At a virtual town hall held on March 22, Totem Group, a Brooklyn-based real estate development firm, shared preliminary plans to build a large mixed-use building next to the busy station complex. Totem’s proposal calls for the construction of four high-rise towers, with two including housing, one offering 400 units of senior housing and the other offering another 200 units. In addition, the development would include 1.1 million square feet of retail and commercial space and the removal of a block-long stretch of Herkimer Street that runs through the proposed space. 

While planning for the development is still in the early stages, with Totem only having submitted a pre-application statement for the plan, elected officials and community activists have already begun voicing their concerns. In an area that has fallen into disrepair and blight, individuals, such as Councilmember Sandy Nurse, who represents the neighborhoods surrounding Broadway Junction, believe development should come through the city rather than a private developer and include the community in the planning process. 

Even with Totem promising the availability of 100% affordable housing in two of its towers, local housing activists believe the development will set a bad precedent and negatively impact residents by increasing population density and driving up property values. Totem is now awaiting its application to enter public review, in which the proposal will then be subject to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).