Construction Starts on 27-Story BIG Tower at 175 3rd Street in Gowanus

What happened

Construction has started at 175 3rd Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn, Brownstoner reported on 11/05/2026. The site sits at the corner of 3rd Street and 3rd Avenue, across from Whole Foods, the Coignet Building and the American Can Company Building. It borders the Gowanus Canal and Powerhouse Arts. The lot was once a Verizon parking lot with single-story industrial buildings, all now torn down.

Parts of the lot have been dug out. Concrete and rebar foundations are going in along the line next to Powerhouse Arts and along 3rd Street near the bridge. Permits for excavation and foundation work were issued in 2025. A new-building permit was issued after that for a 27-story tower with 1,071 apartments. Brownstoner says the plan, designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group with Dencityworks|architecture, is 281 feet tall and 1.08 million square feet. The Gowanus rezoning allowed it to grow well beyond earlier designs, almost tripling the apartment count.

About 250 apartments will be affordable under the city's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program, which the Gowanus rezoning requires. The all-electric complex will also have ground-floor retail, artist workspaces, a rooftop pool and roof terraces. The rezoning also requires a 28,000-square-foot public esplanade along the canal, designed by Field Operations with the city's Parks Department to absorb stormwater and reduce flooding.

Developers Charney Companies and Tavros bought the site from developer RFR for $160 million in 2025. RFR had already secured a 421-a tax abatement and finished environmental cleanup. Across the 3rd Street Bridge, a separate 22-story, 300-unit building at 144 2nd Street by Monadnock Development is well under way.