On Tuesday, December 20, 2016, Jehovah’s Witnesses sold 85 Jay Street to an investment partnership led by Kushner Companies, CIM Group, and LIVWRK. Spanning an entire city block in the bourgeoning Dumbo neighborhood in Brooklyn, the parcel comes with close to one million square feet (92,903 sq m) of mixed-use development rights.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the block included several decaying buildings. When the Witnesses purchased the site, they intended to develop the property to accommodate their expanding printing operations. The Witnesses opted instead to move their printing, binding, and shipping operations in Brooklyn to their facility in Wallkill, New York. More recently, the Witnesses relocated their world headquarters from Brooklyn to Warwick, New York, and over the past several years, have been selling their real estate holdings in the Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo neighborhoods.

Richard Devine, a spokesman for the Witnesses, observes: “Properties like 85 Jay Street don’t become available every day, especially in view of its size, location, and potential future use.”

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David A. Semonian, Office of Public Information, +1-845-524-3000