Brooklyn’s tallest skyscraper tops out at 720 feet

Extell's Brooklyn Point will briefly hold the title of the borough's tallest tower

Manhattan may lay claim to one of the most iconic skylines in the world, but across the East River, there aren't many tall buildings that stand out in Brooklyn—either architecturally, or simply because of their size.

But thanks to new crop skyscrapers in the works, that's likely to change: Alloy Development recently won approval for 80 Flatbush, which will have two towers, one of which will stand 840 feet high. At 625 Fulton Street, the Rabsky Group is seeking a rezoning that would allow it to build a 940-foot tower. And the borough is due to get its first supertall, a slender tower at 9 DeKalb Avenue that's designed by SHoP Architects, by 2021.

And as of now, there's a new tallest tower in the borough, standing at 720 feet high. That would be Extell's Brooklyn Point, located within the City Point megaproject, which officially topped out as of this week. The development team, including president and founder Gary Barnett, as well as reps from architects KPF, was on hand on Tuesday to celebrate the occasion, which also marks Extell's first foray into the borough.

"It's really an opportunity to do an Extell-quality building [in Brooklyn]," Barnett said during the event, which happened on the 63rd floor of the unfinished building—not quite the top, but close. The developer called the project "the best building in Brooklyn," in no small part because of its views—from the top, you can see as far south as the Rockaways, and as far north as the upper reaches of Manhattan.

The building itself was designed by KPF—late of Hudson Yards—and Bruce Fisher, a director for the architecture firm, said they were inspired by "texture" when envisioning the exterior. "We didn't want an all-dark building here, we wanted something that had that play between dark and light," he explained. That translates to bright aluminum panels and dark, double-height windows; those are placed in such a way that when the light hits the building, an almost wavy effect can be seen.

When it's finished next year, Brooklyn Point will have 485 condos over its 68 stories. Sales launched last year, with apartments starting at around $850,000for a studio, and going all the way up to $3.5 million for a three-bedroom.

The building's 40,000 square feet of amenities, meanwhile, are as over-the-top as you'd expect from the developer who brought a private tea pavilion and urban treehouse to the Lower East Side. In addition to what is allegedly the highest rooftop pool in the Western Hemisphere, the building will have a stargazing observatory, pilates and cycling studios, rock climbing, a pet spa, various lounges, a "forest adventure," stroller valet, a game lounge, and yes, even more.

Rendering courtesy of Extell Development