Gowanus is officially getting its headline tower. On April 12, 2026, the City Planning Commission signed off on a 27-story, roughly 1,000-unit mixed-use complex at 175 Third Street, right on the canal. Developers say the project will stitch new housing, ground-floor retail and artist space into a canalfront esplanade, with about a quarter of the apartments locked in as permanently affordable.
The Commission's move was first flagged by New York YIMBY, which described the plan as topping out at more than one million square feet and yielding roughly 1,000 apartments. Department of City Planning documents filed in The City Record put the proposal at about 1,173,000 gross square feet, with 1,071 dwelling units, 25 percent permanently affordable housing, roughly 120,852 gross square feet of commercial space and a 28,211 square foot waterfront public access area.
Design And The Public Realm
On the design side, Bjarke Ingels Group, working with dencityworks, has drawn up a cluster of stacked, chamfered volumes arranged in a U shape that opens toward the Gowanus Canal to maximize light and outdoor access. Project pages from Tavros and Charney Companies describe a roughly one million square foot complex with ground-floor retail and artist spaces, landscaped courtyards and rooftop terraces folded into the resident amenities. The developers also say the building will pack in a significant fitness and amenity program, alongside commercial space geared toward local businesses and arts uses.
Flood Resilience And The Waterfront Park
For anyone wondering how a canalfront mega project plans to handle rising water, the development leans heavily on landscape and elevation. Project renderings and coverage highlight a roughly 28,000 square foot publicly accessible waterfront open space designed by Field Operations in collaboration with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. The plan calls for a sloped esplanade that can absorb stormwater and physically link 2nd and 3rd Streets along the canal.
ArchDaily and project materials show the base of the building lifted above grade and describe the stepped public realm as a key part of the scheme's flood-resilience strategy, essentially turning the ground plane into a kind of buffer between the canal and the tower.
Timeline, Financing And Scale
The site itself traded hands in a high-profile deal and is now under the control of Charney Companies and Tavros. Commercial Observer reported on the sale and on earlier financing tied to the property, which helped set the stage for the current proposal.
Coverage of the City Planning Commission filing and developer materials peg the project cost at "nearly $1 billion" and describe a buildout that could wrap up in the late 2020s, with leasing to follow. For now, the exact construction schedule and final capital stack remain open questions, dependent on market conditions and the remaining permits.
Next Steps And Approvals
According to the Department of City Planning filing in The City Record, the application package is seeking non-discretionary certifications from the City Planning Commission chair. It also lists multiple ULURP case numbers that spell out the ministerial steps required before permits can be issued and vertical construction can begin.
Those administrative certifications, along with any remaining signoffs from other agencies, are the next milestones to watch as the project moves from the approval phase toward shovels in the ground.
Neighbors And The Bigger Picture
The newly approved tower is the most attention-grabbing piece so far in a broader Gowanus Wharf cluster of projects that has followed the neighborhood's 2021 rezoning and is steadily reshaping the canalfront. The site sits along the Gowanus Canal, a designated EPA Superfund cleanup area, and the development's size, potential shadow impacts and flood-resilience details are all but guaranteed to draw further scrutiny from community groups and environmental advocates as implementation moves ahead. The Gowanus Canal's Superfund status is documented by the U.S. EPA.
Commercial Observer offers broader context on how 175 Third Street fits into Gowanus's latest wave of development, with this project positioned as a major test of what the rezoned canalfront will actually look and feel like on the ground.
