Williamsburg Wharf’s Next Phase Extends Brooklyn’s Residential Edge Along the East River

BROOKLYN — Williamsburg’s East River shoreline is being reshaped by a multibuilding residential project that pairs high-end housing with planned public waterfront space. Naftali Group’s 2026 company update says the first phase of Williamsburg Wharf, comprising three towers, was completed in late 2025, while the second phase was well underway. The developer describes the larger project as a five-tower community at the water’s edge. Its account is a construction update from an interested party, not an independent evaluation of neighborhood effects.

The project’s design plan calls for residences, retail and cultural space, along with a waterfront park, a pedestrian and cycling route, and outdoor gathering areas. Naftali’s announcement identifies an architecture and design team that includes Brandon Haw Architecture, COOKFOX, Rockwell Group, Ward + Gray, Studio Munge, Hill West, SCAPE and Future Green Studio. The mix puts public-facing landscape alongside private residential amenities, an increasingly familiar approach to large waterfront sites where housing meets the shoreline.

The scale makes the design choices consequential beyond the project boundary. The site sits along Kent Avenue between Division Street and South 11th Street, and the developer says it includes more than 525 feet of East River frontage. Towers, ground-floor activity, paths and landscaping can change how residents and visitors encounter a waterfront that had long been part of the borough’s working and industrial edge. Whether those spaces feel connected to nearby blocks will depend on access, maintenance and the ways the built project meets existing streets.

Naftali’s May 2026 update says the initial three towers were complete and construction on the second phase was advancing. The remaining work will determine when the full five-tower plan and its waterfront spaces are delivered. For Brooklyn’s luxury market, Williamsburg Wharf illustrates how residential developers are pairing premium housing with public-facing open space on the East River. Its scale also makes the quality of the connection between private buildings, the waterfront path and surrounding streets an important measure of the project’s contribution to the neighborhood.