Plans revealed for new creative office hub above revamped Downtown Brooklyn Macy’s

Tishman Speyer has released plans for the 422 Fulton Street Macy’s renovation that will turn a new 10-story space above the department store into a 620,000 square foot creative office hub called The Wheeler. Reflecting a recent trend in snazzy work spaces that attract TAMI (technology, advertising, media and information) clients, the space will comprise “620,000 square feet of opportunity in the center of downtown Brooklyn,” according to the developer. On offer will be the largest floor plates in Brooklyn with 15+ foot ceilings that “leave plenty of room for huge ideas,” and a sprawling rooftop terrace, part of an acre of outdoor space that “provides fresh air for fresher thinking.” There will also be 130 subterranean bike stations with lockers and showers for workers who bike to work.

Tishman Speyer inked a deal with Macy’s in early 2016 to redevelop the ancient Downtown Brooklyn store including a new addition to the historic building. Various renderings surfaced soon thereafter but the companies have remained quiet since then. Today’s news represents a new batch of intel on the project, including the news that the glassy new buildings will be designed by Shimoda Design Group and Perkins Eastman.

The two buildings in the complex–one from the 1870s and the Art Deco Macy’s building–will retain their historic details; the store will continue to occupy the first four floors. According to the New York Times, the new workspace was named for Andrew Wheeler, the builder of the former, a four-story cast-iron building above which the glassy new office tower will rise. “This building will combine the best of vintage real estate and contemporary design, giving tenants the feeling of an old warehouse but without losing all the amenities of new construction,” Tishman Speyer chief executive Rob Speyer told the Times.

Though it was conceived to address a lack of office space in the area, the $500 million project is being constructed speculatively without an anchor tenant. The space will be ready for occupancy in 2019.

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Renderings courtesy of Tishman Speyer.