Knotel’s first ground-up development is coming to Gowanus

Knotel is getting into ground-up development. The flexible office space provider signed a deal to anchor a commercial project at 473 President Street in Gowanus. Once completed, the building will span between 150,000 and 300,000 square feet and Knotel will take the entire office portion, co-founder Amol Sarva told The Real Deal. The startup is also buying a small stake in the project. Knotel declined to name the developer, but property records show that MCP President Street LLC, an entity managed by Cynthia and Michael Schlegel’s EcoRise Development, is the owner of the two adjacent lots at 469 and 473 President Street. The lots span a combined 49,000 square feet. The site is currently home to the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club. Construction is expected to wrap up in 2019. 473 President will be Knotel’s first ground-up development. The company has been expanding rapidly over the past year and manages more than 600,000 square feet of office space in New York and San Francisco. Earlier this year the startup announced a $25 million Series A funding round. One of Knotel’s biggest rivals, WeWork, is also increasingly active in ground-up development. The company is a partner in Boston Properties and Rudin Management’s Dock 72 project in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.