Start-Up Incubator Moving to Brooklyn Navy Yard

• Pictured: Building 77. Photo by John V. Santore

NAVY YARD, BROOKLYN — The Washington, D.C.-based start-up incubator 1776 announced Wednesday that it will move into the top floor of Building 77 at the Navy Yard.

The company runs shared work spaces, invests in startups and provides business mentorship to entrepreneurs.

According to its website, 1776's Brooklyn space will focus on "innovation in education, energy, fintech, food, health, security, and smart cities."

Last month, Brooklyn Brewery likewise announced that it will move its headquarters and some manufacturing to Building 77 by 2018, including a rooftop beer garden and event space.

Building 77 is currently undergoing an $185 million renovation, according to the Navy Yard Development Corporation, and plans to open its doors in 2017.

1776 spokeswoman Erin McPike said Thursday that she didn't have an estimate for the number of permanent staffers the company would employ at the site.

"Keep in mind that startups will begin to fill the space and we of course will help cultivate them so they can all add many jobs to their own staffs," McPike wrote in an email.

The Development Corporation says Building 77 will eventually support 3,000 workers.

Under an agreement with the city, all employees at the property must be paid a living wage, currently defined as $11.50 per hour with health benefits, and $13.13 without benefits (although that could in increase over time). 

Brooklyn Brewery CEO Eric Ottaway, for his part, said 125 jobs will initially be based at Building 77, of which about 75 will be new.

As many as 225 Brooklyn Brewery employees could wind up working at the Navy Yard within a few years, Ottaway said.