Danny Meyer’s Events Group Is Moving to Brooklyn’s Industry City

(Bloomberg) -- New York restaurant mogul Danny Meyer is moving his events business to Brooklyn’s Industry City, marking a departure from his Manhattan base.

Union Square Events, part of Meyer’s restaurant empire Union Square Hospitality Group, will relocate next spring from 640 W. 28th St. in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards district, according to a statement released Thursday.

Industry City, a former 19th century industrial complex near Brooklyn’s Sunset Park waterfront, is undergoing a $1 billion makeover that’s drawn food, manufacturing, design and technology tenants. That mix is part of what attracted Union Square Events, according to President Tony Mastellone.

“We were really just brought in by the community and the activities within that space,” Mastellone said by phone. “Multiple points of engagement from a wellness perspective, culinary perspective that were really endearing to us.”

Union Square’s new 70,000-square-foot (6,500-square-meter) space, designed by Gensler, will feature a tasting room for clients and a 120-seat dining room for employees. It will also host an incubator program for food entrepreneurs.

Though the move was in the works before the pandemic, Industry City has seen a boost in leasing recently, spurred by tech and creative companies seeking offices closer to where their employees live.

“Nobody wants to be in an enclosed elevator or have windows that don’t open,” said Kathe Chase, director of leasing at Industry City. “When the pandemic hit and employees didn’t want to go back to Manhattan, many employers made the decision to move here so that employees would come back to work, because that was important to them.”

Close to 500,000 square feet of space has been leased since March, surpassing goals for 2020, according to Chase. About 75% of the 6 million-square-foot-complex will be occupied by the end of the year, she said.

Industry City is owned by a joint venture that includes Jamestown LP, Belvedere Capital, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte and Angelo, Gordon & Co.

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