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Red Hook Converted Factory Could Host Rooftop Cafe and Art Gallery

By Nikhita Venugopal | November 6, 2013 9:13am | Updated on November 7, 2013 11:27am
 The industrial building at 80 Richards St. in Red Hook will be converted into modern offices, a representative for the owner said.
The industrial building at 80 Richards St. in Red Hook will be converted into modern offices, a representative for the owner said.
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Commercial Acquisitions Realty Services

RED HOOK — A 134,150 square-foot industrial factory is being converted to offices for young entrepreneurs in Red Hook and may soon hold a rooftop café, an art gallery, according to representatives for the property owners.

Construction will begin next month at 80 Richards St., Brownstoner first reported, pending approval of building permits, said representative and commercial broker Shlomi Bagdadi.

The renovation should be completed by early 2014, he said.

No one has inked a lease as yet but owners are targeting creative businesses in fashion, media and art, he said.

Like the Richards Street property owners, a luxury developer is also hoping to attract artists, musicians and models to Red Hook with “affordable “ studios and apartments, DNAinfo New York reported in September.

“We’re trying to attract young talent,” Bagdadi, who works at Commercial Acquisitions Realty Services, told DNAinfo New York last week.

Built in 1917, the six-story building is owned by an outfit called HH Equities who purchased it in 2003 for $9 million, city records show.

Its potential uses also include a sixth-floor event hall and a street-level gallery on the building’s ground floor, he said.

To sweeten the deal for would-be tenants, owners are offering concessions like one-year free rent and customizing the space to suit their purposes.

“These young talents get inspiration from these kind of work spaces,” said Bagdadi.