News
BROOKLYN'S CELEBRITY STATUS
December 3, 2012
| Two things will be growing exponentially and making headlines in the future—Kate's belly and Brooklyn. That's according to panelists at our Future of Brooklyn event Friday (see same day coverage), where 550 joined us at the New York Marriott in Brooklyn to learn about opportunities in the city's fastest-growing borough. |
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| It was only fitting that Brooklyn’s biggest cheerleader—borough prez Marty Markowitz—keynoted. There are many reasons why Brooklyn is the place to be. Watch him highlight just some. |
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| Downtown Brooklyn has had an incredible amount of investment and excitement—who would have thought 3D printing company MakerBot would move from Gowanus to 31k SF at One MetroTech Center, asked Downtown Brooklyn Partnership prez Tucker Reed. “The Brooklyn Tech Triangle will capture that growth long-term,” he says. Over 500 unique tech and creative firms make up the Tech Triangle, account for 30,000 jobs, and will have a $6B impact on the Brooklyn GDP by 2015. |
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| Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp prez Andrew Kimball reports that the Navy Yard is now full—it’s adding another 2M SF of space and has 150 businesses on a waiting list. But he warns tenants are in danger of being priced out, and landlords need to be careful to maintain a balance. Many of the creative tenants want to be in old, interesting buildings. “We have to figure out how to unlock all of this real estate.” |
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| The same growth in Downtown Brooklyn has filled office space in DUMBO and the Navy Yard, says DUMBO Improvement District prez Tom Montvel-Cohen. “[Companies] want to be here because their employees live here. It’s a lifestyle-based move, unlike previous relocations.” |
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| Brooklyn is 80 square miles with 80,000 commercial properties, says CPEX managing partner Brian Leary—and 10% of that is in Downtown Brooklyn. But the borough’s future is not in obvious places, with deeper opportunities in East Flatbush, Canarsie,Gowanus, Red Hook, and other areas. |
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| Muss Development principal Jason Muss says it’s imperative that we connect areas that are operating separately now and places that have space for companies to spawn off into—perhaps with more bus service or a trolley service. (Now that San Francisco has banned public nudity, its morale must be low. Time to strike and take its cable cars as well.) |
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| The other hot topic: affordable housing. Forest City Ratner SVP Melissa Burch says that her firm's 363-unit B2 residential tower—the first residential building in Atlantic Yards and poised to be the tallest modular rental tower in the world—will be 50% low, moderate, and middle-income housing (the rest, market rate). Rising residential prices for market-rate housing are needed for that cross subsidy, she says. The building will break ground Dec. 18 and deliver in 2014. |
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| CohnReznick principal Deborah Levinson moderated. Jason says that the lack of the 421a tax abatement in Manhattan means people are looking in Brooklyn for affordability—although Brooklyn is popular and the number of affordable units available are low, it’s still better than Manhattan. |
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| Of course, we can’t forget the housing and businesses damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Marty, who’d just joined us from storm-ravaged Gerritsen Beach, talked about the Brooklyn Recovery Fund, which will help the thousands of borough residents affected by the storm.Bisnow has pledged $1,000 to the fund—please donate here and stay tuned for more coverage tomorrow. |
