BIG are designing the complex.

Per the plans, the developer expects completion and full occupancy by 2027. Construction on the first tower is planned to begin in the end of 2023 and completed 24 months later, while construction of the second tower is expected to commence in late 2025 and last for approximately 23 months.