A new high-rise building is coming to Downtown Brooklyn as part of a multimillion-dollar project that the city says will bring hundreds of jobs to the neighborhood.
New York City Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen announced Monday that a 400,000-square-foot office and retail space that is coming to 420 Albee Square.
It will be the first commercial real estate construction project since 2004. Officials say the new space will create more than 700 new permanent jobs and over 500 new construction jobs.
In Downtown Brooklyn, not everyone is completely on board with the new development. Some say that what the borough needs right now is not more office space, but housing.
But Maria Torres-Springer, the president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, says that Brooklyn needs more office space to make room for a growing workforce that is looking for a change in scenery. "Not just a traditional building with a coveted corner office, but creative, flexible, wired spaces that encourage interaction," she says.
420 Albee Square is part of a major city project to create 60 million square feet of office space by 2025. Construction will begin within the next year.