Spanish tile-maker joins other design firms in Industry City

February 18, 2019 By Raanan Geberer Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Industry City's courtyard. Eagle file photo by Lore Croghan

Industry City. Eagle file photo by Lore Croghan

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Porcelanosa, a Spanish manufacturer of ceramic tiles and kitchen and bath products, is the latest business to make the move to Industry City, a 6 million-square-foot light-manufacturing complex on the Sunset Park waterfront, according to Crain’s New York Business.

The company has signed a 10-year lease for a 6,500-square-foot retail showroom set to open next summer, which will feature an array of kitchen and bath products, from ceramic tile designs to brassware and bathtubs.

The complex already houses a number of other design-oriented companies, such as furniture retailers Design Within Reach, ABC Carpet, RH Outlet and more.

“Our Design District is growing as Industry City has achieved critical mass as a fashion and food destination,” said Kathe Chase, director of leasing at the complex, which spreads across six industrial buildings. “Industry City has played an integral role in this shift by becoming a one-stop shop for the everyday buyer, design lovers, interior decorators and set designers alike.”

The 35-acre Industry City campus consists of 16 former factory buildings that were originally part of Bush Terminal. The terminal, which was so large that it had its own freight railroad and piers to bring in goods, was founded in the early 1900s. In its heyday, it was the largest multi-tenant industrial complex in the United States.

Bush Terminal entered into a decline after World War II. In 2013, a consortium comprised of Belvedere Capital Real Estate Partners, Jamestown Properties and Angelo, Gordon & Co purchased Industry City and announced its intention to renovate the space into a light-manufacturing and office hub.

“While it’s difficult to say how much of the complex is occupied because some of the space is still being renovated and not inhabited yet, we now have about 500 firms, employing about 8,000 people,” a spokesperson for Industry City said. This is a marked growth from 2017, when Industry City had about 7,000 employees, according to a 2018 Industry City Update.

Industry City’s plans, the spokesperson added, currently center around technology, light manufacturing, food, design and retail.

Among several high-profile developments at Industry City over the past few years have been the opening of Japan Village, a Japanese food market with a restaurant and bar, in November 2018; Lola Star Dreamland Roller rink, which opened the same month; and the Innovation Lab, a technology training facility and job placement center that opened in 2016.

The opening of Bush Terminal Piers Park in 2014 opened up the previously off-bounds area to visitors and to recreation use.