New York City’s economic future depends on more than any single business district or industry—it requires recognizing the particular strengths and weaknesses of areas across the five boroughs as well as the diversity of our businesses and workforce. As remote and hybrid work reshape office demand and the housing crisis intensifies competition for land use, the city’s economic development approach must adjust. Now is the time to develop a concerted strategy for the next generation of job and economic growth not just for the city overall, but for each of our unique commercial districts.

One of these is Downtown Brooklyn, an area RPA has long championed as a major asset for New York City and the region overall. A little over two decades after the landmark 2004 rezoning set out to establish Downtown Brooklyn as New York City’s third business district, the neighborhood has instead become something unanticipated: a mainly residential community with a thriving small business ecosystem. Although the cultural uses intended by the 2004 rezoning have thrived, the office market that the rezoning was designed to create has faced persistent hurdles, accelerated in recent years by the broader national shift toward remote and hybrid work. Its proximity to Downtown Manhattan, another business district with high office vacancy and difficulties with commercial tenanting, further hinders this market as does New York City’s persistent housing crisis, which continues to incentivize residential development over offices in many areas zoned for both uses.

These challenges could have simply led to a failed office district. But instead of failure, Downtown Brooklyn’s evolution over the last two decades has led to a different kind of success. It has revealed Downtown Brooklyn’s distinctive strengths and charted a divergent but equally exciting path forward. Following this path means leaning into what makes Downtown Brooklyn what it is today, instead of trying to realize a past vision whose relevance is long gone.

Today Downtown Brooklyn is a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood, anchored by major performance venues and a growing arts, entertainment and cultural sector. It contains Brooklyn Commons, one of the few true campus-style developments in New York City, with the underlying ownership and public-private partnership structure to support a long-term, coordinated vision. It boasts an outer-borough retail corridor, Fulton Mall, that draws shoppers from across the city. It is a hub for visitors, with nine full-service hotels and thousands of hotel rooms. And it sits at one of the best-connected transit nodes in the five boroughs, putting 2.3 million workers - many highly skilled and highly educated - within a thirty-minute commute.

This paper recommends five strategies to capitalize on these strengths and guide Downtown Brooklyn’s continued economic development. They are:

• Strengthen and Expand the Brooklyn Cultural District

• Embrace Brooklyn Commons as a Comprehensive Campus

• Continue to Prioritize Public Realm and Streetscape Enhancements

• Leverage the Strength of the Housing Market to supports Mixed-Use Environments

• Support the Existing Small Office and Small Business Ecosystem

Formerly referred to as the BAM Cultural District, this multi-decade initiative led by the city and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership has solidified downtown’s southern edge into a world-class arts hub. Recent phases center on completing mixed-use towers that blend affordable housing with dedicated space for community arts organizations, dance studios, and theaters. This dense concentration of cultural venues acts as an anchor for the local hospitality and evening economy, driving foot traffic to restaurants, bars, and retail shops outside of traditional 9-to-5 working hours.

This is a successful strategy that can be expanded northward up Flatbush Avenue. Already, the transformation of the old Long Island University gymnasium into the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre provides another anchor point. The expansion of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (itself only 10 years old) into the Spike Lee Cinema is another recent improvement. Both of these efforts also speak to the strategy of working with established stakeholders familiar with the area in the existing arts, entertainment and culture community - Bruce Ratner and Spike Lee respectively - which should also be continued.

Downtown Brooklyn now has major movie, theatre, concert and sporting venues, as well as a robust small theatre ecosystem. Notably, it has the capacity to host a major festival or other cultural event requiring multiple theatre and event spaces. While there have been several single-venue arts festivals in Downtown Brooklyn, such as the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Festival, now is the perfect time to increase the scale of its arts and cultural offerings to encompass this type of muti-venue, multiday festival. Other major cultural events, such as parades, should also be pursued and encouraged. Pursuing a major anchor institution as a sponsor for one or more events - similar to Macy’s sponsorship of the Thanksgiving Parade and 4th of July Fireworks - could be part of the formula as well. The Brooklyn Marriot, which also has conference as well as hotel capacity, could be an additional partner to engage.

Downtown Brooklyn also has two other distinct advantages when it comes to building its arts, entertainment and culture sector. First, it has one of the strongest local brands in the world, a brand that is synonymous with culture and creativity. And second, it has access to a huge workforce of professionals in the creative field. For example, according to a 2023 Downtown Brooklyn Partnership report on access to talent prepared with BJH Advisors, Downtown Brooklyn has access to 79% of New York City’s Producers and Directors and 77% of its film and video editors.

Importantly, this is a place in which Downtown Brooklyn is not in direct competition with a nearby commercial district. Manhattan’s Financial District does not have a similar type of arts and culture ecosystem, although care should be taken to complement, rather than compete with, the cultural ecosystems of the other parts of lower Manhattan as well as the Midtown Theater District.

Brooklyn Commons, formerly known as Metrotech, was opened in the early 90s as one of the last urban renewal-style superblock developments. Intended as a research and development campus, its initial tenanting strategy instead relied on attracting large corporations and government agencies in need of ​“back-office” space in a place that was transit accessible but less costly than Midtown Manhattan. This strategy has struggled, especially as the Financial District’s office market has softened, and Brooklyn Commons currently has 1.4 million square feet of vacant office space with occupants mainly being public sector tenants and the expansion of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. A new strategy is needed for the campus.

The answer is to embrace it as what it is - a campus. True campuses are few and far between in New York City, as are opportunities to create them. As such, institutions that need this environment have a scarcity of options. Brooklyn Commons, in conjunction with the City of New York which holds the land-lease to much of it, should explore partnerships with educational or other institutions which need a campus-like environment. Because Brooklyn Commons benefits from a strong public-private partnership structure - one private entity as the owner/manager, a strong municipal presence in the form of a ground lease and major tenants, and a high-capacity Business Improvement District - a comprehensive and long-term campus strategy can be developed and pursued.

This could take many forms. One idea would be a return to the campus’s original intention as a research and development base, embracing the idea of an ​“Innovation Campus” put forward by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. It could also follow the ​“Eds and Meds” framework that NYC DCP had proposed for downtown Brooklyn in 2023, or pursue more of an Arts and Culture focus as illustrated above.

Notably, this does not necessarily mean that only a single institution should occupy the entire campus. For instance, Brooklyn Commons could build on the existing presence of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, while also bringing in the nearby CUNY CityTech College. This could potentially include even more institutions with a STEM focus, such as an NYC DOE High School.

This campus approach could also mean embracing a more mixed-use environment, including looking for residential, institutional, and/or hotel conversion possibilities. For instance, faculty and dormitory housing could be located above classroom facilities. Additional hotel capacity could provide the needed visitor capacity to turn the campus into a nationwide or even worldwide hub connected to other cities and regions as well. Notably, Brooklyn Common’s Urban Renewal Area designation expires June 30th, 2027, meaning that special controls related to the area, including the inability to convert existing office space to residential use, will sunset as well.

In all circumstances, the key is to create a place which has a distinct identity and a campus-like environment that fosters connectivity. Key to this is an open environment shared by all buildings and public space. Institutions that require additional security measures currently impede upon this environment and should be relocated. To the extent that public agencies locate in Brooklyn Commons, they should ideally be agencies that are willing to invest in the surrounding public realm and prioritize an open campus-like environment, while agencies needing or desiring additional security and isolation should be located in areas where this would not impede on the experience of workers, students, visitors and residents.

A vibrant, safe and inviting public realm is key to attracting business and workforce, especially in a pedestrian-focused office district like Downtown Brooklyn.

Central to this effort is to fund and prioritize the Downtown Brooklyn Public Realm Plan. Overseen by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, it focuses on widening sidewalks, adding green infrastructure, and building safer pedestrian/cyclist corridors to better connect the commercial core of Fulton Mall and MetroTech with adjacent green spaces like Brooklyn Bridge and Fort Greene Parks. A focus on redesigning Jay Street, which bisects the district and is currently a major impediment to the pedestrian environment, should be a priority. Care should also be taken to make sure NYCHA developments, as well as other residential campus developments such as University Towers, are fully integrated into any public realm and neighborhood design plan and benefit from any investments.

Partnering with DOT to pursue more Open Streets and Shared Streets is another tool. Following its origins as a pandemic recovery tool, the New York City Open Streets program has transitioned into a permanent program, and can continue to be a component of Downtown Brooklyn’s placemaking and economic strategy. Likewise, expanding the network of Shared Streets in Downtown Brooklyn - and making them permanent - will further bolster a pedestrian-friendly, attractive downtown. Optimizing micro-mobility and equitable transit is another. This includes expanding municipal bike lanes, updating the borough’s bus network routing, and implementing multi-modal transportation hubs to ensure workers from outer neighborhoods have seamless access to Downtown Brooklyn’s commercial sector.

Downtown Brooklyn also remains an epicenter of illegal parking and placard abuse, which is likely to be exacerbated by the opening of the new Downtown Brooklyn Correctional Facility. The area benefits from excellent transit access, with 2.3 million workers within a 30 minute commute, served by 14 subway lines as well as a connection to the Long Island Rail Road. Continuing to tolerate illegal parking is a severe impediment to the neighborhood’s growth and potential. If current systems prove unable to rectify this problem, pursuing changes to enforcement in Downtown Brooklyn (and potentially citywide) should be implemented. For instance, Downtown Brooklyn could serve as a pilot area for any automated parking enforcement legislation passed by New York State. RPA’s Parking and Curbside Toolkit can serve as an additional reference for improving the streetscape.

The 2004 rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn was meant to spur the neighborhood as New York City’s third business district, with a focus on ​“back office” jobs for major corporations. However, a combination of permissive zoning, New York’s severe housing shortage, and a weakness in the office market combined to instead produce major residential development, transforming Downtown Brooklyn into a mainly residential area. New neighborhood commercial uses have followed this residential development. Two decades after this rezoning, the office market continues to face headwinds in Downtown Brooklyn while its residential market remains strong. The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity is also profoundly impactful for high-density areas like Downtown Brooklyn, especially the ability to now build higher-density residential buildings. This is likely to further strengthen the market for residential development in Downtown Brooklyn.

While somewhat accidental, the results of the 2004 rezoning could hardly be called ​“unsuccessful.” Downtown Brooklyn has been transformed into a vibrant and growing mixed-use neighborhood. And the residential and retail strength does not have to compete with the idea of Downtown Brooklyn as an office district. Instead, this strong residential market can be leveraged to also provide more office, commercial and hospitality options. This is a strategy that has proven successful in multiple New York City neighborhoods, and as remote work continues to dampen office demand, is a strategy that will need to continue in areas that wish to have commercial growth. The amenities and environment provided from a neighborhood with a residential population also transfer over to workers and visitors.

There is currently a major valuation gap in Downtown Brooklyn between residential and commercial buildings, leading to pressure on underperforming office buildings to convert to residential. This pressure, combined with recent legislation meant to ease and incentivize these conversions, means that we will likely see some major office-to-residential conversion in Downtown Brooklyn in addition to continuing residential development. These conversions should be done in a way that encourages, rather than discourages, a mixed-use environment. In particular, retaining ground-floor retail should be a priority in these conversions, as should the ability to retain part of the building for office use. Cultural institutions or other uses could also be part of these conversions, similar to the newer buildings in the Brooklyn Cultural District further south down Flatbush Avenue. Opportunities for hotel uses could also be explored and incentivized as part of these conversions.

The type of new residential development also matters greatly. Many of the earliest residential developments in Downtown Brooklyn were substantially mixed-income buildings, and this income mix led to the development of a vibrant and inclusive neighborhood that supports a variety of retail options. Mixed-income development should continue to be a priority for Downtown Brooklyn. In addition, artist housing is something to specifically encourage and invest in in Downtown Brooklyn in order to better support the aforementioned expansion of the Brooklyn Cultural District and strengthen Downtown Brooklyn as an arts, culture and entertainment hub.

Downtown Brooklyn has a substantially different workforce base than Midtown Manhattan. According to the 2023 report on access to talent, technology and creative workers are disproportionally represented with the 30-minute commute shed, along with several professional occupations, most notably architects. Taking advantage of the access to this specific workforce can help fill commercial vacancies and help develop a more specific identity for Downtown Brooklyn as an office district.

One way to do this is by intentionally locating government agencies which employ large numbers of this particular workforce in Downtown Brooklyn in order to help build this ecosystem and identity. To the extent the public sector locates in Downtown Brooklyn, they should locate agencies with high concentrations of tech, creative and professional services jobs to establish the district as a proven office district for these uses. This, combined with the access to a ready workforce, will have a multiplier effect, leading to more private sector demand among these types of businesses as well. The DUMBO office market’s focus on tech companies provides a solid foundation for this strategy.

Downtown Brooklyn has also long benefited from a distinctive small retail environment, with Fulton Mall one of the most recognizable and significant commercial strips in the outer boroughs. The area continues to attract people from across the borough, and even New York City, one of a very few outer-borough commercial strips to do so. This environment is invaluable - being able to provide it to workers is a significant attraction for potential office tenants. This retail environment should continue to be encouraged and grown with care, and its current character built on instead of replaced.

Likewise, the small office environment is a huge asset to Downtown Brooklyn. In contrast to Manhattan, Downtown Brooklyn has a weak Class A office market with a 56% vacancy rate in buildings built after 2019. This is compared to just a 15% vacancy rate in buildings built before 2019 - over half of which is represented by Brooklyn Commons. As residential-to-office conversions of older buildings throughout New York City accelerate, a transit-accessible district that remains an option for smaller businesses needing smaller and less expensive office space is invaluable.

Downtown Brooklyn’s story over the past twenty years is, in many ways, a story of unplanned success. A rezoning largely intended to create another office district instead seeded a thriving mixed-use neighborhood with a large concentration of mixed-income residential buildings and arts & culture institutions. This outcome should not be treated as a deviation to correct, but as a foundation to build on.

The five strategies outlined in this paper share a common thread: they call for Downtown Brooklyn to lean into its existing strengths rather than chase a generic office-district model that no longer fits the moment. A cultural district with few rivals in the city should be supported and expanded, not left to grow incrementally on its own. A genuine campus environment, a rarity in New York City, should be planned deliberately rather than left to a default tenanting strategy built for a different era. A strong public realm, a resurgent housing market, and a distinctive small business and creative workforce base are not consolation prizes for a struggling office market — they are the building blocks of a different, durable kind of commercial district.

None of these strategies depends on a single actor. They require continued coordination among Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, property owners, anchor institutions, several City agencies and many other stakeholders. Coordination of this kind is proven and has already had significant success, producing significant additions to the neighborhood like BAM South and the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre. Sustaining and deepening that collaboration, with a clear and shared sense of helping Downtown Brooklyn build on its successes, is the surest path to ensuring this success continues.