Brooklyn Navy Yard Opens Massive Co-Working Space for Manufacturing and Tech

Pictured: inside New Lab. Photos by John V. Santore

NAVY YARD, BROOKLYN — Brooklyn Navy Yard officials swung the doors open Tuesday to New Lab, a re-imagined former industrial site at 63 Flushing Ave. pitched as the future of tech and manufacturing innovation in Downtown Brooklyn.

Under the skylights built into its vaulted ceiling, the 84,000-square-foot space will eventially host about 50 companies and 350 workers, according to David Ehrenberg, president of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. (Plus around 20 additional staffers on hand to run Lab operations.)

Desks to be rented at New Lab.

In addition to its offices and shared work environments, New Lab contains numerous high-end product design and manufacturing tools that entrepreneurs can use to prototype their creations.

The goal, Ehrenberg said on Tuesday, is to help companies "graduate" from the Lab, "take more space in the Navy Yard and create more jobs."

A total of two million additional square feet of rental space are coming to the Yard, Ehrenberg said. The Navy Yard currently has 7,000 workers, he said, but aims to host 16,000 by about 2020.

Building 128, the Lab's site, was used decades ago for ship building, before the industry closed shop.

David Belt, the Lab's founder, said that when he first entered the then-disused structure in 2011, "It was still a ruin, but one of the most inspiring buildings I had ever been in."

Shared work spaces

It was a state-of-the-art manufacturing space in its former life, Belt said at the opening ceremony. In its new form, it's again hosting "state of the art manufacturing today," helping to prevent New York from becoming "nothing but a city of bankers and financiers." (Belt then offered a joking apology to the financiers in the audience who helped fund New Lab's redevelopment.)

The redevelopment project took about 10 months, he said, and cost approximately $30 million. About $18 million of that was private investment, Belt said, and $12 million was public support, including tax credits.

Sean Petterson, the 26-year-old CEO of StrongArm Technologies, is an example of how the Lab is supposed to spur innovation.

Petterson said he founded his business, which makes wearable supports to help laborers avoid injuries on the job, about five years ago, after he graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Sean Petterson discusses the design of his product

He said he previously worked to develop his product wherever he could find space, including the Zahn Center in Harlem, before gaining access to the Lab.

"The key to product design is getting the user's input," Petterson said. He explained that his company, which currently has about 15 employees, uses the Lab's equipment, including 3D printers and industrial plastic and metal cutters, to produce prototypes that he shows to potential customers. Adjustments can then be made "in a matter of days," he said.

If he didn't have access to the Lab's machinery, Petterson said he would have to rent access to high-end shop tools, a cost that can run to $150 per hour.

Petterson in his work space at New Lab

Reached by phone, Belt declined to share how much entrepreneurs are charged to rent work space in the Lab, but said his goal is to work with a variety of companies making products that will have a positive impact on the city and the world.

If a young company is a good fit for the Lab but can't afford the rental price, Belt said he'll work with them to provide a discounted rate.

New York City, Belt said, is a challenging place to launch a successful business, but the city is also filled with other creative people that entrepreneurs can form relationships with. Facilitating those connections, he said, is one of the greatest benefits the Lab will provide.