Jonathan Landau Plans 47-Story Brooklyn Heights Tower For First Solo NYC Project

Jonathan Landau has made his first move in New York since leaving Fortis Property Group.

The former Fortis CEO, now head of his own Landau Properties, has filed a permit for a 47-story mixed-use tower at 205 Montague St. in Brooklyn, according to Department of Buildings records. 

The proposed Brooklyn Heights project would be 672 feet tall and span nearly 530K SF. Approximately 244K SF will be reserved for commercial use and 286K SF for residential, totaling 136 proposed housing units. It will also have restaurant space on the first and second floors and parking on the cellar levels.

Hill West Architects is listed on the filings. 

New York YIMBY first reported the filing. Landau Properties declined Bisnow’s request for comment.

The filings don't indicate whether the residential component would be rentals or condos, though developers have generally stayed away from building rentals since the expiration of the 421-a tax abatement, despite the city being in the midst of a housing crisis.

Developers filed permits for just 285 multifamily buildings and just under 10,000 units last year. 

Landau told Bisnow in a January 2023 interview that while many developers look at data to determine what and how to build, “what the data doesn't show you is what supply doesn't exist.”

“What you have to do is look to see, is there a demand for something that hasn't been fed?” Landau said at the time.

Though Landau spent nearly two decades building in New York City with Fortis, he chose to debut his new firm with a project in South Florida’s Bay Harbor Islands. In the interview last year, Landau hinted at the Brooklyn Heights tower, in addition to an office project “outside of New York” and tentative plans in Boston.

Landau left Fortis as it was embroiled in a dispute over a South Street Seaport condo tower that was allegedly developed with a slight tilt and placed into foreclosure. 

“Take a look at any developer in New York City or probably Miami and they have their share of successes, and they have one or two projects that go badly,” Landau told Bisnow. “In construction, there's huge risk, and that's why a project that goes well is disproportionately profitable over other segments of the commercial real estate market and even just general investment markets.”