The Jehovah's Witnesses decided to move out of the New York City area and are selling their Watchtower headquarters located in Brooklyn. The religious organization is expected to raise more than $1billion from the sale.
The Watchtower headquarters, together with an apartment building plus a 135,000-square-foot lot located close to it, are now available on the market, Daily Mail reported.
The building illuminated by the infamous Watchtower sign has been there for over a century. Now, the Witnesses planned to build their headquarters in a more serene and peaceful area, specifically Warwick.
Founded in the 1870s by Charles Taze Russel, a Presbyterian from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Jehovah's Witness movement arrived in Brooklyn, New York in 1909. The founder's idea was to build a house of worship and printing and corporate offices combined as one. Located close to the headquarters is the Bethel, a residence dedicated for the movement's volunteers.
Throughout the next hundred years, the religious group managed to establish and own 36 buildings spreading out all over Brooklyn.
The 733,000-square-foot headquarters was originally worth $3million. The Witnesses purchased it from Squibb Pharmaceuticals in 1969.
The printing plant used in manufacturing their Bibles and other religious materials was first sold roughly ten years ago. They then relocated the plant to Wallkill.
The decision of the movement to sell their properties will open a lot of opportunities for businesses and real estate establishments like apartments.
"It's going to be incredibly transformative," according to Alexandria Sica, the executive director of the business group DUMBO Improvement District.
Sica is looking forward to the transfer of the Witnesses because according to her, the organization's establishments were not accessible for people that are non-members.
"It's closed off," she said. "You get that sense of 'This place is not for the public.'"
Although the church has not yet released any price, the president of Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Tucker Reed, estimated that the real estate will have a value not less than $1billion.
The Jehovah's Witnesses promised to renovate a nearby park in exchange for zoning change. The organization must take action first with this agreement before leaving the city.
