A joint initiative of Boston Properties, Inc., Rudin Development and WeWork, in conjunction with the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. (BNYDC), is developing a new 675,000 s/f building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to cater to the rapidly emerging technology and creative industries in the borough. The $380 million building, named Dock 72 at The Brooklyn Navy Yard, will be one of the largest city commercial buildings to be built outside of Manhattan in decades.
The new project comes just weeks after the de Blasio administration announced the $140 million redevelopment of Admirals Row and follows the conversion of Building 77 into a one million s/f innovation and manufacturing hub. Collectively, these new additions to the Navy Yard represent a massive expansion that will increase Brooklyn's competitiveness and spur thousands of new, good jobs.
WeWork is a platform for creators, leading the movement toward a new way of working. WeWork provides space, community, and services to a diverse range of members that includes technology, art and design, e-commerce, fashion, and non-profits amongst others. WeWork will anchor the new building with a 222,000 s/f lease, reinforcing the Brooklyn Navy Yard as one of the largest concentrations of small and start-up businesses in the region.
When fully occupied, the building will house 4,000 jobs. According to the agreement between the development team and BNYDC, all tenants in the building will pay a living wage to their employees, making it the first new development in Brooklyn with such a commitment. To ensure local residents benefit from the opportunities to be created, tenants will partner with the Brooklyn Navy Yard Employment Center to match nearby residents with job opportunities. BNYDC and the developers also have agreed to significantly expand BNYDC's existing internship program. The developers will set aggressive goals for MWBE hiring and contracting.
"From start-ups to expanding firms, this new workspace is going to put thousands of New Yorkers to work and help launch the next great wave of home-grown innovation. We are growing the Navy Yard's capacity for manufacturing, tech and the maker economy faster than any time in its modern history. We are thrilled to work with Boston Properties, Rudin Development and WeWork to bring this new space online and keep building on the Navy Yard's incredible success story," said NYC Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen.
"The tenants that occupy this new building will contribute to the modern industrial ecosystem of the Yard—where technology, design and manufacturing converge. The shared work space will nurture hundreds of small businesses and spark the next generation of large-scale employers in the Yard," said BNYDC President and CEO David Ehrenberg. "Furthermore, this type of large, private-sector investment signals a watershed moment in the growth of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Thanks to this vote of confidence from respected investors and developers and this partnership with WeWork, BNYDC will be able to attract additional top creative and industrial firms that will create thousands of jobs for local residents."
Construction of the 16-story building is scheduled to begin in late 2015 with an anticipated tenant delivery in late 2017 and the project will seek LEED certification. The site is centrally located within the Yard on a 60,000 s/f strip of land jutting out into the East River between two active dry-docks, offering panoramic views of the City and the activity of the Navy Yard. The building design created by S9 Architecture, an affiliate of Perkins Eastman, celebrates the surrounding maritime and industrial history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and is designed to drive innovation and collaboration between tenants. The building will feature floor plates from 40,000 to 60,000 s/f, offering contiguous and easily demisable blocks of space for a variety of tenant sizes. Highlights of the 35,000 s/f amenity package curated by WeWork include a health and wellness center, specialty food and beverage offerings and a rooftop conference center.
"We are delighted to expand our relationship with WeWork and to partner with the Rudin Family and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation to create one of New York's most unique new buildings designed specifically for the needs of the growing creative and technology community," said Owen Thomas, CEO of Boston Properties.
"The Rudin Family is proud and thrilled to be collaborating with the Brooklyn Navy Yard, WeWork and Boston Properties in this groundbreaking development that will significantly enhance the diversity and appeal of the Brooklyn Navy Yard as an innovative center for job creation and business growth," stated Bill and Eric Rudin, Managing Partners of Rudin Development.

"The Brooklyn Navy Yard development project is the perfect example of what is possible when major industry players such as Boston Properties, Rudin Development and WeWork, unite and collaborate with the public sector," said Adam Neumann, Founder & CEO of WeWork. "This will be a model for other cities across the U.S., to demonstrate how WeWork can bring together the right partners and city officials to ignite local business and expand our community of members."

"This building will be a boon to the modern, industrial ecosystems of both Brooklyn and the entire City, as it supports 4,000 new jobs and the growth of small businesses," said BNYDC Chair Hank Gutman. "This is another important milestone in the growth of the Navy Yard."


The construction of this building is part of BNYDC's mission to support the growth of good-paying, modern industrial jobs. With this project, BNYDC now has nearly $750 million of construction activity underway or in the planning stages. Other projects include:

Building 77: 1 million-square-foot building undergoing a $140 million renovation to accommodate a mix of job-intensive businesses that support 21st Century manufacturing;
Green Manufacturing Center: 250,000-square-foot, $66 million adaptive reuse of a former machine shop building, nearing completion;
Admirals Row: $140 million redevelopment led by Steiner NYC. The site will consist of a 74,000-square-foot grocery store, Wegmans; 78,000 square feet of retail space; 126,000 square feet of light industrial space, and 7,000 square feet of community facility space.


The 300-acre Brooklyn Navy Yard, the leading industrial park in New York City with 3.5 million square feet of leasable space, consisting of 40 rentable buildings housing over 300 businesses, is fully occupied. The city-owned Navy Yard is currently undergoing its largest expansion since WWII and is expected to house 15,000 jobs by 2020 with the addition of over two million square feet of space. Employment in the Yard has increased from 3,600 jobs in 2001 to over 7,000 jobs today. Tags: