The developer who’s bringing luxury condos to Brooklyn Bridge Park is set to buy the once-glorious Bossert Hotel – where the Dodgers celebrated their only World Series championship when they played in the borough – and convert it into student housing.
Robert Levine will pay about $92 million to close the deal with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the publishing arm of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, sources said. The deal is expected to be finalized next month.
“Our plan would be to renovate the building’s interior, turning it into student housing, while retaining the building’s landmark exterior and the Bossert name,” said Levine.
The 14-story building at 98 Montague St., was called the “Waldorf-Astoria of Brooklyn” in its heyday but is now used as living quarters for the religious group.
Levine also is converting another ex-Watchtower site on Furman Street into a 449-condo complex.
Built in 1909, the former Hotel Bossert is a developer’s dream. It’s located in one of the Big Apple’s priciest neighborhoods and includes panoramic views of New York Harbor and the Manhattan skyline.
Besides hosting the Dodgers’ post-World Series gala in 1955, the hotel served as home to many Dodgers in the 1950s, including Johnny Podres, Don Zimmer and Sandy Amoros.
The Witnesses have been a mainstay in Brooklyn Heights since setting up their world headquarters there in 1909. In 2004, they began moving some of their operations upstate and selling their Brooklyn sites for hefty profits.