Closing Bell: Brooklyn Friends School Expanding to MetroTech

Brooklyn Friends School, an independent private school in downtown Brooklyn, signed a lease today for 45,000 square feet at MetroTech at 116 Lawrence Street, soon to become its new Upper School building. Forest City Ratner manages the 23-story high rise, which faces the courtyard of MetroTech buildings as well as Lawrence and Jay Streets. The new Upper School is just two blocks from Brooklyn Friends’ current campus at 375 Pearl Street and will double the size of the school.

The school facilities are being designed by FXFOWLE Architects and will house four science labs, three art studios, a black box theater, dance and music studios, and more than 1,000 square feet of physical fitness space. Until now, Brooklyn Friends’ high school students have traveled to other buildings so they could use art and science labs, and the new space will allow them to take all their classes in one building. About 770 students from pre-K through high school attend Brooklyn Friends, which recently renovated 8,000 square feet of space at 375 Pearl to accommodate its growing enrollment.

The Quaker school will be one of many large tenants at the MetroTech complex, including MakerBot Industries, NYU Polytechnic Institute, El Diario newspaper and the New York City Fire Department. GMAP