When it comes to jobs and start-ups, New York City is gearing up to grow its own.
Shared office space provider WeWork yesterday (Monday) unveiled Dock 72 at Brooklyn Navy Yards, a massive workspace that the company claims will be one of the largest commercial properties built in the outer boroughs in decades.
The $380 milllion building, which will be developed by Boston Properties and Rudin Development, will house a 222,000 s/f space for WeWork with the rest of the property earmarked for other companies from the technology and small-scale manufacturing industries.
Construction for the planned 675,000 s/f building is scheduled for later this year.
Once completed, the property promises to have a meaningful effect on local job growth with its requirement that commercial tenants pay living wages to its estimated 4,000 employees.
“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,” said Alicia Glen, the deputy mayor in charge of housing and economic development.
The property, which will be located on a 60,000 s/f strip that extends to the East River, was designed by S9 Architecture, with a scheme that “celebrates the surrounding maritime and industrial history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.”
It also contains 35,000 s/f of amenities such as a health and wellness center and a rooftop conference center.
“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 David Ehrenberg, the president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation.
WeWork, which was recently valued at $10 billion, has 16 locations around New York City, renting out private offices for as low as $650 per month. The company will move into the building starting in late 2017.
The announcement is the latest in a string of construction projects planned for the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Last May, the Navy Yard’s board approved the redevelopment of Admiral’s Row, which used to contain Civil War-era houses. The project, which was awarded to Steiner NYC, is estimated to cost $140 million.
There is also ongoing renovation work at Building 77, with the aim of converting the one million s/f facility into a manufacturing hub. The property, which New York City Mayor called “the centerpiece of the Yard,” is being renovated with $140 million in funding from the city.
