85 Adams Street (The Beacon Tower)
85 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
DUMBO, Brooklyn
BBL 3000527501 · BIN 3391222
- Year built
- 2004
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 79
- Floors
- 23
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Standard condominium pet framework; current house-rule specifics (counts, weights) should be confirmed with management during diligence
- Flip tax
- none disclosed in offering plan; confirm current board fees
- Subletting
- permitted subject to board right of first refusal on sales and leases
- Pied-à-terre
- permitted (standard condominium)
- Washer / dryer
- stackable washer/dryer delivered in every unit; no common laundry room
Compiled by The Roebling Research Desk from the building’s offering plan, amendments, and related building documents (primary source dated 2004-12-24). Reported and subject to confirmation. Board policies can change by amendment — confirm at the offer stage.
Every recorded sale at this building, 2007–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $1,231
- Listing discount
- 0.0%
- Recorded sales
- 160
- On record
- 2007–2026
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at The Beacon Tower would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.
The Beacon Tower is DUMBO's first ground-up condominium tower — the building that tested whether the neighborhood's market, built on Robert Gair's converted concrete lofts, would also support new-construction height. When 85 Adams Street LLC, an affiliate of the Leviev Boymelgreen partnership, filed its offering plan in December 2004, DUMBO's residential identity rested almost entirely on Two Trees' warehouse conversions — 1 Main Street, 30 Main Street, 70 Washington Street. The Beacon Tower proposed something structurally different: a slender 23-story, approximately 280-foot shaft at the western edge of the neighborhood, hard against the Manhattan Bridge approach, and for a time the tallest residential structure in DUMBO. The J Condominium at 100 Jay Street and, more than a decade later, the full-block Front & York development followed the premise the Beacon Tower established.
The design is credited in the offering plan to John A. Cetra Architecture, P.C. of CetraRuddy Incorporated — an early ground-up residential commission for the firm that went on to design One Madison and the Walker Tower conversion in Manhattan. The parti responds directly to the site's constraint: rather than a squat mid-rise absorbing bridge and roadway noise across a wide frontage, the building rises as a thin tower, with acoustically engineered window assemblies addressing the adjacent Manhattan Bridge subway crossing. The massing steps back through roof terraces at the 18th, 20th, 22nd, and 23rd floors, and the building terminates in the angled, illuminated crown that gives the tower its name and its presence on the skyline approaching Brooklyn across either bridge.
Inside, the apartment program is calibrated to the DUMBO loft buyer without being a loft building: ceiling heights above ten feet on typical floors, floor-to-ceiling glazing on the tower's long elevations, and — unusual for the 2006 vintage — a stackable washer/dryer delivered in every unit, with no common laundry room in the building at all. The offering plan's budget describes a service posture that remains the building's calling card at its size: 24-hour concierge/security coverage, a superintendent and porter, a ground-floor fitness center, a landscaped garden court off the lobby, a common 22nd-floor terrace, and an on-site parking garage — a full-service package attached to just 79 residences.
The Beacon Tower also carries a diligence history buyers should understand in context. The sponsor reserved the unconditional right to rent rather than sell units — the plan's special-risks section flags this prominently — and Leviev Boymelgreen's broader portfolio wound down in the post-2008 credit contraction. The condominium long ago passed to resident control and operates as a stabilized resale building; the sponsor-era disclosures matter today mainly as a reminder to review the current financials, board minutes, and capital plan the way one would at any 2000s-vintage tower.
Architecture and unit composition
The 79 residential units distribute across floors 2 through 23, above a ground floor holding the lobby, fitness center, and the separately owned commercial/retail unit, with parking in the cellar and at grade. The original Schedule A shows a disciplined line structure — approximately 850-square-foot one-bedrooms on the B and C lines and approximately 1,170-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath corners on the A and D lines — with larger and terraced configurations appearing as the tower sets back above the 18th floor. Setback terraces at the 2nd, 7th, 18th, 20th, 22nd, and 23rd floors are limited common elements of the adjacent units, finished in concrete pavers.
Construction is a fireproofed steel frame with concrete-on-metal-deck floors and steel cross-bracing for wind and seismic loads — a structural system more common in commercial construction than in the poured-concrete residential idiom of the period. The envelope is a pre-engineered panel system faced in brick veneer and metal panel, with aluminum windows engineered for sound attenuation against the bridge. Interiors in the sponsor-finish generation carry the mid-2000s specification: open kitchens, stone baths, and the in-unit laundry closet in every line.
Building operations
The Beacon Tower operates as a full-service condominium. The offering plan's first-year budget staffed the building with a full-time superintendent, a full-time porter, and five rotating concierges providing uninterrupted 24-hour desk coverage — a staffing model the building has maintained in substance. Two passenger elevators serve the tower. Residential electricity is directly metered to each unit; heating and cooling run on a heat-pump system with a rooftop cooling tower.
The building's original managing agent under the plan was independent of the sponsor, and management has been in professional hands since; current managing-agent details, the building's financials, and the capital-project calendar are maintained in The Roebling Research Library and reviewed with clients during diligence.
Policy framework
Purchaser review: The condominium board holds a right of first refusal on sales and leases rather than cooperative-style approval power. Closings run on condominium timelines — typically 30 to 45 days from contract.
Subletting: Permitted subject to the right of first refusal; there is no cooperative-style sublet cap in the governing documents disclosed in the plan. Confirm current minimum-lease terms with management.
Pied-à-terre, LLC, foreign, and trust purchases: Permitted under the standard condominium framework.
In-unit washer/dryer: Delivered in every unit; the building has no common laundry room.
Flip tax / transfer fee: None disclosed in the offering plan; any subsequently adopted transfer or capital-contribution fees should be confirmed at offer stage.
Property taxes: The 421-a schedule described in the offering plan — full exemption followed by a stepped phase-out — has run its course. Underwrite the unit's current full-assessment tax bill and run the True Monthly Carrying Cost analysis against it.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $38,334/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $41
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the engineer identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair before the next inspection cycle. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials for you.
How to read this, and where it comes from
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent).
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
421-a Tax Abatement
- Last year of benefit
- FY2023
- Fully taxed from
- FY2024 (2023–24)
- Program
- 421-a (15-year)
The 421-a benefit has run its term. Taxes on these units have stepped up toward the full assessed amount, so the low carrying cost this building once carried is no longer available. Price from the current tax bill, and treat any comparable sale made while the abatement was still running as a different asset.
Source: NYC Dept. of Finance property-tax exemption records (421-a), refreshed 2026-09-06 · The Roebling Research Library. Confirm the exact step-up schedule on the building’s DOF tax bill. Years shown are NYC tax years, which start July 1 — FY2024 runs July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. The benefit last appears on the 2023 assessment roll, which is what dates the end of the term.
Recent sales
Recent closings at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Prices are the transfer amounts recorded with the NYC Department of Finance; apartment-level detail is checked against the building’s own file in The Roebling Research Library before publishing.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 2026 | 11C | 1 BR · 1 BA · 780 sf | $982,500 | $1,260/sf | -1.3% |
| Oct 10, 2025 | 10B | 1 BR · 1 BA · 779 sf | $925,000 | $1,187/sf | -5.1% |
| Jul 28, 2025 | 6C | 1 BR · 1 BA · 847 sf | $975,000 | $1,151/sf | -2.4% |
| Mar 6, 2024 | 9C | 1 BR · 1 BA · 779 sf | $985,000 | $1,264/sf | -1.0% |
| Dec 28, 2023 | 7D | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,165 sf | $1,295,000 | $1,112/sf | -13.7% |
| Sep 7, 2023 | 5C | 1 BR · 1 BA · 847 sf | $975,000 | $1,151/sf | -2.0% |
| Aug 17, 2022 | 4B | 1 BR · 1 BA · 847 sf | $890,000 | $1,051/sf | -1.0% |
| Jul 28, 2022 | 12D | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,162 sf | $1,475,000 | $1,269/sf | -1.7% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,231/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 0.0% from the last ask.
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
Full closing history with price-per-square-foot over time, the complete retrade record, and every line that has traded.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-00052-7501) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price; square footage from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
What to know if you’re buying
The bridge is the building's defining trade. The Manhattan Bridge approach delivers the western exposures' drama and the neighborhood's transit spine, and the building was engineered around it — the slender massing and acoustic window assemblies exist because of it. Visit the specific unit at multiple times of day and judge the sound attenuation yourself.
The tax abatement era is over. Early resale history in the building reflected 421-a-supported carrying costs; the current bill is at full assessment. Model the real tax number, not the historical one.
Line selection drives value. High-floor corner lines with bridge, harbor, or skyline exposure and terraced setback units behave differently from mid-tower interior lines in both marketing time and price. Anchor negotiations to same-line comparables.
Review the building's capital position. A 2006-vintage tower is in its third decade of façade, roof, and mechanical cycles. Review the current budget, reserve position, and any LL11 program during diligence.
What to know if you’re selling
Sell the service-to-scale ratio. Twenty-four-hour concierge coverage, garden court, fitness center, parking, and in-unit laundry attached to 79 units is a package the surrounding conversion inventory largely cannot match; make it explicit.
Position against the right competitive set. The Beacon Tower is neither a Gair loft nor a 2020s new development; pricing against either without adjustment misleads. The correct anchors are the 2000s tower vintage — 100 Jay Street most directly — adjusted for line and floor.
Lead with the crown and the light. The building's identity — the illuminated crown, the slender profile, the floor-to-ceiling glass — photographs exceptionally well at dusk; the marketing should use it.
Condo mechanics favor speed. Right of first refusal rather than board approval; 30-to-45-day closings are realistic and should be part of the pitch to relocating and investor buyers.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Beacon Tower, also evaluate:
- J Condominium (100 Jay Street) — the other 2000s ground-up DUMBO tower; larger, with a similar full-service posture
- Front & York (85 Jay Street) — the neighborhood's full-block 2021 amenity flagship; higher price tier, resort-scale facilities
- 70 Washington Street — Two Trees' large Gair-building loft conversion; the loft alternative at comparable budgets
- 1 Main Street (The Clock Tower Building) — the trophy Gair conversion on the waterfront; DUMBO's loft pinnacle
- 30 Main Street (The Sweeney Building) — boutique Two Trees conversion; loft character at a smaller scale
- 98 Front Street — 2020s boutique new development; the contemporary-spec alternative
- 51 Jay Street — loft-style conversion on the neighborhood's east side; heavier material character
- 133 Water Street — boutique 2000s condominium inside the historic district; smaller building, private parking
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent. Where this page compares one building or neighborhood to another, that is our analysis of the recorded record — it names the measure, the period and the sample it rests on, and it is an observation about medians rather than a prediction about any particular apartment.
Considering a move at The Beacon Tower?
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