Those new, bold visions along the Brooklyn waterfront aren’t just luxury residential playgrounds. Despite record vacancies in Manhattan, developers are betting on prime office space that’s closer to the Kings County homes of the booming borough’s workers.
It’s another case where the old adage “location, location, location” pays dividends. Office tenants in Brooklyn don’t pay commercial rent tax and all these new buildings are eligible for various tax credits and energy programs that can slash as much as $30 per foot from the asking rents.
The reinvention of the derelict Domino sugar factory by Two Trees at 300 Kent Ave. along the East River waterfront is the prime example. The Refinery at Domino Sugar is a long-in-the-works labor of love where the developer has inserted a new glass cube containing 460,000 square feet of modern offices set several feet behind the restored façade.
Greenery cascades from both hanging pots and trees. Above, a dramatic glass atrium hosts amenity spaces. Views of the East River and Manhattan peek through the arched brick openings of the former factory.
Outside, a modern fountain attracts passersby along the esplanade while metal corkscrews that once carried sugar from floor to floor act as curlicue sculptures.
A CBRE team led by Mary Ann Tighe is in charge of leasing with asking rents starting in the $60s per foot.
A few blocks north along Kent Avenue at 10 Grand St., Two Trees is behind another new-build boutique office project nestled under the inverted “L” of its One South First residential tower.
Office amenities are spread over 17,000 square feet and include a rooftop with cabanas, a 48-seat screening theater, casual seating, conference rooms, a library, outdoor terraces and a fitness center along with a bike lobby and storage. Just one of its 6,000-square-foot floors is available.
The smallest of the new projects is 300 Huntington at the corner of Smith Street, which was developed by Monadnock Development and designed by both Dattner Architects and Bernheimer Architecture.
This six-story, 136,000-square-foot project sits along the upcoming mile-long public esplanade and walkway along the Gowanus Canal.
Founded nearly 50 years ago in Gowanus, Monadnock Development and Monadnock Construction will move their headquarters to 37,000 square feet on the second and third floors.
The fourth floor has 7,000 square feet of public and private terraces while the remaining 48,825 square feet on the fourth through sixth floors are available via Patrick Dugan of CBRE with an asking rent of $55 per foot.
A 5,000-square-foot space targeted for light industrial on the second floor will be occupied by the doll and animal toy maker, Hazel Village, which partners with artisans in Peru, Nepal, Cambodia and Colombia as well as in Brooklyn. Ryan Condren of JLL is the agent for 17,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor.
Further north in Dumbo, Edward J. Minskoff Equities has developed 29 Jay St. at Plymouth Street as an “architectural gem” and the first ground-up office building ever built in the neighborhood.
Designed by Marvel Architects to be historically compatible, it is scheduled to open this year with 252,000 square feet in just eleven stories. The exterior is clad in beige-colored, reinforced concrete with a geometric pattern that circles its floor-to-ceiling windows. Amenities include a beautiful roof deck with stunning Manhattan and East River views. Gensler architects consulted on the organization of the side-core floor plates of nearly 24,000 square feet.
“[29 Jay St.]’s roof has great furnishings with unbelievable views of the park and city.”
Edward Minskoff, developer
“The roof has great furnishings with unbelievable views of the park and city,” said developer Edward Minskoff.
Peter Turchin of CBRE, who heads the leasing team, said area office tenants that have been located within converted industrial buildings are ready for fresh digs.
“This has higher slabs, bigger windows and fewer columns,” Turchin said. Asking rents are $95 to $110 per foot that are then slashed by the various incentive programs.
The building also has 12,000 square feet of retail, as well as bike parking. Meanwhile, a below-grade amenity area boasts a locker room, showers, yoga room, a gym with Pelatons, a lounge and a conference area with a prep kitchen.
“We believe that people that have a lot of employees in Brooklyn prefer to stay in Brooklyn,” Minskoff said. “They will be able to utilize the roof deck to watch the [Fourth of July] fireworks.”
Downtown Brooklyn also has two new towers that offer boutique floor plates and “would take on all comers,” said Joe Cirone of CBRE.
Catty corner to the upcoming Willoughby Square Park, Savanna Real Estate has developed 141 Willoughby St. with 400,000 square feet designed by Fogarty Finger and SLCE. The 24-story triangular project is on a full block bounded by Willoughby and Gold streets and Flatbush Avenue. Rents rise from the $60s per foot in the base to the $80s in the tower.
“If the building was on Park Avenue it would be $300 per foot,” said Howard Fiddle, who heads the CBRE leasing team. “The lobby is so elegant and has a winding, beautiful staircase that goes up to a library, lounge and a bar.”
“The lobby is so elegant and has a winding, beautiful staircase that goes up to a library, lounge and a bar.”
Howard Fiddle, head of the CBRE leasing team for 141 Willoughby St.
This second floor also has a conference center while the property’s 10th-floor tenant lounge and conference center hosts a mother’s room along with a fitness center and landscaped outdoor terrace. The 20th floor has 16,658 square feet for offices, plus its own private terrace.
A single large tenant could also create a building-within-a-building in 152,747 square feet on the third to eighth floors of 21,821 square feet each and utilize a separate entrance and elevator bank.
Nearby, One Willoughby Square, aka 1WSQ, was developed by JEMB — the Jerome and Bailey families — and at 540 feet high, is now the borough’s tallest office building.
“The top of the house is really unbelievable with 360 views from Manhattan to Long Island,” said Paul Amrich of CBRE, who heads the leasing team. “It’s incredible.”
The building sits along Duffield Street and has an additional entrance that will open directly onto the new, 1-acre Willoughby Square Park. The 500,000-square-foot project has roughly 190,000 square feet remaining to lease at the top of the tower with asking rents from around $70 to $85 per foot.
Partner Dan Kaplan of FXCollaborative designed the tower as “an industrial loft for the 21st century” on a T-shaped lot that allows for wide open floor plates of about 14,500 square feet.
FXCollaborative is even moving its own offices to three stories of the 34-story development which will host a middle school on lower floors and will also have its own entrance. Other tenants include the Ms. Foundation for Women, the media agency Big Spaceship and medical fintech Propel.
“Its quality and stature have allowed us to capture a lot of the [leasing] momentum,” said Amrich. “There is no risk in signing a lease in this building.”