The Marcy Lab School selects Industry City to grow its campus community

Brooklyn, NY According to Industry City, The Marcy Lab School, which offers tuition-free technology fellowships as an alternative to the traditional higher-education model, has signed a lease for 16,500 s/f at the 35-acre creative campus. The Marcy Lab School will use its new space for technology training and administrative uses, along with staff, student, and alumni lounges.

The Marcy Lab School is disrupting the higher education system. Serving young adults who would otherwise be attending traditional four-year colleges, The Marcy Lab School prepares its graduates for full-time careers in high-paying career fields after only one year of full-time study. Their graduates go on to earn an average of $106,000 per year, working for companies such as Spotify, Squarespace, JP Morgan, and The New York Times.

“Core to Industry City’s success has been attracting forward-looking companies and then supporting them with an array of services, including access to quality local talent,” said Jeff Fein, senior vice president of Leasing at Industry City. “The Marcy Lab School embodies both attributes; it’s an innovative business, but it also provides its Fellows with skills critical to the economy of today and of the future. The confluence of Industry City’s tenants across sectors, including startups and tech companies, will provide ample opportunities and prospective partnerships for The Marcy Lab School and its Fellows.”

As an Industry City tenant, The Marcy Lab School will be able to leverage services and existing programming at The Innovation Lab, Industry City’s community job training and entrepreneurship center that’s served 5,000 local job seekers with skills and career placement services since 2016, and provided vital recruitment and growth planning support to local businesses. The Innovation Lab is run by a public-private partnership that includes Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, New York City’s largest youth workforce development agency, Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation, Center for Family Life and Brooklyn Workforce Innovations.

“We were instantly attracted to IC's robust business community and knew that the creative environment would complement our school’s culture of collaboration and hands-on learning,” said Reuben Ogbonna, co-founder and executive director of The Marcy Lab School. “After a challenging 18 months of primarily remote learning, we are excited to start a new chapter at Industry City where our students will have a dedicated space to call home. We look forward to pursuing our goal of launching over 1,000 business and technology careers over the next five years.”

“With a clear understating of Marcy Lab School's mission and program, our team appreciated the significance of creating a permanent home for its students, faculty and greater community. This had to be more than just any space in Brooklyn. We needed to find a campus environment which was aspirational and reflective of a true college experience," said David Carlos, co-head of the Nonprofit Advisory Practice at Savills. "We guided Reuben's team through an exhaustive search of Brooklyn which concluded with an off-market opportunity at Industry City. The collaborative campus environment combined with tech ecosystem at IC are a perfect fit for Marcy Lab School - enabling its students and graduates to thrive."

Industry City was represented by Fein and Matt Stewart, leasing manager at Industry City in the transaction. The Marcy Lab School was represented by Savills Carlos and Michael Bertini, associate director.

The strategic redevelopment of Industry City—launched in 2013 by Belvedere Capital and Jamestown—has generated significant leasing activity and job creation. Over the past eight years, Industry City has invested over $450 million into the property and grown the daily workforce on-site from 1900 to 8500 people.

Industry City is accessible by the D, N, R trains and multiple bus routes including the B35 and B37. Parking is available at 37th and 2nd Ave., along with bike racks and five CitiBike stations.