Walk through DUMBO or Downtown Brooklyn and you can't miss it. That massive, 30-story beige monolith looming over the approach to the Manhattan Bridge. It’s 90 Sands Street. For decades, it was a silent, mysterious fortress. You probably saw the clean-cut people in suits walking around it, part of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ global headquarters.
But things changed. Big time.
Today, 90 Sands Street Brooklyn NY is a massive experiment in how we fix the city's housing crisis. It isn't a luxury condo for tech bros—though it's right in the middle of where they live. Instead, it’s one of the most significant supportive and affordable housing conversions in the history of New York City. Honestly, the scale of the transformation is kind of wild when you think about what it used to be.
From Religious Hub to Residential High-Rise
The Jehovah’s Witnesses (Watchtower) basically owned this corner of Brooklyn for an eternity. They built 90 Sands in 1992 to serve as a residence for their volunteers. It was essentially a massive dormitory. Because it was built for residential use, it didn't have the "office-to-residential" conversion headaches that plague most buildings today. No deep floor plates. No windowless middle zones. It was already a giant hotel-style layout.
When the Watchtower started selling off their Brooklyn empire to move upstate to Warwick, everyone assumed 90 Sands would become another $4,000-a-month studio building. RFR Realty, headed by Aby Rosen, actually bought it first as part of a $375 million deal back in 2013. But plans stalled. The site sat there, a 400,000-square-foot ghost, until Breaking Ground stepped in.
Breaking Ground is a powerhouse nonprofit. They specialize in "supportive housing." If you aren't familiar with that term, it basically means housing paired with on-site social services. They bought the building for $170 million in 2018. That’s a lot of zeros. But they had a vision for 491 apartments that would actually be reachable for people who don't work in private equity.
The Reality of Living at 90 Sands Street Brooklyn NY
Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of what’s actually inside those walls now. It’s not a shelter. It’s a permanent home.
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The building is split. About 305 units are set aside for formerly homeless individuals. These folks get more than just a key; they get on-site case management, primary care coordination, and mental health support. The remaining 185 units? Those are for low-to-moderate-income New Yorkers. We’re talking about people earning between 30% and 100% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
You’ve got studios and one-bedrooms. It’s tight, but it’s New York.
What’s cool is the "amenity" situation. Usually, in "affordable" buildings, the perks are non-existent. At 90 Sands, they kept the 29th-floor terrace. The views are incredible. You can see the Statue of Liberty, the bridge, and the whole Manhattan skyline. Most people pay five million dollars for that view. Here, it’s for everyone in the building. There’s also a fitness center, a digital lab, and a huge multipurpose room.
Why This Specific Spot Matters
Location is everything. If you put supportive housing in the middle of nowhere, people fail. They can’t find jobs. They can't get to the doctor.
90 Sands Street Brooklyn NY sits at the intersection of DUMBO and Downtown Brooklyn. It’s seconds away from the F, A, and C trains. It’s right near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It’s a "high-opportunity" neighborhood. By putting vulnerable people here, the city is betting that proximity to resources will break the cycle of homelessness. It’s a bold move. Some neighbors weren't thrilled at first—that’s just the reality of NYC real estate—but the building has integrated remarkably quietly.
The Architect and the Design Shift
The firm Fogarty Finger led the redesign. They didn't just slap some paint on the walls. They had to take a building designed for communal religious living and turn it into independent apartments.
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They kept the "bones" but softened the interior. The lobby is surprisingly bright. They used a lot of natural wood and high-quality lighting to move away from that "institutional" feel. You know the vibe—cold tile and fluorescent lights? None of that. It feels like a contemporary apartment lobby.
One of the biggest wins was the ground floor. For years, the building was a walled-off fortress. It didn't "talk" to the street. Now, there’s a public plaza and a retail space. Bringing a 28,000-square-foot public-facing element to Sands Street actually makes the neighborhood feel safer and more lived-in. It’s no longer a dead zone at night.
Dealing with the Bureaucracy
Building something like this is a nightmare of red tape. You have to juggle the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), and private lenders like JPMorgan Chase.
The project cost roughly $250 million total.
Most people don't realize that 90 Sands Street Brooklyn NY almost didn't happen as supportive housing. There was a huge push for it to be a hotel. But the city's "Hotel-to-Housing" initiative and specific zoning changes made the Breaking Ground deal possible. It’s a template. If they can do it here, in one of the most expensive zip codes in the country, they can do it anywhere.
Common Misconceptions
People think supportive housing means a revolving door of strangers. It’s the opposite. These are long-term leases.
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- Safety: The building has 24/7 front desk security. It’s actually more secure than many luxury "no-doorman" buildings in the area.
- Property Values: Despite the "NIMBY" fears, property values in DUMBO have continued to skyrocket even after 90 Sands opened its doors.
- The Look: From the outside, you wouldn't know it's "affordable." It looks like any other high-rise in the skyline.
Practical Steps for Potential Residents or Advocates
If you're looking at 90 Sands Street Brooklyn NY because you need housing, there’s a specific path. You don't just walk up to the front desk with a check.
- NYC Housing Connect: This is the gatekeeper. All the affordable units (those not reserved for the formerly homeless) are filled through the city's lottery system. You need to create a profile on the Housing Connect website and keep your documents updated.
- Referrals: The 305 supportive units are filled via referrals from the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). You generally have to be in the shelter system or meet specific vulnerability criteria to be placed here.
- Community Board 2: If you live in the local community board area, you often get a preference for a percentage of the affordable units. It pays to know your district.
The Bigger Picture
90 Sands is a lesson in adaptive reuse. We have millions of square feet of underutilized space in New York. While this was a residential-to-residential pivot, it proves that "scale" is possible. You can house 500 people in a single building without destroying the character of a neighborhood.
In fact, you enhance it. You bring in workers, families, and a bit of the soul that DUMBO sometimes loses to the ultra-wealthy.
If you're an urbanist or just a curious Brooklynite, pay attention to how 90 Sands operates over the next few years. It’s the blueprint for the "City of Yes" initiative. It shows that the "Watchtower buildings" aren't just relics of a religious past; they are the literal foundation for a more inclusive future in Brooklyn.
To stay updated on similar lotteries or to see if 90 Sands has upcoming vacancies, your best bet is to monitor the Breaking Ground website directly. They manage several properties, and they're pretty transparent about their waiting lists. Also, keep an eye on the NYC Housing Connect 2.0 portal—it's clunky, but it's the only way in for the affordable slots.