A Brooklyn rental just leased for a record $25K/month — in an area long home to a polluted canal

Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood has long been linked to its polluted canal. But now, as housing there has developed in recent years and as a clean-up on the superfund site continues, the area has something new to boast.

At the brand-new rental tower at 544 Carroll St., a new tenant has leased a four-bedroom duplex for a cool $25,000 per month. That sky-high price sets what the developer says is a neighborhood record, The Post has learned.

The new occupants are a Brooklyn family — but other details about them weren’t available.

The eye-popping deal is the kind of number any local would expect in Tribeca, along Central Park or in the most polished corners of brownstone Brooklyn. Not here, where the canal’s history still clings to the neighborhood’s identity even as luxury buildings rise and a rezoned future takes shape.

The building was developed by Avery Hall.

In recent years, Gowanus has come a long way. A city-led rezoning approved in late 2021 set the stage for a wave of new housing — market-rate and affordable — plus public waterfront access, new infrastructure and a reshaped streetscape that aims to turn a formerly industrial zone into a full-fledged residential district.

Developers had been quietly assembling sites for years in anticipation of that green light.

Brian Ezra, one of the firm’s founding partners, told The Post the area afforded a good opportunity. And given the lease price of this rental, it paid off.

“One of the things that we’ve seen in so many of these … I call them brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods … there’s a really strong and we think, still underserved market for apartments that are very large and have outdoor space and are very comfortable,” he said.

That thinking led Avery Hall to create a small set of extra-large homes at 544 Carroll, such as the duplex that just rented.

“We did create one particularly large apartment. It’s approximately 2,500 square feet. It has four bedrooms. It has two terraces, one on the living room level and then one above as well, over a 1,000 square feet of terraces,” Ezra said. “And so we listed at $25,000. And we did think there would be demand and there is.”

Marketing materials describe airy ceiling heights, oversized windows, high-end kitchens built around large islands and spa-like bathrooms. Amenities lean hard into greenery and indoor-outdoor living: a planted courtyard visible from the lobby and workspaces, fitness and Pilates areas tied to garden space, and a rooftop set up for sunset views and skyline backdrops.

And yet the $25,000 duplex didn’t fly off the shelf. It had been on the market since October, and Ezra acknowledged that the path to a signed lease included a very specific tweak: making the outdoor space feel livable in a way a floor plan can’t.

“We did not reduce the listing price,” he said. But, he added, “with some of the larger homes that have big outdoor spaces, it can help to do some additional investment … things like including plantings or furnishings on the outdoor space.”

The broader bet is that Gowanus can compete for affluent renters who could, on paper, choose almost anywhere. Ezra doesn’t pretend the price doesn’t open other doors.

“At this kind of monthly price tag, a family has a choice to live in several really great neighborhoods in Manhattan or Brooklyn,” he said.

So why choose a canal-adjacent duplex in a neighborhood still in the middle of a metamorphosis?

Part of it is a family logic that’s been creeping outward from Park Slope for years: schools, after-school activities, kid infrastructure, parks and a desire to stay close to Manhattan without living in it.

Gowanus, for its part, is becoming easier to advertise as more than a gritty shortcut between shinier neighborhoods.

“Gowanus is so connected to transit. It’s walkable to all these other great neighborhoods,” Ezra said. “There’s cool restaurants. There’s art galleries. And then you can walk up to Prospect Park or down to Brooklyn Bridge Park. It’s so centrally located… Even though… [it] does have an industrial history and it’s still transitioning… it’s also part of the character… that makes [it] a cool neighborhood.”

The next chapter, he believes, will be defined by the canal itself becoming less of a stigma and more of an asset — especially as public access expands.

“I think one of the biggest transformations that we’re going to see… is… the centerpiece of the neighborhood is Gowanus canal itself,” Ezra said. “With the cleanup of the canal and all the new development along it… we’re still only seeing maybe half or less of the canal front is accessible today… in a few years from now… you’ll see most of the canal front be completed.”