Sitting just off the coast of New York City's East River, the Brooklyn Army Terminal was first commissioned in 1918 to serve as a major military depot, carrying troops and supplies to bases and battles in Europe. More than three million troops passed through the terminal before it was decommissioned in the 1960s.
In the 1980s, it was purchased by the City of New York and transformed into what it is today: A four-million-square-foot manufacturing hub that is bringing high-paying manufacturing jobs back to NYC.
Andrew Gustafson of Turnstile Tours and members of the NYC Economic Development Corporation recently took us around for a tour of the facility to see the building's storied past and its bright future.
The Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT) is located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. It is owned by the the city and run by the NYC Economic Development Corporation, which has renovated it to house more than 100 businesses, including light manufacturing, medical labs, warehouse distribution, and artists' studios.
The Terminal is approximately four million square feet. The city has spent $185 million to retrofit 3.2 million square feet of that space with new electric, elevators, plumbing, and other amenities.
The complex was first commissioned in 1918 to help move supplies and soldiers for the US's war effort in Europe. It wasn't finished until ten months after the war ended in 1919. At the time, it was the largest reinforced concrete building in the world. Here's what it looked like then.
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