Nets practice facility part of planned "Hipster Industrial Complex"

The owners of Industry City, the 16-building warehouse complex that will soon include the Nets training facility, plan a billion dollars in improvements over the next 12 years, hoping to create what one journalist called "a hipster-industrial complex."

The plans, announced Monday, call for a city-financed ferry stop at the end of the pier nearest the Hospital for Special Surgery Center where the Nets will train starting next season.  Although the ferry stop would be used for public transportation, it could conceivably be used by the team to transport players and staff to the site.

The Nets training facility, which will occupy two floors of Building 19 at the complex, is seen as one anchor of a plan to mimic the hip, youth-oriented vibe of the Meatpacking District in Manhattan ... and add high-tech companies and artists' studios to the mix. There was little mention of the Nets at the press conference.

Industry City needs Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration to approve the creation of a "special innovation zoning district" for the multiple uses planned, from light industrial to retail to educational uses, even a hotel.

Andrew Kimball, CEO of Industry City who helped redevelop the Brooklyn Navy Yard, told reporters at a press conference Monday that the trio of developers behind the project expect to spend nearly $1 billion on upgrading the century-old buildings but would like the city and state to provide $115 million for infrastructure upgrades. Jamestown Properties, which developed Chelsea Market, is the main developer along with Belvedere Capital and Angelo Gordon.

Included in that infrastructure would be the ferry terminal at the foot of 39th Street that Industry City  wants the city to build.  Kimball spoke in support of the mayor’s call for new ferry service, saying that if any site merited a ferry stop, it was 39th Street. He argued, as Technically Brooklyn reported, that if most Industry City workers would be able to get to the site quickly that will improve employee retention. Currently, the nearest public transportation to the site is five blocks away at the 36th Street subway station which serves the D, N and R lines.

• Industry City's billion-dollar plan for becoming 'a hub for the innovation economy' - Brady Dale - Technically Brooklyn
• Industry City owners investing $1 billion in complex - Paula Katinas - Brooklyn Eagle
• Massive Industry City Redevelopment Will Look Like This - Jeremiah Budin - Curbed NY
  
• Industry City Unveils $1 Billion Plan - Danielle Schlanger - New York Observer
• Developers unveil $1B Brooklyn hipster mega-project - Andrew J. Hawkins - Crain's New York
  
• Brooklyn’s Industry City to Get $1 Billion Modernization - Industry City