Williamsburg has been shorthand for Brooklyn gentrification for nearly a decade, but no bigger Manhattan-based residential brokerages have had an office in the neighborhood. That will change by early summer, when Prudential Douglas Elliman plans to open an office on Bedford Avenue.
The office is part of Douglas Elliman’s expansion plans in Brooklyn, says a top executive at the brokerage, plans that got under way in earnest nearly three years ago with the purchase of Marilyn A. Donahue Real Estate, a firm with offices in Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights. And, despite the cooling sales market citywide, Douglas Elliman expects to capitalize on Williamsburg’s growth through the new office.
Michael Moran, Douglas Elliman’s director of sales and regional director for Brooklyn, cited recent residential developments like Schaefer Landing and 299 Bedford Avenue that the brokerage has marketed as evidence of this growth.
The new 1,500-square-foot storefront office will be located inside the 299 Bedford building, at South 1st Street. The office will be headquarters for 25 to 30 agents, Moran said, and will have about 40 feet of street-facing windows.
“We feel that where we’re opening is a great location,” Moran said. “Great street presence, great foot traffic for people coming in to view property for now or for the future.”