See the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ headquarters sign before Kushner Cos.’ joint venture removes it

Eye on Real Estate: 'Watchtower' sign's days are numbered

November 29, 2017 By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Hark! It's the Watchtower sign, seen from Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Eagle photos by Lore Croghan

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Get a good look. Its days are numbered.

The iconic Watchtower sign, whose red electric glow can be seen from the Brooklyn Bridge and the shoreline of Lower Manhattan, is still standing atop the former world headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Brooklyn Heights.

For now.

In June, the city Buildings Department okayed a plan by the old headquarters’ new owners to remove the 15-foot-tall letters that spell out the word “Watchtower” from the roof of 25-30 Columbia Heights.

They will leave the sign’s framework intact, Buildings Department records indicate.

The religious organization’s former headquarters now belongs to a joint venture called Columbia Heights Associates that’s made up of the Kushner Cos., CIM Group and LIVWRK.

Kushner Cos. was headed by Jared Kushner until he stepped aside to serve as senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump.

The joint venture is currently working to transform the old Watchtower property into an office complex called Panorama. It will have about 635,000 square feet of Class-A office space and about 35,000 square feet of stores and public space for arts and culture.

The new owners haven’t revealed what name will replace the Watchtower’s atop their Columbia Heights property.

They paid $340 million for the former headquarters complex, city Finance Department records show.

Kushner Cos. and various investment partners have spent about $1 billion to buy Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO properties from the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Watchtower has been selling off its real estate in the two neighborhoods because it has moved its world headquarters to upstate Warwick, New York.