New 24-Story Building Includes Brooklyn Music School Expansion

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — A new 24-story residential building in the Brooklyn Academy of Music's historic district will allow for the expansion of another nearby arts organization, the Brooklyn Music School.

Developers of the residential tower, which will rise on St. Felix St. announced this week that 20,000 square feet of their 167,000-square-foot building will go to expanding the Brooklyn Music School.

The new building will make it so the 110-year-old school can meet its growing demand of students, school leaders said. It will more than double the space of its existing 126 St. Felix St. facility, where the Brooklyn Music School serves 8,000 students.

"This partnership with the Gotham Organization allows us to expand the depth and reach of our services, which have benefited generations of children and emerging artists," Board of Trustees member Shelby Green said. "Our collaboration with Gotham will provide us the room to continue our growth and create an exceptional environment for learning, performance, and forming that special sense of community through music."

The expansion will include a digital music lab and mean more programs for seniors and those with disabilities. The school will stay open throughout construction, leaders said.

The rest of the St. Felix St. building will bring 120 residential units to the historic district, which extends from South Portland Avenue to Ashland Place.

Developers said 30 percent of those residences, or 36 units, will be designated as affordable for those that make between 70 and 100 percent of the area's median income.

The building, designed by architects at FXCollaborative, will be built in the Neo-Romanesque style so that it blends with the church, tower and existing school it will sit between, developers said.

“Not only will BMS be able to serve more of the community in more ways, this plan gives New Yorkers of moderate income means the security of establishing a long-term home and the ability to generate equity," Gotham Vice President Bryan Kelly said.