The closure of Kent Peaker Plant and the construction of new towers continue Williamsburg waterfront’s massive transformation.
One of the most significant changes coming to the Williamsburg waterfront has to do with compliance with New York’s Build Public Renewables Act, a 2023 state law that, among other environmental measures, mandates the replacement of the six peaker plants (natural gas turbine electricity generating stations) in the city with renewable energy systems. One of them is Kent Peaker Plant at 49 River Street, scheduled to close in 2030.
In March, Brooklyn Downtown Star first reported that the real estate developer Two Trees Management proposed a plan related to this facility replacement.
For when a battery energy storage facility is developed to replace the existing peaker plant (the State still needs to issue an RFP for a battery storage facility), Two Trees has suggested a conceptual framework for what the facility with a park decked over it could look like. The proposal consists of a 1.3-acre public park on top of the battery storage, at a gradual upward slope of tentatively 10 feet, according to the details shared in the presentation.
Two Trees representatives highlighted that the energy system would be designed by energy experts chosen by the NYPA. They also said they would collaborate with the Fire Department and that their proposal could become a pilot project for other neighborhood battery storage facilities across the city.
At a Community Board 1 joint committee hearing in March, representatives from the offices of Council Member Lincoln Restler and Assembly Member Emily Gallagher spoke in support of the proposal.
The board voted unanimously to send a letter of support to Governor Kathy Hochul and the NYPA for the hybrid park and energy storage.
If the Two Trees proposal gets approved, the new green space would be next to Two Trees’ River Ring development, currently under construction.
Other developments reshaping the waterfront along Kent Avenue in the near future are a 36-story twin residential skyscraper at 280 Kent Avenue and a 17-story mixed-use building at 289 Kent Avenue.
The twin skyscraper was designed by REX and developed by Two Trees, according to New York Yimby. The development is expected to be completed by 2030. The site published photos of the preliminary rendering and the area under construction.
The 17-story mixed-use building, designed by FXCollaborative for Web Holdings LLC, will include 280 rental apartments—70 of them affordable—as well as commercial, retail and community space. However, the project merits a rezoning before it can move forward.