Compass is planting a flag in Brooklyn, following several months of heavy agent recruitment. The startup brokerage inked a deal Monday to lease space at 514 Second Street in Park Slope, the firm said.
Formerly the home of pizza chain Two Boots, the new office measures 4,000 square feet, including outdoor space, and it can accommodate 35 desks. The outpost is set to open Oct. 1 and will be managed by Patrick Brennan, the Corcoran Group’s former Park Slope manager, who joined Compass in February.
Of Park Slope, Brennan said: “It’s an important neighborhood for us because of its varied housing stock.”
In addition to condos, co-ops and townhouses, Park Slope has several smaller new development projects. The office also is centrally located to accommodate agents who work in the neighborhood and other parts of Brooklyn, he said.
Farran & Associates, a family-owned brokerage run by Gloria Farran, owns the Park Slope space, which was on the market for $15,000 a month, according to a listing on LoopNet.
Compass’ Brooklyn office has been in the works for almost a year, as the startup brokerage sought office space and amassed a team of agents.
Compass currently has about 40 Brooklyn agents.
The firm hired Brennan in February, and later recruited former Corcoran agents Lindsay Barton Barrett, the Eugene Litvak team and Lior Barak and Christine Blackburn. Most recently, it tapped Victoria Shtainer, a team led by Alyssa Morris and Maxine Resnick and the Keaton X Sikorski team, led by mTkalla Keaton and Adam Sikorski.
Of course, Compass’ Brooklyn expansion prompted Corcoran to sue the startup firm in March for “brazenly” raiding its talent pool. The suit said Brennan’s move, and the move of two others from the Park Slope office, posed a threat to Corcoran’s Brooklyn business.
Last month, Corcoran gave up its attempt to enforce noncompete agreements and nonsoliciation agreements with several former employees who now work at Compass, including Brennan and former Soho manager Gene Martinez. The brokerage is now only seeking monetary damages.
In all, Compass now occupies some 77,000 square feet in New York City, including 50,000 square feet at Aby Rosen’s 90 Fifth Avenue, where it is paying rents in the mid-$70s per square foot, according to CompStak. Compass also occupies nearly 11,000 square feet at RFR Realty’s trophy property, Lever House.