JEMB Inks Tenant at New Brooklyn Tower

1 Willoughby Square

JEMB Realty Corp. has landed a new tenant at 1 Willoughby Square, a 34-story office tower in downtown Brooklyn. Global consulting company Gemic has signed a lease for 7,000 square feet on the 28th floor. Neil King, Vice Chairman of CBRE, represented the landlord in the transaction.

The building is the tallest office tower in downtown Brooklyn. Its architect, FXCollaborative, is the anchor tenant, after relocating from its Manhattan office, currently occupying three floors.

Gemic is moving from its office space in Downtown Manhattan and this new lease is in line with the  company’s return-to-office movement after working remotely during the pandemic, Gemic Founder Johannes Suikkanen stated in prepared remarks. Office occupancy in the metro New York region reached 37.1 percent in March, compared to 22 percent in January, according to Kastle Systems research.

Brooklyn’s tallest office building

1 Willoughby Square is a 500,000-square-foot office building, completed in 2021, and includes 7,249 square feet of retail space, according to CommercialEdge data. It is the first ground-up development in downtown Brooklyn since the 2004 rezoning. The LEED Silver certified property features a tenant lounge, conferencing facilities, communal outdoor spaces, separate entrance off the neighboring park, 250 bike parking spots, locker rooms and showers. Floorplates range between 9,889 and 12,156 square feet. Other tenants in the building include Propel, Walnut Ridge and Ms. Foundation for Women, which all signed leases in early June. The office building is now nearly 50 percent leased.

Located at 420 Albee Square, the office tower is close to the Clocktower Building, a block from Long Island University Brooklyn and within walking distance to Fort Greene Park. The tenants have access to several dining and retail options and to metro and bus stations.