Design center secures grant.

The Greenpoint Manufacturing Design Center recently secured $4 million geared towards the purchase of a 72,000 s/f industrial building on McKibben Street which will help save 100 manufacturing jobs and help to preserve a place for local products on the market.

The funds pooled from the city council, Brooklyn Borough President's office and the Bloomberg Administration will be combined with $7 million the GMDC expects to secure from a private bank.

The new building is expected to ease some of the troubles of the plethora of companies displaced by new zoning laws on the waterfront and the sizzling real estate market. "72,000 s/f doesn't necessarily solve the world's woes, but we can take 20-25 businesses and give them a stable place to operate, we feel like we've accomplished something important," said Brian Coleman of GMDC, which hopes to close on the deal by the end of the year.

GMDC was formed in 1992 to help protect artisans and currently houses 80 businesses--including hot glass blowers, metal spinners, woodworkers, weavers and furniture builders--in five buildings at below market rates.

As Brooklyn has become a hot spot for building new developments, the need for a protected space for these workers has grown. Their waiting list has quadrupled over the past year.

"In light of rezoning and the number of people that have been displaced, this space may mean a little more now than it has in the past," Coleman said.

In addition to providing higher salaries to the workers which then trickles down into the communities where they live and work, these jobs provide high end custom made goods to New York City, argues Coleman. "The creative economy is still very important to New York City. These are small, custom design businesses that need to be based in New York because that is the market they serve," Coleman said.