Dumbo was mentioned in NY Times, with a story about Studiomates at 10 Jay Street on Wednesday, and Dumbo will be in Sunday’s paper as well.

NY Times writer Jake Mooney, who covers Dumbo, has written about the changes over the years. In his article in the National Real Estate section of Sunday’s NY Times, titled Bringing Up Dumbo, he discusses the new real estate development projects happening in East Dumbo, the former factory and manufacturing buildings closer to Vinegar Hill:

Now the next chapter is being written. In recent years, debates about the neighborhood’s future have brought about designation of a historic district and a rezoning of the eastern end, designed in part to encourage residential growth. Old commercial buildings continue to be converted, and several major construction projects are in the works, including one in the historic district from the giant builder Toll Brothers. Prices and rents in the neighborhood are among the highest in Brooklyn, and the city as a whole.

Dumbo’s indigenous warehouses have become home to advertising, design and creative companies like the online crafts marketplace Etsy, whose young workers have brought activity to the quiet cobblestone streets in the shadows of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.

In a nod to Dumbo’s new creative community, Mooney speaks to creative media companies, such as HUGE, BBMG, and Etsy, and makes mention of other DigitalDUMBO and New York Digital District companies, Carrot Creative, Big Spaceship, and Brooklyn Digital Foundry.

These businesses are concentrated in buildings such as 45 Main Street, 55 Washington Street, 10 Jay Street, and 20 Jay Street. The concentration of new residential development projects in East Dumbo, such as 220 Water Street, 205 Water Street, 192 Water Street, and 37 Bridge Street, are due to the fact that most of the buildings West of Adams Street are occupied, such as 1 Main Street, 70 Washington Street, Beacon Tower (79 unit building completed in 2006), and J Condominium (267 units completed in 2007. Newly converted 25 Washington Street also got a mention.

In established Two Trees buildings near the area’s heart, like 1 Main Street and 70 Washington Street, asking prices for one-bedrooms are solidly above $1 million — closer to $2 million at 1 Main, which is nearer to the water, and occasionally below $1 million at 70 Washington. A 2,139-square-foot two-bedroom apartment at 1 Main Street is on the market for $2.2 million, and a two-bedroom, 1,384-square-foot unit at 70 Washington is listed at $1.35 million.

Read the full article for a good summary of the area’s new thriving businesses and real estate activity. Also see accompanying photo slide show.

A few past Jake Mooney mentions on DumboNYC:
{NY Times Highlights Dumbo Neighborhood Association, 04Jun2007}
{On Arty Streets, a Cluster of Hip Furniture Stores, 21Jan2007}