250-unit rental building opens in Brooklyn

The Lois, an eight-story, 250-unit residential building, has opened on the border of Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and East Flatbush in Brooklyn. The building features a mix of middle-income and market rate residences from studios to three bedrooms as well as 6,000 sf of ground floor retail.

The $105 million, 227,000-sf project includes amenities such as an expansive roof terrace with barbecues, a top-floor tenant lounge, a gym with a separate yoga room, a children’s room with a private outdoor play area and splash pad, a screening room, a self-service pet spa, a quiet lounge, and a game room. Residents also have access to 125 parking spaces and a 41-unit tenant storage room in the cellar.

The Lois rooftop space

The building’s facade features recessed masonry expressions and copper panel accents meant to reference the growing neighborhood’s industrial past. Apartment units include washers and dryers, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, and central heating and cooling though an energy efficient VRF system.

The LEED Platinum certified building has set aside 75 units (30% of the building’s total) for households earning between 110% and 130% of Area Median Income. The Lois is the second building in a phased project bringing a total of more than 400 apartments to Brooklyn’s East Flatbush – Prospect-Lefferts Gardens neighborhood. The first building, The Clark at 310 Clarkson Avenue, opened in 2019.

The Lois apartment living room

The Lois apartment kitchen space

One of the hardest decisions multifamily developers and their design teams have to make is what mix of amenities they’re going to put into each project. A lot of squiggly factors go into that decision: the type of community, the geographic market, local recreation preferences, climate/weather conditions, physical parameters, and of course the budget. The permutations are mind-boggling.

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