CRE Comes Together at MADE Bush Terminal for Cocktails and an Exciting New Development

On a humid and rainy July night in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, people from throughout the commercial real estate industry escaped the elements at the new mixed-use complex MADE Bush Terminal, which hosted Commercial Observer’s annual summer networking mixer.

Amid a series of massive square wooden columns conveying the complex’s industrial feel, attendees networked, enjoyed drinks and small bites, and heard from some of MADE’s pioneering tenants on the benefits of taking space at the complex, which, in addition to sites like a brewery and a new 1,000-capacity music venue, will mostly host companies with light industrial uses.

Bridget Chansakul, assistant vice president at the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), handles leasing for the development, and was excited for people to see the goings-on at Building A, where the event took place.

While several tenants are already in place in that building, as well as in the project’s Building B, the full development and unveiling of MADE Bush Terminal, which will eventually be a five-building complex, will occur slowly over the next few years.

“We’re giving a sneak peek tonight, but it’s just the beginning of what’s happening here in Sunset Park,” said Chansakul. “We’re getting ready to announce a new brewery coming to the site and we’re going to be unveiling a new building, so it’s just the beginning of an exciting and much larger project.”

After brief introductions from Brian Pascus, a finance reporter at Commercial Observer, and Jennifer Brown, senior vice president for the Sunset Park district at NYCEDC, attendees were treated to a brief discussion for a deeper introduction to MADE Bush Terminal. 

Waverly Neer, vice president of asset management at NYCEDC, held a short panel discussion with two of the building’s earliest tenants: lighting manufacturer Stickbulb and design studio Pelle.

Pelle, run by husband and wife architect team Jean and Oliver Pelle, moved into Building A in February after spending years working out of a small studio in Red Hook.

Jean Pelle said that the couple was always seeking to “push the boundaries of design,” and that their new studio at MADE Bush Terminal was giving them the space they needed to do that.

“We make and sell our own designs, so we have to have a showroom where we can exhibit the work and interface with clients,” said Pelle. “That’s why we’re here, because we have this really special 12,000-square-foot studio space to do all this work and have our team here, because we cannot work remote. Everything we do is so physical and hands-on.” 

As architects, the Pelles were also drawn to MADE’s industrial vibe.

“Given our architectural backgrounds, we’ve always loved these industrial buildings, and they really lent themselves to doing what we do,” said Oliver Pelle. “They’re very flexible, and they have a rawness to them that we’ve always loved.”

Stickbulb had been based in Long Island City, Queens, in a studio with a freight elevator so small they would occasionally have to refuse large projects.

When their lease expired, they sought a studio that would eliminate that problem among others, and landed at MADE.

“We searched everywhere from New Haven, Conn., to New Jersey, and realized we were looking for something that was actually kind of a unicorn,” said Christopher Beardsley, co-founder of Stickbulb. “We have grown steadily for the last 13 years, and we realized that one of the reasons we were able to have that trajectory was because we had very close control over every aspect of our operation.”

Between the location, the size of the studios, and the enormous freight elevator, MADE Bush Terminal provided that.

“Having the full-sized, robust setup of the freight elevator and the loading dock is a critical thing for us,” said Beardsley. “But then to also have that in an atmosphere where creative people and clients will want to come here, and where we can have our stuff on display in the same place we’re making it, was a really hard thing to find. So we felt very lucky when we first saw this place. We had all these boxes we were checking, and this place checked every single box.”

Larry Getlen can be reached at lgetlen@commercialobserver.com.