This Penthouse in the Oosten (Dutch for “east”) development in South Williamsburg offers novel design cues, and reflects the larger project’s emphasis on being “a community within a community”

by matt Scanlon

Frank Lloyd Wright once observed that, “The architect must be a prophet… if he can’t see at least ten years ahead, don’t call him an architect.”

In the profusion of high-rise, near waterfront condo developments being built literally faster than we can report on them, the architectural collective seems to predict a future of western Brooklyn marked by shimmering altitude, one that mirrors the financial district’s hunger for airspace. There are more than a few artists, architects, and urban planners, however, who lament that much of the borough’s indelible identity is being lost in the process—that simply installing another Manhattan where Brooklyn used to be would be to the ultimate diminishment of both.

The Metro Tech Center-based Think! Architecture and Design, PLLC, however, had a alternate vision when it came to the Oosten project at 429 Kent Street in South Williamsburg. Its strategy for the city block-long development maintained the low-rise scale of the neighborhood, with façades articulated to provide what the firm described as “an elegant urban order that combines a restrained material palette with rich relief and articulation… all enlivening the street life and urban experience.”

With builders XIN Development Group International, Interior Designer Piet Boon, and marketing and sales via Halstead Property Development Marketing, the Oosten (Dutch for “east”) is unquestionably one of the most unique developments in this fast-changing marketplace, with 216 units ranging in price from just over $1 million to $6.5 million, and layouts varying from one-bedroom units to five- and six-bedroom penthouses. Property for the project was acquired in 2012, and construction is scheduled for completion in late summer.

This visual tour includes one of three remaining penthouse units available for sale—a home that puts the bravura sensibilities of the Dutch interior designer on theatrical display. Boon’s portfolio includes a four-year design-repurposing of the former office-dominated Park Avenue Building in Manhattan (now named Huys) into 58 apartments, and the current redesign of One Wall Street.
For this residence, as with so many in the complex, his fascination with combining interior and exterior spaces is apparent, perhaps most pivotally in the floor-to-ceiling windows (sound insulated), and the entrances to the two outdoor patio spaces.

“If you walk into a Boon project, you immediately feel at home,” explained Shelley Wasserman, a sales agent for Oosten and licensed associate real estate broker for Halstead. “There are signature design elements, such as the foot-high baseboards and matte enamel design for casework and cabinetry. Everything is elegant and understated. His work allows an owner’s personality to come into its own on a sort of ungesso’d campus. You put whatever your personality is on top of it.”

Nicole Spread

As with a relatively small number of interior space thinkers, Boon also designs furniture, with a nod to both comfort and an industrial-chic aesthetic, and home purchasers have the option of utilizing his pieces or supplying their own.

“They are just timeless,” added Wasserman. “He likes to blend the industrial with contemporary design, and the result has a unique feel to it, oversized and comfortable… and adds to the décor without calling undue attention to itself. Almost everything is designed in Italy, including the appliance packages.”

Custom millwork throughout is likewise by Boon, and the penthouse also includes wide-plank white oak floors, oversized, punched-out, metal trimmed, and energy-efficient glass windows (complete with sound attenuation), a multizone heating and cooling system, and custom Jacuzzis. Kitchen amenities are highlighted by Boon custom cabinetry in lacquered matte white, countertops and backsplash of three-quarter-inch-thick Carrera honed marble, and a stainless steel double bowl undermount sink with brushed stainless steel faucet. Appliances include a Viking 48″ custom paneled refrigerator and 48″ SMEG (an appliance company out Guastalla, Italy) stainless steel range with 5-gas burners, electric grill, and double oven, along with the same maker’s 24″ custom paneled dishwasher and stainless steel hood. There’s also an integrated stainless steel microwave and Viking custom paneled ice maker.

Master baths are, likewise, decked out in imported marble, with a custom vanity by Boon in lacquered matte white and fixtures by Newform in brushed stainless steel.

Wasserman was quick to explain that, however enviable a roster of penthouse amenities are on hand, it’s actually in the intergrated nature of the complex where the project lives and breathes best, its pièce de résistance without question is the 175′ x 145′ central courtyard.

“There, you really see the community within the community,” she observed. “Most of the homes face it, and it’s just beautifully landscaped—an area that will host trees and garden areas, and an entrance to the 53-foot lap pool and attached atrium.”

The space is not the only outdoor common area, however. Three of the four rooftops are available to all residents, and provide seating areas, gas grills, and additional landscaping, as well as “dozens of little nooks and crannies where residents can sit, relax, and for a moment forget they are in the city,” said Wasserman.

Additional community resources include a juice and coffee bar, fitness center, residents lounge, library, a live-in resident manager, steam and sauna room, 24-hour concierge, children’s playroom, indoor parking, and a dedicated storage unit for each residence.

There’s also an unexpected financial component to the penthouse and other homes within Oosten: provision for 421-a tax abatement. Originally designed for new developments in under-recognized parts of the city where such incentive could mean the difference between a building boon or bust, the abatement is offered far less commonly now in the ongoing construction frenzy, is a surprising asset in this already tony part of town, and one of the reasons why the development was nearly 70% sold at time of press.

“It’s a 15-year reduction in property taxes,” Wasserman said, “in which a certain dollar amount is paid by the state, and then the rest by the community based upon each home’s square footage. It’s quite the unexpected advantage here.”

Potential buyers or simply those interested in interior design can attend an “Evening with Piet Boon,” which will be held at the Oosten Sales Gallery at 53 Broadway in Williamsburg on June 24 from 6 to 9 p.m. The event will include the designer unveiling his latest furniture pieces, and signing copies of Piet Boon III (Lannoo Publishers, 2011).

Oosten Williamsburg
429 Kent Avenue / theoosten.com
Halstead Property Development Marketing Sales Office
53 Broadway / 718.878.1794 / halstead.com