Starchitect Bjarke Ingels has just found his next passion project.
The Danish-born architect — known in New York for Via 57W in Manhattan, the XI in Chelsea and Hudson Yards office tower known as the Spiral — has bought a raw penthouse space at the historic St. George Tower at 111 Hicks St. in Brooklyn Heights for $2.16 million, according to property records.
The landmarked Art Deco building was designed by Emery Roth in the 1920s and served as an addition to the 19th-century St. George Hotel. The raw penthouse space has been on and off the market for almost as long — since $2.49 million in 2010, according to StreetEasy.
The building’s exterior, recently restored, features gargoyles and grotesques of eagles and brickwork of birds along with St. George and the dragon-themed “eagle and sword” motifs. The building boasts a common roof deck with protected views of the city skyline, New York City harbor and Brooklyn.
Ingels has had his eye on this penthouse for years. Back in 2019, he appeared before the Landmarks Preservation Commission with plans for a rooftop addition to the 29th and 30th floors of the building. The plans included the creation of a fake water tower to hold a new elevator shaft, raising the roof deck and adding a pool.
“I have a massive self-interest because I hope to make it my home,” he told the commission, Brownstoner reported. It may have taken three years, but now it looks like the famed designer is getting his way.
Ingels — who heads BIG, the Bjarke Ingels Group, is known for taking on creative challenges. The home he shares in Copenhagen with his wife, Spanish architect Rut Otero, and their young son Darwin, is a converted Norwegian ferry ship, originally named Bukken-Bruse, or “Billy Goats Gruff,” and is featured on the cover of Architectural Digest.
