A four-story residential building with 18 units is headed for 1283 Saint Marks Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, according to newly filed permits. The lot sits between Buffalo Avenue and Rochester Avenue, close enough to the Utica Avenue subway station that future residents could walk to the A and C trains.
According to New York YIMBY, the project is tied to owner Lazer Berger, who is listed as the owner behind the applications. The proposed development is described as 52 feet tall and would yield 8,057 square feet of residential space, with the masonry-based structure also including a penthouse and a 75-foot-long rear yard. Mohammad Ahead, PE PLLC is listed as the architect of record on the filing.
Based on the filing's numbers, the publication calculates an average unit size of about 447 square feet across the 18 residences, leading it to conclude the units are most likely rentals. That math points toward compact studio or one-bedroom layouts rather than larger family-sized apartments, though no leasing or affordability details have surfaced.
A Century-Old House Comes Down
The project isn't starting from empty ground. Demolition permits were filed last month for the two-story structure currently occupying the site, per the same New York YIMBY report. A separate account from Marketproof describes that existing building as a house constructed in 1901 with two floors and 2,500 square feet of space, filed through representative Mohammad Ahead of Leandro Nils Dickson Architect LLC.
Notably, Marketproof's July 13, 2026 report on the same address lists different specifications for the new construction, citing a proposed 74-foot-tall building with 15,839 square feet of residential space and 27,731 square feet of commercial space. That figure diverges sharply from New York YIMBY's more recent 52-foot, fully residential description, and the dossier does not resolve which numbers reflect the current, finalized plan. No estimated completion date has been announced for the project under either account.
Part Of A Broader Building Wave
The Saint Marks Avenue proposal lands amid a steady run of new filings across Crown Heights. Earlier this year, New York YIMBY reported on a separate proposal at 995 President Street described as 87 feet tall with a mix of residential and commercial square footage, while a six-story mixed-use building at 1530 Bergen Street also went through the permit process. The neighborhood has also seen a cluster of nine residential projects reported as expected to add more than 450 new housing units in total, underscoring how much construction activity is converging on this stretch of Brooklyn.
For now, the 1283 Saint Marks Avenue project remains in the permitting stage, with the fate of its century-old predecessor sealed but the shape of its replacement still subject to conflicting paperwork. Neighbors near the Utica Avenue corridor will likely be watching for which set of specifications — and which timeline — ultimately moves forward.
