Jehovah's Witnesses Selling 11-Story Brooklyn Heights Building

DNA Info, New York/November 1, 2016

By Alexandra Leon

Brooklyn Heights — Another Jehovah’s Witnesses property is up for sale in Brooklyn Heights.  

The 11-story residential building at 97 Columbia Heights — the former site of Brooklyn’s Hotel Margaret — has hit the market for an undisclosed price, the religious organization announced Wednesday.

The 88,610-square-foot building, which has been home to Jehovah’s Witnesses staffers for 30 years, features 97 residential units, some of which include private outdoor terraces.

The building also includes a rooftop terrace with views of the East River and Manhattan skyline, as well as an indoor garage with 30 parking spaces.

The property still boasts architectural elements from the Hotel Margaret, including copper patina details, a terracotta facade and corner bay windows.

Once the borough’s tallest building, the Hotel Margaret was destroyed by a fire in 1980.

Architect Stanton Eckstut redesigned the building and the Witnesses bought the property in 1986.

“Hundreds of our personnel called 97 Columbia Heights their home over the last 30 years,” spokesman David Sermonian said. “The building’s charming character and ideal location make it a premiere residential space.”

The religious organization has been selling its Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO properties as it moves its headquarters upstate to Warwick.  

“The sale of 97 Columbia Heights is the latest step forward in the relocation process,” Sermonian added.

Kushner Companies, owned by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, has bought several of the Witnesses properties. 

Earlier this year, Kushner Companies purchased the organization’s iconic Watchtower headquarters at 25-30 Columbia Heights for $340 million in partnership with CIM Group and LIVWRK. 

The 739,000-square-foot property is slated to become an “urban office campus.”

Five former Jehovah’s Witness buildings owned by Kushner Companies, RFR Realty and LIVWRK are already part of DUMBO's “high tech urban campus," where companies like Etsy and WeWork have leased office space. 

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