NEW YORK CITY-Closing out the second annual Brooklyn Real Estate Summit on Thursday with an engaging story, developer Jed Walentas, principal, Two Trees Management, spoke of his company's large-scale project planned at the former Domino Sugar factory.
As the audience sat in rapt attention, Walentas detailed the rationale behind his company's revamp of the project's original plan, which was done in March. Slated to take 10 to 15 years to build—at a cost of $1.5 billion dollars—the Domino site will include over 630,000 square feet of office space, 2.3 million square feet of residential space, 79,000 square feet of retail offerings, a park and even a 140,000-square foot school or recreational facility. Two Trees hopes to break ground next year.
Two Trees sees the addition of office space as the best way to make the sprawling 11-acre complex come alive, even if it means taking a loss, Walentas explained.
“To create a neighborhood and sense of place, the best thing is to build commercial, even though we know rents for residential will be in the mid to high $50s while, for office, it'll be in the 20s,” he said. “But commercial adds an interest and a vitality.
“There's been almost no new office space built in Brooklyn, in spite of the population growth,” he added, “and we're a well-capitalized company so we can afford to take a long-range view and make that sacrifice.” As for what companies will likely come into the project, Walentas asserts, “we think we can attract the same types of companies as those that are in Williamsburg.
On the residential front, the project's unique architecture and a shortening of blocks as the project approaches the waterfront will allow for much greater air and light injection into the site as compared to previous plans. “It transforms the green space to a public park, versus a backyard for residents.” The buildings will include several of the factory's relics, he noted.
For retail, Walentas is focused on luring local merchants and small stores rather than big boxes and chains. “If you get local operators, you bring in the community; if you put in Duane Reade stores, you get people who need to buy toothpaste.”
The talk ended a one-day long conference on the state of real estate affairs in Brooklyn. Covering everything from cultural facilities and residential development to tenant buyouts and financing, the event was held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It was hosted by TerraCRG, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and aptsandlofts.com.
TerraCRG founder and president Ofer Cohen previously told GlobeSt.com that the conference was called for in the wake of Brooklyn's skyrocketing popularity. The Brooklyn market probably is one of the most interesting markets in the world right now because of how it's growing after the recession. Many investors are looking at, or in, this market,” he said.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
