Downtown Brooklyn - an untold story

By Joshua Muss,
President Muss Development Company

1998 was a milestone year for Downtown Brooklyn, the sixth largest downtown district in the nation. High on the list of major achievements was the opening of Brooklyn Renaissance Plaza - the 1.5 million square foot mixed use office, retail, parking and New York Marriott Brooklyn hotel complex in Downtown Brooklyn. It has been a tremendous success. The hotel - with a spacious banquet hall (fourth largest in New York City), 24 meeting rooms, an elegant restaurant and a deluxe lounge - has taken its place as the natural social, culinary and power center for Downtown Brooklyn.

More meaningful, however, is that Renaissance Plaza underscores the tremendous vitality of the Downtown Brooklyn office market. The over 800,000 sq. ft. 33 story tower has been rapidly occupied by major tenants including, most recently, Fleet Bank, the New York City Corporation Counsel, the Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC) and Empire Insurance. Only a few floors remain unsigned and negotiations promise 100% leasing by winter's end! And, with an overall vacancy rate of less than 4%, Downtown Brooklyn begs for more and more development. Muss Development Company is confident that regional trends will lead to the emergence of this market as an even greater force than it has been. Downtown Brooklyn is the region's best kept secret; for the sake of New York City, it is time to let the cat out of the bag.

The average 1998 asking rent and vacancy rate for comparable space in Manhattan, according to Crain's New York Business, was $35.87 and 9.1%, respectively. These numbers are projected by Crain's to go to $43.82 and 7.8% by 2002. The dramatic cost of tenancy in Manhattan could force more companies to seek out the more economical suburbs, where local politicians are all too pleased to place huge incentives on the table. While it may be inappropriate or impolitic to subsidize companies to stay in Manhattan, there are ample ways and means to motivate them to stay in New York City.

Downtown Brooklyn has deep built-in tax discounts and economic incentives that automatically lower costs by over $15 a square foot below Manhattan, and there is ample, inexpensive developable landƒright in the centerƒenough to build over 10 million square feet! This space offers easy access, via numerous subway lines that hook up, within minutes, to anywhere in Manhattan. And vehicular access is superior, with 4 direct East River crossings into Brooklyn, compared, for example, to the hopelessly trafficked and forever congested Lincoln and Holland Tunnels. Brooklyn and Manhattan share a commonality that New Jersey and other suburbs can never match.

Downtown Brooklyn's strengths are in place and growing, not only commercially, but with new, first class retail and luxury residential projects as well. This new development will help New York City's natural growth continue and withstand cut-rate poaching from our neighbors. New York must take the opportunity to make it happen.