New York City officials announced plans for what may be Brooklyn's tallest building, a 600-foot office tower in the borough's downtown.
JEMB Realty, a New York-based developer with roots dating back to a Coney Island go-kart track in the early 1960s, will build the $300 million, 400,000-square-foot project, at 420 Albee Square, Chairman Morris Bailey said during a news conference at the site Monday.
About 60 million square feet of new office space will be needed throughout the city by 2025, mostly in outer-borough commercial hubs such as downtown Brooklyn, according to a New York City Economic Development Corp. estimate.
Brooklyn, home to a surge in luxury high-rise residential development, needs new offices as well to meet demand from the growing technology industry, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen said at the news conference.
"Office vacancy rates in this area are now around 3%, which is functionally zero," she said. "That will definitely impede the incredible momentum we have seen around here. So we need to act now to shape the future we want."
