11 Creative Office Developments That Will Utterly Transform the Bushwick Loft Area

Forget about condos. Developers are banking on Bushwick as the next hotspot for offices.

Developers are swooping into the Bushwick loft district — which the city calls East Williamsburg, and residents sometimes call Morgantown — with plans for oodles of office, retail, and maker spaces.

At least 11 creative office developments are in the works for the area, making it a contender to become the borough’s next Tech Triangle or Dumbo.

The development boom springs from the area’s high-value real estate and large supply of sprawling, low-lying industrial space. Why isn’t it condos, you ask? The neighborhood is zoned nonresidential, with certain sections in a protected Industrial Business Zone (IBZ).

The area still has a sleepy, deserted feel on weekdays even though artists, programmers and other creatives have been carving out living and working spaces and creative hubs in former factories for more than a decade. In recent years, it’s become a dining and party destination on nights and weekends.

The new developments will mostly rent out smaller offices — between 1,000 and 5,000 square feet. This will bring hundreds of office workers into the area during the day, and spur new businesses to cater to them.

The developer-led investment will create more expensive but also more desirable office space with the latest technology, heating and amenities — as opposed to raw factory space. At least half of the developments planned are also interesting architecturally.

Many are warehouse conversions or ground-up construction that echoes the boxiness of a warehouse. Many will contain not just offices but also light manufacturing and retail.

Also note more than workspace is going into the ‘hood. There’s a hip 100-key hotel planned nearby, a 35,000 square-foot nightclub going into 599 Johnson Avenue, and a six-story hotel and church being built at 101 Bogart Street, among other projects.

Here’s our list of in-the-works creative office buildings:

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215 Moore Street
What: Offices
Developer: Heritage Equity Partners and Lichtenstein Group
Last traded for: $28,250,000
Size: 75,000 square feet

Called the Bushwick Generator, this complex of five warehouses with 50,000 square feet will be renovated and expanded. Two of the spaces are already leased to tech companies, and a bakery recently signed on.

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199 Cook Street
What: Office space and retail
Developer: The Mann Group
Last traded for: $10,900,000
Size: Up to 49,500 square feet

This three-story brick warehouse is zoned for light manufacturing. In July, The Mann Group bought bought the building for $10.9 million. The developer filed permits for interior demolition and exterior repairs and plans to turn it into retail and office space.

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16 Harrison Place
What: Offices and retail space
Developer: Astral Weeks
Last traded for: $375,000
Size: 7,000 square feet

With an open facade design somewhat similar to Astral Week’s building planned nearby at 430 Johnson Avenue, the mixed-use structure planned for 16 Harrison Place will have retail on the ground floor and office space above.

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13 Grattan Street
What: Offices and artist space
Developer: Ted and Marianne Hovivian (who’ve owned it since the early 1980s)
Last traded for: Not applicable
Size: 23,000 square feet

Named The AnX, this Gene Kaufman-designed building will be four stories of artist’s studios with 12-foot ceilings and large windows to bring in lots of natural light. On the ground floor, 8,000 square feet will be given over to retail — specifically art galleries — and restaurants. The upper floors will have terraces.

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58 Grattan Street
What: Retail and light industrial space
Developer: Bushwack Capital
Last traded for: $855,000
Size: 6,000

Bushwack will soon break ground on a new three-story mixed-use building in an empty parking lot near Knickerbocker Avenue.

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430 Johnson Avenue
What: Retail and creative space
Developer: Astral Weeks
Last traded for: $650,000
Size: About 15,000 square feet

This mod four-story creative office building has something extra spacial: a parking area that transforms into an events venue. The basement level will have a restaurant or retail space and the upper floors will be creative offices topped by two lush terraces with manhattan views.

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456 Johnson Avenue
What: Offices
Developer: Sequoia Development Group
Last traded for: Not applicable
Size: 55,000 square feet

This former paper mill is being transformed into a 35-unit office building named The Paper Mill. Specifically aimed at attracting TAMI tenants — industry speak for technology, advertising, media, and information firms — the developer is asking for rents in the upper $40s per square foot, with spaces ranging in size from 900 to 2,200 square feet.

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101 Varick Avenue
What: Offices and a dash of retail
Developer: Rabsky Group
Last traded for: $48,000,000
Size: 146,000 square feet

Once the redevelopment of the 3.4-acre lot is completed, 101 Varick Avenue (or 471-485 Johnson Avenue) will offer work space for $40 to $50 per square foot, and $35 to $45 per square foot for retail. The site was owned and occupied by display case manufacturer M. Fried since 1991.

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99 Scott Avenue
What: Offices, retail, event hall
Developer: Bushwack Capital
Last traded for: $8,300,000
Size: 22,000 square feet

The developer of this old warehouse launched a $1 million crowd-funding campaign to overhaul 99 Scott Avenue into office space for CSA startup Farmigo and ABS Partners Real Estate. Retail spaces will include a winery, beer garden and event hall.

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455 Jefferson Street
What: Offices
Developer: Lincoln Property Group and Alcion Ventures
Last traded for: $51,200,000
Size: 122,697 square feet

This former factory building — with huge window openings and soaring ceilings as high as 14 feet  — will have offices on every floor, two second-floor retail spaces, and a rooftop terrace, according to permits and a mini-website for the building. The building is supposed to open in late July with rents in the $50s to $60s per square foot.

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95 Evergreen Avenue
What: Offices and ground-floor retail
Developer: Savanna
Last traded for: $33,700,000
Size: 165,000 square feet

Savanna is laying out $30 million to transform this former Schlitz Berwery into office and retail space garnering rents of $40 to $50 per square foot. The top floor — which has 35-foot ceilings and large windows that let in a lot of light — may become an entertainment venue.

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When all is said and done, “Morgantown will become a true mixed-use neighborhood, with a few hundred thousand feet of office space,” Citi Habitats broker Chris Havens told Brownstoner.

It’s also worth noting that plans for a massive creative work complex at 333 Johnson unfortunately fell through and the site is back on the market. So if you’ve got some spare millions laying around, you could snap up the site and join the Bushwick office-development party.

[h/t: Crain’s | TRD]

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