Kushner expands Dumbo empire with latest Jehovah’s Witness property buy

The property at 85 Jay Street allows for 1.1 million square feet of development

Curbed, New York/December 21, 2016

By Tanay Warerkar

Just a few months after closing on Jehovah’s Witnesses’ headquarters building in Brooklyn Heights, Jared Kushner’s real estate firm, Kushner has now closed on another Witnesses property. This time it’s the massive parking lot at 85 Jay Street, which closed this week with a jaw-dropping ask of $345 million, the New York Post reports.

Kushner is partnering with CIM Group and LIVWRK on this deal much like it did on the headquarters package of building, which sold for a staggering $340 million in August. At 85 Jay Street, the development team can build a 1.1 million square foot mixed-use project as of right. Based on the conversation CIM’s co-founder had with the Post, it doesn’t seem like the developers are planning to request a zoning change at the site.

This 135,000-square-foot property could see the construction of tall towers much like on 57th Street in Manhattan, but it will likely still be a while before we know what the developers have in store here. The sale of 85 Jay Street has been rumored for years now as part of a $700 million package deal along with the headquarters parcel. With the sale having closed today it seems like those rumors weren’t unfounded.

In addition to this massive expenditure, Kushner and LIVWRK previously shelled out an additional $345 million for five buildings owned by the Witnesses. That’s now being used as an office space known as Dumbo Heights.

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