Gowanus just notched another big benchmark in its building streak. Construction has officially topped out at Majestic, a U-shaped, 10-story mixed-use project rising at 540 Degraw Street. The development is set to bring 255 rental apartments, with roughly 25 percent designated as income-restricted homes, along with ground-floor retail and about 45 enclosed parking spaces.
On the perks side, residents are being promised a rooftop terrace, indoor-outdoor fitness facilities, coworking space and a children's playroom. The developers say Majestic is targeting LEED Gold and is scheduled to open in 2027.
In a press release announcing the milestone, The Domain Companies said the structure had "topped out," a development first reported by Brooklyn Eagle. Matt Schwartz, co‑CEO of Domain Companies, said in the release that "we now have over 600 residences across two properties," underscoring the firm's growing footprint in the rezoned neighborhood. The same release frames Majestic as a mixed-income project meant to bring both market-rate and income-restricted units to Gowanus.
Design and amenities
Handel Architects is serving as design architect. The firm's renderings show a double-height lobby under a glass canopy and a brick-and-metal facade that opens onto an interior courtyard.
Reporting by New York YIMBY notes that Majestic will include roughly 14,000 square feet of retail and office space and a mix of studio through three-bedroom apartments. The amenity package ranges from a coworking lounge and private dining room to a golf simulator and pet spa. The project team lists GoodRich Design and Future Green Studio as collaborators on interiors and landscaping, respectively.
How Majestic fits into Gowanus
Majestic is arriving as Gowanus continues to absorb new residential projects following the 2021 rezoning that cleared the way for denser housing near the canal. Local coverage has raised questions about delays in promised cleanup, parks and other public benefits tied to that rezoning, and those debates have sharpened scrutiny of new developments in the area, according to local outlet Hoodline in its report on how the cleanup fight drags on.
The Domain Companies, which helped open 420 Carroll, an early post-rezoning residential building, is partnering with Goldman Sachs' Urban Investment Group and VOREA on Majestic, per the developer's announcement at The Domain Companies.
Exterior work on Majestic is still underway and the developer has set an opening target in 2027, a date reported in the initial release and in on-site coverage by Brooklyn Eagle. For nearby residents, the project represents another large block of new housing and street-level retail in a neighborhood in transition. For the developer and its partners, it serves as a high-profile follow-up to earlier Gowanus projects. The companies did not provide a timetable for leasing or for the affordable-housing application process in the release.
