Development expected to create 700-1,000 permanent high quality jobs
Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, and Steiner NYC today broke ground on 399 Sands Street, the latest addition of manufacturing and creative office space at the 300-acre Brooklyn Navy Yard and a key component of Steiner's Admirals Row project. Also today, Deputy Mayor Glen announced a $40 million investment by the City of New York toward the building through the New York Works Program. That investment will directly fund the construction of 230,000 square feet of leasable space above the parking structure for BNYDC to serve manufacturing and creative tenants and is expected to create approximately 700-1,000 permanent high-quality jobs, furthering the mission of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation.
“New York City grew up around the Brooklyn Navy Yard - and thanks to the City’s $40 million New York Works investment in 399 Sands Street, the Yard will continue to fuel growth, and provide manufacturing and creative jobs for generations to come,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen.
“Thanks to this investment by the City, 399 Sands will add up to 1000 more of the high quality middle class jobs we're so focused on creating here at the Yard," said David Ehrenberg, President & CEO of BNYDC. "We're increasingly hearing from companies who want to be here not just because the Navy Yard provides an opportunity to sustain a business, but also to grow one. With this investment, 399 Sands will be developed with exactly that sort of tenant in mind."
“The Brooklyn Navy Yard is the epicenter of New York City’s innovative economy. Brooklyn is the home, and now workplace, of the creative class. This is where the job growth is, and where it needs to continue. Admirals Row, together with399 Sands, represents a new urban model for mixed-use development. And Wegmans, which is consistently ranked as one of the top ten companies to work for in the United States, is the ideal anchor tenant. We are excited to be expanding this project and to invest alongside the City of New York. It feels great to help create so many jobs,” said Doug Steiner, Chairman of Steiner NYC.
The Mayor’s New York Works plan to create 100,000 good-paying jobs in 10 years is squarely focused on industrial and manufacturing jobs: Twenty thousand of the total jobs, or one fifth, are in the industrial and manufacturing sectors.
The Brooklyn Navy Yard is among the country’s leading urban manufacturing centers, with some 400 companies currently employing more than 7,000 New Yorkers. The Administration has also invested over $100 million to transform Building 77 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard into a 1 million square foot manufacturing center. This project opened in November and is expected to create 3,000 jobs.
The nine-story 399 Sands was designed by Dattner Architects. Its first four floors will feature parking for 430 cars, available to customers visiting the adjacent Wegmans supermarket, expected to open in 2019, and other Navy Yard tenants. Floors five through eight will be dedicated to manufacturing space, and the ninth floor for creative office space. The parking portion of the building will be completed in 2019, and the manufacturing and office space in 2021.
With today's $40 million investment by the City, the 399 Sands project will bring the total Admirals Row job count to 2,000 and add to the diverse mix of creative and manufacturing tenants at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The first three buildings in Admirals Row are currently under construction. The project also includes the reconstruction and adaptive reuse of two historic structures.
The construction of 399 Sands Street and Admiral's Row is a core segment of the Navy Yard’s current expansion, which also includes the renovation of Building 77, featuring vertically integrated creative manufacturing tenants and a food manufacturing hall anchored by Russ & Daughters; the development of Dock 72, a creative office building developed by Rudin Management and Boston Properties opening this fall; the Green Manufacturing Center; and an expanded Steiner Studios, the largest firm and television production studio outside Hollywood in the United States. The $1 billion expansion – the Navy Yard’s largest since WWII – will add more than 2 million square feet of space and 10,000 new jobs by 2020, more than doubling employment at the Yard to more than 17,000 jobs.
“399 Sands Street will further cement the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a premier destination for creative and manufacturing innovation,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “This public-private partnership along Admirals Row will generate high-quality jobs that support our burgeoning borough. I thank the City for this investment in Brooklyn’s economic future, a future that must ensure that the popularity of our brand translates into prosperity for all Brooklynites.”
"If anyone doubts manufacturing as a part of our City's future, they need only take one look at the Brooklyn Navy Yard," saidCouncil Member Stephen Levin. "We are returning to the legacy of an economic and innovation engine whose heart beats in Brooklyn, but supports communities around the City. This latest investment will fuel the continued job growth that supports local businesses and empowers workers to provide for themselves, their families, and their community."
“As we break ground on 399 Sands Street, we can clearly see how a good project can become a great one through partnership,” said Council Member Vallone, Chair of the Committee on Economic Development. “What would have been a parking lot, will now provide hundreds of quality jobs for New Yorkers, help to retain local manufacturing jobs and provide affordable creative office space. I look forward to this project’s completion.”
About The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) is the not-for-profit corporation that serves as the real estate developer and property manager of the Yard on behalf of its owner, the City of New York. BNYDC’s mission is to fuel New York City’s economic vitality by creating and preserving quality jobs, growing the City’s modern industrial sector and its businesses, and connecting the local community with the economic opportunity and resources of the Yard. BNYDC’s vision is a vibrant and dense, modern manufacturing community where businesses are provided the stability needed to invest, grow, and thrive and where diverse job-seekers can come to find a high-quality, middle-class job.
