Permits filed for nine-story, 96-unit building on Greenpoint's Leonard Street

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

A developer wants to replace a one-story warehouse in Greenpoint with a nine-story, 96-unit apartment building. Permits filed this month for 488 Leonard Street, two blocks from the Nassau Avenue G train stop, call for 92,160 square feet of residential space.

The project, by Steven Westreich's Westorchard Management, is part of a two-decade wave of housing replacing industrial sites in North Brooklyn. It now sits in the early stages of the city's permit review, with no start date or financing announced.

Why it matters

Approved, this permit adds 96 rentals to Brooklyn's tight market and converts one more industrial block to housing.

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Key Indicators

Planned apartments

Mostly rentals, averaging about 960 square feet per unit.

Building stories

A roughly 95-foot-tall concrete structure with a cellar.

92,160 sq ft

Planned residential space

Residential square footage cited in the permit application.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Steven Westreich

Principal, Westorchard Management

Listed as owner on the permit application

Joseph Frankl

Architect of record, JFA Architects & Engineers DPC

Listed as architect on the application

Organizations Involved

Westorchard Management

Real estate development firm

Applicant and owner of the site

New York residential development and property management firm run by Steven Westreich.

JFA Architects & Engineers DPC

Architecture firm

Architect of record for the project

New York architecture firm serving as architect of record for 488 Leonard Street.

Timeline

June 2026 October 2026

4 events Latest: Today

Tap a bar to jump to that date

October 2026
New York YIMBY reports the filing
Today Reporting

Details of the nine-story, 96-unit project made public.
Today
New building permit filed
Permits

Building permit filed with the city's Department of Buildings.
6 days ago
August 2026
Development plans filed
Permits

Plans filed for the nine-story building, listing Joseph Frankl as architect.
August 27th, 2026
June 2026
Demolition permits filed
Permits

Permits filed to demolish the single-story warehouse on the site.
June 2026

Scenarios

Construction begins at 488 Leonard Street

Likely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: New York YIMBY; BLDUP notes the application is under initial review with no start date.

The Department of Buildings approves the new building application and Westorchard lines up financing. Demolition of the warehouse is already permitted, so excavation and foundation work could follow within a year if review clears.

Permits stall in review or force a redesign

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: BLDUP, which notes the application is under initial review and that no affordable-housing component has been announced.

The Department of Buildings requests major revisions to height, unit count, or setbacks, or Westorchard trims the plan to cut costs. The project shrinks or changes shape rather than starting as filed.

Site sold or project shelved

Unlikely Resolves by Oct 28, 2028

Discussed by: Standard risk for pre-development projects; no analyst is specifically predicting this.

Westorchard sells the property or lets the permits lapse without construction, a common outcome when financing falls through or the Brooklyn rental market cools.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2005

Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning (2005)

New York City rezoned a large swath of Brooklyn's north waterfront from manufacturing to residential use, one of the biggest zoning changes in the borough's history at the time. The change let developers build apartment towers on industrial land along the East River.

Then

A building boom followed. Land values jumped and dozens of towers rose along the waterfront, reshaping Greenpoint and Williamsburg from industrial centers into bedroom neighborhoods.

Now

Manufacturing largely left the area and rents rose sharply. The rezoning set the template for the current wave of nine-story rental buildings inland, like 488 Leonard Street.

Why this matters now

Without the 2005 rezoning, a nine-story residential building would not be allowed on this block. The project is a direct descendant of that policy change.

1950s-1970s

Brooklyn's north waterfront industry (1950s-1970s)

The site's existing building went up in 1969 as a one-story warehouse, part of an industrial corridor that lined the Brooklyn waterfront for much of the 20th century. Factories and warehouses in Greenpoint employed thousands across printing, metals, and other trades.

Then

Deindustrialization closed most of these plants in the 1970s and 1980s. The warehouses sat vacant or underused for decades.

Now

Developers began buying these low-value lots in the 2000s and 2010s, demolishing them for housing. The 488 Leonard Street permit is part of that pattern.

Why this matters now

The one-story building being torn down is a relic of that industrial era. Its demolition clears the way for housing, the neighborhood's current dominant land use.