A long-empty former firehouse on Greenpoint Avenue is back in front of the Landmarks Preservation Commission with a redevelopment plan that centers on masonry preservation. The proposal covers 122-124 Greenpoint Ave. in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint Historic District and calls for 10 condos in a new six-story building, plus restoration work on the firehouse’s Beaux-Arts limestone facade.
The development team, led by Kings Capital Management, presented a plan that keeps the street-facing firehouse facade and repurposes the interior as a lobby with a double-height ceiling. Plans also call for demolishing most of the firehouse’s rear portion. Next door, the proposal includes demolishing a one-story brick structure that started life as an 1893 wagon shed and later saw industrial use before falling into disrepair.
Architect Thomas Barry of OPerA Studio Architecture described a new brick building that connects to an addition above the firehouse. The street facade for the new building features four stories clad in orange brick with arched, concave window bays, with two more stories set back. Barry said the brick color aims to bridge the neighborhood’s red brick context and the firehouse’s limestone front. The new building’s ground floor is planned for commercial space.
Commissioners praised the ambition and supported both the landmark investment and the overall direction, but they sent the project back for more work. Key concerns focused on massing and cohesion, with several commissioners asking whether the proposal is meant to read as one building or two. LPC feedback also targeted window size above the ground floor, brick and arch detailing described as overcomplicated, weak differentiation at the retail base, and a need to simplify the penthouse and rear facade. Some commissioners also asked the team to explore preserving more of the historic firehouse fabric.
During the public hearing, neighbors raised concerns about height and cumulative streetscape impacts from multiple nearby proposals. Preservation groups urged a quieter rooftop presence and stronger material articulation, including suggestions for substantial sill and base materials such as stone, limestone, slate, or cast stone. LPC Vice Chair Angie Masters closed the hearing with no action and invited revised plans.
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