NEW YORK CITY—A joint venture of CIM Group, Kushner and LIVWRK has acquired a development parcel at 85 Jay St. in Brooklyn from Watchtower Real Estate. The JV did not disclose the purchase price for the 135,000-square-foot parking lot in Brooklyn's Dumbo neighborhood; the New York Post reported it late Tuesday at $345 million.
“85 Jay Street has long been the hole in the Dumbo doughnut,” says Asher Abehsera, founder and CEO of LIVWRK. “We aim to introduce a world-class project to the vibrant waterfront district.”
Adds Laurent Morali, president of Kushner, “85 Jay has tremendous upside, and we're eager to begin its transformation into a dynamic project just steps from the Dumbo Heights office campus and Brooklyn Bridge Park. We're excited to continue our work in Brooklyn with the CIM/LIVWRK team.”
The 85 Jay parcel will support 1.1 million square feet of development as of right, the Post reported. “Our goal is to use our current zoning and utilize it the best we can and work with the consultants and community [so it] will blend and fit in the community,” CIM principal Shaul Kuba told the Post. “We need to finalize the consultants and dive into it.”
The acquisition follows the partnership's $340-million buy of 25-30 Columbia Heights, the historic Brooklyn Heights headquarters of the Jehovah's Witnesses, from Watchtower Real Estate this past August. The Witnesses plan to vacate the property and move their headquarters upstate to Warwick, NY. Three years earlier, Kushner, LIVWRK and RFR had made another deal for Watchtower property, acquiring a five-building campus for $375 million that's now the basis of a mixed-use redevelopment known as Dumbo Heights.
“85 Jay Street has long been the hole in the Dumbo doughnut,” says Asher Abehsera, founder and CEO of LIVWRK. “We aim to introduce a world-class project to the vibrant waterfront district.”
Adds Laurent Morali, president of Kushner, “85 Jay has tremendous upside, and we're eager to begin its transformation into a dynamic project just steps from the Dumbo Heights office campus and Brooklyn Bridge Park. We're excited to continue our work in Brooklyn with the CIM/LIVWRK team.”
The 85 Jay parcel will support 1.1 million square feet of development as of right, the Post reported. “Our goal is to use our current zoning and utilize it the best we can and work with the consultants and community [so it] will blend and fit in the community,” CIM principal Shaul Kuba told the Post. “We need to finalize the consultants and dive into it.”
The acquisition follows the partnership's $340-million buy of 25-30 Columbia Heights, the historic Brooklyn Heights headquarters of the Jehovah's Witnesses, from Watchtower Real Estate this past August. The Witnesses plan to vacate the property and move their headquarters upstate to Warwick, NY. Three years earlier, Kushner, LIVWRK and RFR had made another deal for Watchtower property, acquiring a five-building campus for $375 million that's now the basis of a mixed-use redevelopment known as Dumbo Heights.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Paul Bubny
Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.
