Hudson Companies Files Plans for 302-Unit Residential Building in Gowanus

Development in Gowanus, Brooklyn, has been booming since the City Council rezoned the area in 2021, and now yet another firm has submitted plans to build a swanky new residential tower in the neighborhood.

New York City-based developer Hudson Companies has submitted plans with the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) to build a 302-unit, 274,205-square-foot residential building on the empty lot at 20 Fifth Street adjacent to the Gowanus Canal. 

The application calls for construction of a 28-story building with 100 percent affordable housing that would include a residents’lounge, a party room, a courtyard, a rooftop terrace and coworking space. PincusCo first reported news of the filing. 

Hudson’s chief operating officer Sally Gilliland filed the plans with the DOB on behalf of the organization. Spokespeople for Hudson and Marvel Architects — the architect listed on the project — did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The project will be built on what’s now a vacant lot at the corner of Fifth Street and Smith Street, on the west side of the Gowanus Canal. The site is just north of the Smith Street-Ninth Street stop on the F and G subway lines.

Gowanus has grown into a vibrant live-and-play hub with a variety of retail and luxury residential developments. One such building is 544 Carroll, a 17-story mixed-use building developed by Avery Hall with 133 apartments, 25 percent of which are designated as affordable housing.

“We’ve always wanted to develop in Gowanus, but it was never zoned for residential,” Jesse Wark, a founding partner of Avery Hall, recently told Commercial Observer. “There is enormous opportunity in Gowanus. It has been very cool to be part of a larger set of developers all making and integrating new things into the neighborhood, while still having some of the old anchors that people love down here.”

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.