Here Comes the Neighborhood

The Watchtower buildings in DUMBO, the longtime headquarters of the Jehova’s Witnesses, have been sold to a real estate partnership in a $375 million deal. The area is set to be remade into a “hub” for tech companies. Via the Wall Street Journal:

The partners would undertake a roughly $100 million renovation of the buildings, accommodating up to 5,000 bikes, creating outdoor roof space, allowing for 150,000 square feet of retail space occupied almost entirely by Brooklyn companies and installing state-of-the-art Internet connectivity. Mr. Kushner, chief executive of Kushner Companies, said the developers would work with the city to try to convert some area streets into pedestrian plazas.

So forget about the next mayor or who will lead the DOT for a second. It turns out that the next wave of better biking and safe streets in New York City may come from the business and real estate community.