Moinian Group JV Begins Brooklyn Adaptive Reuse

The development will convert a historic dairy company warehouse to a mixed-income community.

The Empire State Dairy Company Development. Image courtesy of Dattner Architects

The Empire State Dairy Co. development. Image courtesy of Dattner Architects

The Moinian Group, in a joint venture with Bushburg, has begun its construction on The Empire State Dairy Co. building, an adaptive reuse of the 36,000-square-foot historic property located at 2840 Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn, N.Y. The redevelopment efforts include the construction of a 370,000-square-foot, 320-unit mixed-income apartment tower, in addition to several commercial properties, with the project’s completion scheduled for January of 2024. Preleasing is expected to follow shortly thereafter.

The Empire State Dairy Co. building was constructed in 1914 and was originally part of a row of industrial buildings and warehouses. Bushburg had acquired the building in 2018, according to CommercialEdge information. Dattner Architects is overseeing the redevelopment efforts. The community will offer a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, featuring both affordable and luxury arrangements. Residents will have access to a rooftop terrace, a fitness center, co-working space, a lounge and private parking. The joint development will add a further 21,000 square feet of retail space, in addition to an attached charter school. The owner and developer are also planning to restore the building’s brick façade, in addition restructuring the building and laying out a new roof.

The project’s location on Atlantic Avenue places it within walking distance of Brooklyn’s Highland Park, in addition to numerous employers and transportation nodes. The property is 7 miles from Manhattan and 5 miles from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The conversion of the warehouse site is the second joint venture between Moinian and Bushburg. The firms recently collaborated on PLG, a 467-unit luxury development in Brooklyn’s Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood.

Adaptive reuse appeal

Adaptive reuse continues to be a lucrative and sought-after endeavor for multifamily developers, as the redevelopment of existing properties has allowed them to sustainably expand their portfolios and meet already high demand across the market. Furthermore, it has allowed the properties to uniquely appeal to renters, by way of their historical significance. Adaptive reuse also has its appeals in affordable housing, as the nation faces a crisis of unprecedented scale in both the need for affordable units and the availability shortage.