Big-Name Developers Vie for Coveted Jehovah’s Witnesses Sites

Three Jehovah’s Witnesses properties on the market: 25-30 Columbia Heights, 85 Jay Street, and 124 Columbia Heights. Photos by Barbara Eldredge

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    When the Jehovah’s Witnesses put three of their prime Brooklyn properties on the market in December, we knew the opportunity would be a siren song for developers large and small. With bids due this week, new details have emerged about the possible uses of the sites, what they might fetch, and who is angling to acquire them.

    Dozens of developers — both foreign and domestic, in the city and out — have already submitted bids for the sites, which could net the Witnesses a whopping $900 million or more, according to Bloomberg Business.

    Here are the companies we know are throwing their hat in the ring:

    • Vornado Realty Trust — An enormous real estate company that owns and manages more than 30 million square feet, Vornado is mostly in New York City and Washington, D.C. You might know the firm for developing the giant glass condo/retail/office building at 731 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan — it’s home to Bloomberg’s HQ and the restaurant Le Cirque.
    • Silverstein Properties Inc. — Another biggie, Silverstein has developed and managed more than 35 million square feet of space. The company is also the high-profile developer of three of the World Trade Center office buildings downtown.
    • L&L Holding Co. — L&L is all about top-tier office space. The company is in the midst of giving a makeover to the huge Manhattan office building at 390 Madison Avenue.
    • Taconic Investment Partners — A more mid-sized firm, Taconic has developed more than 12 million square feet of office and retail space and more than 3,000 condos — mostly in New York City. The firm has a few notable projects in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District including the huge 111 8th Avenue and twisted glass-topped building at 837 Washington Street near the Highline.
    • Megalith Capital Management — A smaller firm, Megalith is already developing two luxury residential buildings in Dumbo: the former Brillo Pad factory building at 200 Water Street and a rental building at 181 Front Street.
    • Alloy Development — Alloy is based in Dumbo (though soon moving to Gowanus) and has developed some lovely modern townhouses on Pearl Street and is nearing the home stretch for its luxury condo building at One John Street.
    • Slate Property Group — Another Brooklyn local, Slate is in the middle of converting the old Jay Street Arts Building at 51 Jay Street in Dumbo with partner developer Adam America. The firm is also a partner developer for the transformation of the Bedford-Union Armory into a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use complex.

    Here are the three sites currently for sale, along with new information about their potential value and use:

    Brooklyn Heights Development Watchtower Jehovah's Witnesses Sites

    25-30 Columbia Heights. Photo by Sergio Herrera via Wikipedia

    25-30 Columbia Heights
    This iconic 734,000-square-foot Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarters building was once a Squibb Pharmaceuticals plant.
    Bids due: February 16
    Probable future: Class A office space
    Possible value: $500 million

    Brooklyn Development 85 Jay Street Dumbo

    85 Jay Street. Photo by Barbara Eldredge

    85 Jay Street
    This full-block parking lot in Dumbo was rezoned in 2004 for residential development of nearly 1 million buildable square feet.
    Bids due: February 18
    Probable future: Luxury condos
    Possible value: $225 to 325 million

    Brooklyn Heights Development Watchtower Jehovah's Witnesses Sites

    124 Columbia Heights. Photo by Barbara Eldredge

    124 Columbia Heights
    This huge residential building backing onto the Brooklyn Heights Promenade once served as the Witnesses’ headquarters until the group outgrew it in the 1960s.
    Bids due: February 11
    Probable future: Luxury condos
    Possible value: $90 million

    Jehovahs Witnesses History Brooklyn Properties

    Squibb Building at 25-30 Columbia Heights. Photo via Brooklyn Public Library

    The Jehovah’s Witnesses came to Brooklyn in 1908 and began acquiring properties in Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo not long after. By the early 2000s, the religious group owned nearly two-dozen highly valuable sites.

    But in 2011, the organization decided it was time to move its operation somewhere with more expansion potential. The Witnesses purchased a 250-acre forested plot in Warwick, N.Y., and began liquidating its Brooklyn Heights holdings piece by piece.

    The Hotel Bossert was sold in 2012 for $81 million. A five-building complex in Dumbo was sold to developer Jared Kushner in 2013 for $375 million. The group still owns a dozen properties that it hasn’t yet put on the auction block.

    [h/t: Bloomberg Business]

    Related Stories
    How the Jehovah’s Witnesses Acquired Some of Brooklyn’s Most Insanely Valuable Properties
    Witnesses Put Three Hot Sites on the Market in Dumbo and Heights, Sure to Get Bonkers Prices
    This Massive Development Site — 85 Jay Street — Will Utterly Transform Dumbo

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