Midtown Equities selected to transform the Empire Stores in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Empire Stores from Manhattan Bridge

According to Daily News and Gothamist, Midtown Equities has been selected as the developer to transform the Empire Stores in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Matt Chaban at the Daily News writes that Midtown Equities won the right to redevelop one of the most sought-after parcels in Brooklyn. Nine other developers submitted bids for the 327,000-square-foot former warehouse, including Two Trees Management, the Walentas family’s real estate firm, mostly responsible for Dumbo’s transformation since the late 1990s.

No word yet on which one of the submissions is the Midtown Equities one from the renderings submitted in June 2013.

From the Daily News article:

The deal comes at a time when interest in the neighborhood is booming.

Demand is so high for tech tenants, many of whom got their start in the neighborhood, that they are willing to pay twice as much to get into the Empire Stores. Office rents are said to be asking $60 per square foot, compared with a neighborhood average of $34 a square foot, according to brokerage aptsandlofts.com.

Even so, Midtown Equities already has secured commitments for as much as 80% of the three-story complex.

Restaurants and shops will line the ground floor, with offices above and a rooftop terrace with breathtaking views of the two bridges.

Among the companies duking it out for space in Empire Stores are furniture maker West Elm and online marketplace Etsy.