Downtown Brooklyn, New York, August 28, 2025
News Summary
Alloy Development and the Vistria Group closed a $535 million capital package to build One Third Avenue, a roughly 725–730 ft, 63‑story Passive House mixed‑use tower in Downtown Brooklyn. The financing pairs more than $120 million in equity with $375 million in construction debt. The project will include about 583 apartments (roughly 152–153 affordable), a six‑story elevated office podium, approximately 30,000 sq ft of retail, and adaptive reuse of two 19th‑century façades. Demolition is underway and construction is expected to proceed after permitting, with the scheme notable for applying Passive House standards at tall‑building scale.
Alloy and Vistria Close $535 Million to Build One Third Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn
$535 million in capital has closed to build One Third Avenue, a new mixed-use tower in Downtown Brooklyn developed by Alloy Development and the Vistria Group. The financing package includes more than $120 million in equity from Vistria and roughly $375 million in debt from Kayne Anderson Real Estate. The capital raise was handled by a capital markets team managing the deal.
What the project is
One Third Avenue is planned as a tall, mixed-use building that will combine housing, offices and retail. The tower is described as about 730 feet tall (some reports list the height at 725 feet) and is expected to rise more than 60 stories. The design calls for 583 apartments across the residential portion, with roughly 152–153 units set aside as affordable housing. Affordable rents are reported to begin near $1,023 per month for those designated units.
Layout and program
Residences are set to occupy roughly floors 11 through 60. The base of the project will include a six-story podium that lifts about 100 feet above street level and contains about 60,000 square feet of office space. At street level, a new structure on Third Avenue will provide about 30,000 square feet of retail. The development also keeps and rehabs two 19th-century buildings on State Street and Schermerhorn Street; the tower is set back and rises from an interior courtyard behind those historic façades. Lobbies will be split: a residential lobby in the State Street building and a commercial lobby with a public plaza on Schermerhorn Street.
Energy and design goals
The project is being designed to hit Passive House performance targets. Key features include a tight, well-insulated building envelope, filtered fresh-air systems, oversized operable windows sized at roughly 6 by 7.5 feet to boost natural light and views, and shared energy systems linking residential and office spaces to reduce waste heat. When finished, One Third Avenue is reported to surpass a 40-story Passive House building in Vancouver to become the tallest Passive House-certified tower in the world, according to project materials.
Timing and construction
Demolition on the site began earlier this year. Reported schedules vary: some project updates said construction would start “this fall,” while other reports set a start in summer 2025 and a completion target around 2028. Those differences reflect rolling project milestones and the multiple public- and private-permitting steps still underway.
Context within Alloy Block
One Third Avenue is described as the final phase of a larger five-building complex known as the Alloy Block. That larger assemblage already includes more than 1,000 homes, the developer’s earlier all-electric skyscraper at 505 State Street, and two newly opened Passive House public schools. The first phase tower, 505 State Street, is a 44-story building with 441 apartments and 45 affordable units; it opened leasing for market-rate units early in 2024. The two Passive House school buildings together total about 146,000 square feet and were designed to meet strict energy targets while sitting atop a century-old subway tunnel.
Financing and partners
Vistria’s equity contribution marks that firm’s first ground-up development investment under its current real estate strategy. Debt financing comes from Kayne Anderson Real Estate. The capital raise was coordinated through a capital markets advisory group. Developers say this financing milestone allows the project to move from planning and demolition toward vertical construction once permits and schedules align.
Notes and discrepancies
Some figures reported for the project vary slightly across different updates. Height is listed as both 725 and 730 feet in different documents. The count of affordable apartments is reported as either 152 or 153. Construction timing also differs by report. These kinds of small variances are common for large projects as designs and approvals evolve.
Why it matters
The project ties together three trends: adding mixed-income housing in a dense urban neighborhood, advancing large-scale energy-efficiency standards at the tower scale, and combining new construction with adaptive reuse of older street-front buildings. If the Passive House certification target is met, the building would mark a notable example of ultra-low-energy design on a skyscraper scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is One Third Avenue?
One Third Avenue is a planned mixed-use tower in Downtown Brooklyn with housing, offices and street-level retail. It is being developed by Alloy Development and the Vistria Group.
How much financing closed for the project?
The financing package totals $535 million, including more than $120 million in equity from Vistria and about $375 million in debt financing.
How many homes will the building have?
Plans call for 583 apartments, with roughly 152–153 units designated as affordable housing. Reported affordable rent levels begin near $1,023 per month for those units.
What are the energy goals for the project?
The building aims to meet Passive House standards using a tight and well-insulated envelope, filtered fresh-air systems, oversized operable windows, and linked energy systems to reduce waste heat.
When will construction start and finish?
Reports differ: some say construction could start in the fall, while others estimate a summer 2025 start with completion around 2028. Permitting and final schedules will determine the exact timeline.
Key Project Features
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developers | Alloy Development and the Vistria Group |
| Financing | $535 million total; Vistria equity > $120M; Kayne Anderson debt ≈ $375M |
| Height | About 725–730 feet; ~63 stories reported |
| Residential units | 583 apartments; ~152–153 affordable units |
| Office space | ~60,000 sq ft in a six-story elevated podium |
| Retail | ~30,000 sq ft on Third Avenue |
| Passive House features | Tight envelope, high insulation, filtered fresh air, oversized operable windows, shared energy systems |
| Site strategy | Adaptive reuse of two 19th-century buildings; tower rises from an interior courtyard |
| Timeline | Demolition begun; construction reports vary (fall start vs summer 2025); completion target around 2028 in some reports |
Deeper Dive: News & Info About This Topic
Additional Resources
- Brooklyn Eagle: Alloy secures $535M for Brooklyn Passive House tower
- Wikipedia: Passive house
- 6sqft: World’s tallest Passive House building in Brooklyn secures $535M in financing
- Google Search: One Third Avenue Alloy Passive House Brooklyn
- ConnectCRE: Passive House project in Brooklyn closes on $535M financing
- Google Scholar: Passive House skyscraper Brooklyn
- Dezeen: Passive House skyscraper on Third Avenue, Brooklyn — Alloy
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Passive house
- Bloomberg: Brooklyn gets NYC’s first Passive House–certified school building
- Google News: One Third Avenue Passive House Brooklyn
Author: Construction NY News
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