Brooklyn's Renaissance Plaza typifies new construction trend

Real Estate Weekly, May 21, 1997

"Because it makes tremendous sense in the current marketplace," explains Joshua L. Muss, president of Muss Development Company, which is building Renaissance Plaza, the $230 million mixed-use office/hotel complex in downtown Brooklyn.

"At time when demand for first-rate New York City hotel rooms is at an all-time high, as is corporate demand for high-tech conference/meeting facilities, the office/hotel mixed-used concept is a win-win situation," Muss said.

This convincing message has not escaped the development community. While many developers are scrambling to either convert portions of Class B office buildings into hotels, or retrofit residential properties, Brooklyn's Renaissance Plaza, which will be ready for occupancy by the Spring of 1998, will be one of the few purpose-built office/hotel complexes in the region.

Currently under construction on a 127,600 square-foot site between Adams and Jay Streets, Renaissance Plaza has been designed to symbiotically benefit both its office tenants and its hotel operator, Marriott, in addition to Brooklyn residents and visitors to the borough.

The 384-room New York Marriott Brooklyn, the first hotel to be built in Brooklyn in 50 years, will occupy the lower seven floors of Renaissance Plaza, offering more than 30,000 square feet of convention and meeting space. Equipped with an 18,000 square-foot ballroom which will seat 2,000, the hotel's banquet/conference center will feature more than 20 high-tech board and meeting rooms and private dining facilities for both small and large groups.

"Having a full-service world-class hotel literally only an elevator ride away will obviously prove a huge advantage to office tenants at Renaissance Plaza," said Philip Wolf, project manager from Muss Development.

"Tenants will be able to cater meals prepared by the hotel in their own boardrooms, entertain clients in the Marriott's various restaurants and bars, and receive priority treatment in securing conference/meeting facilities for corporate events," Wolf said. "The hotel will also offer a large state-of-the-art health and fitness center with a full lap pool, underground parking for 1,100 cars, a variety of retail shops, and a children's daycare center."

Conversely, the Marriott stands to benefit from Renaissance Plaza's tenants, who will undoubtedly utilize the hotel's on-site amenities, especially for the sake of convenience.

The majority of Renaissance Plaza's 800,000 square feet of office space will be occupied by the Empire Insurance Group, which is taking nine floors, and by the Executive Offices of the Kings County District Attorney, who will lease 14 floor. Cushman & Wakefield, as exclusive leasing agents for the property, is actively marketing the remaining 275,000 square feet of office space to a wide diversity of corporate users.

Renaissance Plaza is being built at a time when many of New York's most prominent owners and developers are considering invigorating their properties with hospitality amenities. Donald Trump recently retrofitted the former Gulf & Western Building at Columbus Circle, converting a portion of it to the Trump International Hotel & Tower. Trump also has plans to replicate the formula in downtown Manhattan at 40 Wall Street and is engaged in talks with Ritz Carlton. There has also been mention of Tishman Speyer Properties turning a portion of Rockefeller Center into an upmarket hotel, and developer Steven Witkoff is converting part of 866 Third Avenue into a Marriott Courtyard.

"Office/hotel complexes truly make sense," said Muss, "because they benefit all who occupy the property. With Renaissance Plaza, we are in the enviable position of developing a brand new office/hotel property, as opposed to a conversion. That means state-of-the-art technology will be integrated into the building's design, offering the most advanced telecommunication equipment and energy efficient systems."