Is Industry City the next Chelsea Market?

Developer Jamestown Properties is hoping to accelerate gentrification in Sunset Park by teaming with the purveyors of the popular Mister Sunday dance party and redeveloping Industry City.

Each week, hundreds of pleasure seekers arrive at Industry City for the long-running daytime dance party. And that is just the way Jamestown, which redeveloped the Chelsea Market and owns a 50 percent stake in Industry City, likes it.

“Part of the revitalization of the property is focused on making it more accessible to the public,” Andrew Kimball, the property’s manager and the previous CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yards, told Fast Company. “With events like Mister Sunday and Rooftop Films, what was once underutilized outdoor space has become a vibrant weekend destination for people across the city.”

The firm also plans to add 40,000 square feet of ground-floor retail for local food makers like Blue Marble Ice Cream and Colson Patisserie. And Kimball added that he anticipates that tenants in the six million-square-foot of space will increase from 2,400 to 15,000 by 2023.

“One of the best things about adaptive reuse of industrial areas and buildings is that residents are barely affected. Generally, these dilapidated buildings have a low population of tenants and aren’t in directly residential neighborhoods, so they bring new residents,” Michael Allen, director of the Preservation Research Office, a historic preservation consultancy, said. “At the end of the day, real estate is not workforce redevelopment. It’s not the answer nor the cause of social problems. But buildings can be catalysts for economic development.” [Fast Company] – Christopher Cameron