Ritz-Carlton is Taking Over a Historic Brooklyn Heights Hotel

By Michael Gonik

Brooklyn Heights, that quiet suburb-coded center of posh and opulence in the northwestern corridor of Kings County, will soon be home to the very first Ritz-Carlton residence on this side of the East River.

According to The Real Deal, construction is slated to begin later this year on the conversion of 98 Montague, formerly the century-old Hotel Bossert, into Ritz-Carlton’s Brooklyn debut of “branded” luxury condos. Developers Marriott International and SomeraRoad are behind the project, which will include a space on the ground floor for Danny Meyer’s first full-service restaurant in Brooklyn, on top of the standard Ritz-Carlton amenities, like an attended 24-hour lobby and additional residential services.

It marks a new chapter for the storied 14-level Bossert, which, per Brooklyn Paper, was built in 1909 by a lumber mogul, hosted the victory party for the World Series-winning 1955 Dodgers, and was once considered “Brooklyn’s Waldorf-Astoria” before it was bought by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 1980s as housing for visiting church members. The Church sold the Renaissance Revival building in 2013 to David Bistricer and Joseph Chetrit, who intended to return the building to early-twentieth-century form with an elaborate restoration. But the plan stalled out, and by 2019, the building was nearly abandoned, remaining in a sort of development purgatory through the pandemic, until last year, when it was bought by SomeraRoad for $100 million from Beach Point Capital (who had acquired the property at a foreclosure auction from Chetrit).

Details on the building’s offerings, beyond the 61 residential units, like the timeline for construction and when we might get to dine at Meyer’s new restaurant, remain slim. But it appears the developers are eyeing a 2029 open. Stay tuned for updates in the months ahead.