Dive Brief:
- The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has announced a deal with developer JEMB Realty to build a 400,000-square-foot office tower in Brooklyn, NY, scuttling plans for a 65-story residential tower that was originally planned for that site, Curbed reported.
- The 40-story office building, which will include commercial space, parking and green space, will be the second tallest building in Brooklyn and the first ground-up commercial development since the area was rezoned in 2004.
- The NYCEDC agreed to sell 120,000 square feet of air rights to JEMB with the provision that the space would be commercial instead of residential. Architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox is designing the building in conjunction with both the NYCEDC and JEMB. The project is scheduled to break ground next year and be completed in 2018.
Dive Insight:
This move comes in the wake of a flurry of office construction in New York, reaching its highest level in 25 years. However, the majority of that new office space is expected to be in Manhattan, rather than the surrounding boroughs.
New York Building Congress President Richard Anderson said in August, "Despite efforts in recent years to spur office construction in business districts outside Manhattan’s commercial core, Manhattan remains the only truly viable option for most companies."
The JEMB office building is set to be the second tallest building in Brooklyn, behind the planned 1,000-foot residential tower nearby from developer JDS.
JEMB Chairman Morris Bailey told Bloomberg of the new office tower: "We're building this for long-term, for my grandkids. We're not guys who flip for profit. We don't do that. We build for our future."