Downtown Brooklyn has been historically a commercial office district and civic center until a zoning change in 2004 allowed high density residential construction, Downtown Brooklyn is today one of the city’s newest and rapidly growing residential neighborhoods. In 2011 The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated a Skyscraper Historic District in the area surrounding Borough Hall. Although at about 30 stories, they are not exactly what we think of as a Skyscraper today.

More recently, gleaming, mixed-use, glass clad skyscrapers have risen even higher, and the area will continue to grow vertically. The recently developed Brooklyn Point and City Point Center includes major retailers like Trader Joe’s, and Target, along with The Dekalb Market Food Hall which features the Brooklyn outpost of Katz’s Deli from the Lower East Side. The Fulton Street Mall has been a shopping mainstay of Brooklyn life since before I was a kid, and after years of decline, is being revitalized with Macys (the original A&S debarment store) having undergone a multi-million dollar renovation. One of Brooklyn’s heritage restaurants Gage & Tollner is slated to be back on the Fulton Mall’s east end, while my favorite Brooklyn classic, the original Junior’s, still anchors the strip closer to Flatbush Avenue with it’s hearty food, and world famous cheesecake since 1950. There is a bustling pace in Downtown Brooklyn with easy access to Manhattan. It’s skyscraper homes often come along with stunning views, and good long-term appreciation potential in our opinion.