Leasing Launched at Brooklyn Adaptive Reuse Project
The Highland is being built on the site of the former Empire State Dairy Co. in the borough’s Cypress Hills neighborhood.

The Highland at 2840 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Image courtesy of The Moinian Group and Bushburg
Residential leasing is underway at 2840 Atlantic Avenue, the 14-story, 320-unit adaptive reuse redevelopment and expansion of the former Empire State Dairy Co. site in Brooklyn’s Cypress Hills neighborhood. Developed by The Moinian Group and Bushburg, the 370,000-square-foot mixed-use project, dubbed The Highland, also includes 21,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a charter school. First move-ins are expected this month.
The joint venture partners began construction on the project in November 2022, several months after receiving a $105 million construction loan from Valley National Bank in New Jersey, according to Yardi Matrix data.
Situated on a 1.7-acre site, the residential tower will have mixed-income units and feature studio and one- two- and three-bedroom residences. Shared amenities will include a rooftop terrace, fitness center, coworking space, tenant lounge, children’s playroom and onsite parking. The property will also offer high-speed internet access.
Nearby express subway lines offer a 30-minute commute to lower Manhattan. The property is also near New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and a Long Island Rail Road station.
Adaptive reuse project
The Empire State Dairy Co., designed by architects Theobald Engelhardt and Otto Strack, was completed in 1915. Originally part of a row of industrial buildings and warehouses, the dairy operated until the mid-20th century. Bushburg acquired the building in 2018, according to CommercialEdge data.
Dattner Architects has been overseeing the redevelopment effort, which incorporates a variety of adaptive reuse elements. Part of the project called for restoring the original building’s brick façade. The building was also restructured and a new roof added.
The Highland is the second joint venture between The Moinian Group and Bushurg, which also collaborated on PLG, a 26-story, 467-unit luxury residential development in Brooklyn’s Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood that was completed in 2020.
Last month, The Moinan Group began vertical construction of 7 Platt Street, a 35-story 250-unit luxury residential property in Manhattan’s Financial District. The company is also working on a residential project at 1640 Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn.
Last summer, Bushburg and partner Sequoia Development Group obtained a $59 million bridge loan to finance the final stages of construction at 711 Montgomery Street, a 16-story, 285-unit property in Jersey City, N.J. The loan was to be used for completing construction, leasing up the property and stabilizing it.