Future Green Studio

BEST ADAPTIVE REUSE

Empire Stores

Stationed on the DUMBO waterfront between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, the seven Civil War-era warehouses known as Empire Stores sat abandoned for half a century. The massive complex, which the Landmarks Preservation Commission called a “mute testimony” to the prosperity of 19th century Brooklyn, had once been a bustling economic hub. But for generations it served more as a fortress dividing the neighborhood and the waterfront.

Today that fortress is a gateway. The new Empire Stores, opened last spring, brought 450,000 square feet of much-needed office space to the borough along with retail, dining, public space, and art galleries that make it a 24/7 destination.

The project exemplifies the goals of adaptive re-use: it celebrates and preserves the building’s monumental presence on the waterfront, transforming its 19th century industrial shell to a 21st century creative community hub.