The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) announced the $42 million closing on financing for the redevelopment of Building 127, the last remaining adaptive reuse project at the Yard.
The restoration of the historic building, originally built for boat construction by the U.S. Navy in 1904, will add 95,000 square feet of modern industrial and manufacturing space and deliver more than 300 permanent jobs.
BNYDC will serve as developer and market the space in-house.
BNYDC sought creative financing options that would enable it to execute on its mission to provide affordable space to manufacturing and industrial companies.
The redevelopment was financed through a combination of New Markets Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, private debt, and New York City Capital.
Financing and capital support were provided by a range of private and public partners including Goldman Sachs, Chase, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, New York City Regional Center, McCormack Baron Salazar, NYC Neighborhood Capital Corporation, Dudley Ventures Community Investment and the City of New York.
Administered by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New Markets Tax Credit Program attracts private capital into low-income communities by providing a federal income tax credit to individual and corporate investors in exchange for making equity investments in those neighborhoods.
The new space, designed by S9 Architecture with construction managed by Turner Construction Company, woll be complete by early 2020. BNYDC officially closed on the financing late last month and construction is underway.
“The redevelopment of Building 127 will add 300 good-paying jobs and marks a turning point from the redevelopment of our historic buildings to new construction,” said David Eherenberg, President & CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation.
“Thanks to the vision and support of our financial partners, who helped us craft an innovative deal to further our mission of creating high-quality middle class jobs.”
“As the final piece of the tremendous effort to redevelop historic buildings at the Navy Yard, Building 127 epitomizes what made this effort so important for New Yorkers: transforming underutilized space into places growing businesses can call home,” said Margaret Anadu, managing director and head of the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group.
“We are excited about our long-term public-private partnership with the Navy Yard and continuing to support its successful creation of a new blueprint for revitalizing urban manufacturing and thoughtfully creating quality jobs that offer an accessible pathway to the middle class.”
The historically sensitive gut renovation of Building 127 will include reopening and replacing oversized windows; restoring original clear heights and column-free floorplates; and installing new building systems, elevators and renovated loading docks.
Building 127 will offer 30,000 s/f column-free floor plates. Clear heights on the ground and second floor are 20 feet, while the third floor’s ceiling is largely more than 30 feet high. The third floor features views of the Williamsburg Bridge and the Manhattan skyline.
The Yard’s current $1 billion expansion has relied largely on the adaptive reuse of historic buildings, which BNYDC will have exhausted with the redevelopment of Building 127.
