AECOM gets new digs in Industry City

Company is expanding portfolio in BK

Chris Ward and Industry City
Chris Ward and Industry City

AECOM is opening a new office in Brooklyn as the engineering giant takes on more work in the borough.

The company leased 15,000 square feet at Industry City in Sunset Park and is using the space to house 80 employees in its urban design group, Crain’s reported. The new digs offer a quick commute to one of AECOM’s projects: Part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Belt Parkway.

“This is exactly the kind of space that AECOM should be in,” Chris Ward, a senior vice president at the firm, told Crain’s. “It’s an open floor plan that’s a mix of both the past and the future and I want the professionals at AECOM to be thinking of that all the time.”

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The move also comes as the company eyes Red Hook as the site of a potential large-scale redevelopment project. In 2016, Ward floated the idea of extending the No. 1 train into Brooklyn, which he estimated would cost $3.5 billion. The proposal also sought to build up to 45 million square feet of residential space in Red Hook. The plan hinged on Port Authority allowing its 80-acre Red Hook Container Terminal to be used for the development.

During his State of the State address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the bi-state agency should consider moving the terminal and that the possibility of extending the subway to Red Hook should be explored. [Crain’s] — Kathryn Brenzel