If you own property in Brooklyn Heights, the proposed rezoning at 25 and 30 Columbia Heights is one of the most consequential local development stories in years.
CIM Group has asked the city to rezone the former Watchtower properties from commercial to mixed-use residential, potentially bringing 661 new homes to one of Brooklyn’s most established and tightly held neighborhoods. For property owners, this is not simply a development story — it is a market-positioning story.
CIM Group, now the sole remaining owner after LivWrk and Kushner Companies exited, filed its rezoning application with the New York City Department of City Planning in late 2025. As of early March 2026, the proposal has entered the ULURP process, with a public environmental scoping meeting scheduled for March 12.
Under the current plan, 25 Columbia Heights would expand from 12 to 17 stories and include 392 residential units. At 30 Columbia Heights, one additional story would be added to create 269 units. Together, the two buildings could yield 661 new homes, with roughly 20 to 30 percent designated as affordable housing, depending on the option selected.
Both buildings are currently vacant, reflecting the longer-term softness in office demand and the continued reordering of commercial real estate in New York City.
Brooklyn Heights is valuable in part because it changes slowly. Its brownstone blocks, waterfront access, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and long-established neighborhood identity create a level of scarcity that continues to attract both local and international buyers.
When a substantial number of new residential units are proposed in a neighborhood with historically constrained supply, the outcome is rarely simple. New supply can create short-term questions, but it also reinforces buyer attention, media visibility, and long-term demand for the surrounding housing stock.
That is especially true in a location like Columbia Heights, where the underlying appeal of the neighborhood is already firmly established.
For decades, the Jehovah’s Witnesses shaped this part of the Brooklyn waterfront. Their gradual departure and the sale of more than 37 properties transformed both Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO over a period of years.
In many cases, those conversions strengthened neighborhood pricing rather than weakening it. Former industrial or institutional properties became some of Brooklyn’s best-known residential addresses, helping redefine the area as a premium housing market.
The proposed rezoning at 25 and 30 Columbia Heights may represent the final major chapter in that transition.
The rezoning remains in its early stages. A ULURP review of this scale often takes 12 to 18 months, and actual residential delivery would come well after that.
Still, development stories of this magnitude tend to influence market psychology before construction begins. Public review, media coverage, and neighborhood discussion all contribute to how buyers perceive future value.
For Brooklyn Heights sellers, that means timing matters. Some owners may prefer to sell while the neighborhood’s long-term trajectory is receiving renewed attention. Others may prefer to wait and see how approvals, design revisions, and market conditions unfold.
Neither approach is automatically right. The better question is how your specific property fits into the timeline, buyer pool, and block-level context.
The proposed Columbia Heights rezoning is another signal that Brooklyn Heights continues to attract long-term residential investment at the highest level.
For sellers, the key issue is not simply whether 661 units are being proposed. It is how this shift may affect perception, pricing strategy, and buyer demand for your specific property in the months and years ahead.
If you own property in Brooklyn Heights and are considering a sale - now or in the future - a complimentary property valuation can help clarify where your property stands in today’s market and how nearby development may influence positioning.
No pressure. Just clarity.
Accord Real Estate Group
Serving Brooklyn Sellers
