The Real Deal New York

Guests gathered last night at the new Modern Spaces Williamsburg location, at 135 Kent Avenue, to celebrate the official opening of the brokerage’s newest office. Even at first glance, the new office is far different from your typical real estate strorefront: Modern Spaces shares the open space with Sweetleaf, a coffeehouse that occupies the entrance area of the first-floor location. Like the brokerage, it marks the first foray into Brooklyn for the Long Island City cafe.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz stopped by the party not only to cut the ceremonial ribbon and present Modern Spaces President and CEO Eric Benaim with a proclamation, but also to give the office-café a look. “It’s quite a concept” he said. (Blu Realty Group, whose founders were in attendance, also launched a real estate storefront that shares space with a cafe on the Upper West Side earlier this year.)

The brokerage and cafe aren’t the only entities sharing space at the new office — agents sit at shared desks with a Mac computer at each seat. The interior space was designed by Benaim, who installed a Brooklyn street art-style mural and a full-wall photo of the Williamsburg neighborhood.

The office first opened six weeks ago and, along with getting its first marketing exclusive last year at 91 Metropolitan Avenue, marks the brokerage’s formal entry into the Brooklyn residential market. To this point Modern Spaces has mostly marketed new developments in Queens, where it has two offices in Long Island City and one in Astoria, especially the projects rising on the East River waterfront.