I came across this article about the WBT$ Real Estate Empire, not many people know about.
A Watchtower Brooklyn real-estate watch list
Eye on Real Estate: What's for sale and what isn't (yet) by the Jehovah's Witnesses
November 9, 2016 By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The day will come when the Jehovah’s Witnesses no longer own real estate in Brooklyn Heights, which was their home base for a century.
The Watchtower began selling off its Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO property portfolio several years ago, as part of its meticulous preparations for relocating its world headquarters to upstate Warwick, NY.
That new headquarters officially opened on Sept. 1.
The sale process took another step forward in late October, when the religious organization put one of its residential buildings, 97 Columbia Heights, on the market.
“The real estate sales are being cared for in-house (not using a broker). We are pleased with the level of interest that continues to be shown in our properties,” Watchtower spokesman Richard Devine told us via email.
“This is a credit to the desirability of living and working in and around the Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO neighborhoods,” he said.
The properties that are in play — and those that will be — are in prime locations in two of Brooklyn’s most sought-after neighborhoods. Of course you want to keep track of them. So here’s a Watchtower Brooklyn real-estate watchlist:
Properties the Watchtower has not yet put up for sale* Residential building 119 Columbia Heights is a rare example of Brutalist Architecture within the landmarked Brooklyn Heights Historic District.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses finished constructing the distinctive-looking brick building on the corner of Pineapple Street in 1970. Ulrich Franzen was the architect.
According to city Buildings Department records, it’s a five-story building with 43 residential units.
Quote:
* A former 1920s-vintage hotel called The Towers at 21 Clark St. is one of the most eye-pleasing buildings in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, though it’s a century younger than some of the nearby houses.
There are Venetian-style towers on the four corners of the 16-story property, which was known back in the day as “the Aristocrat of Brooklyn Hotels.”
The Watchtower purchased it in 1975 for $1,992,229.08, Finance Department records show, then remodeled it to serve as a residence and dining room.
The 313,768-square-foot building, which has frontage on Willow and Pineapple streets, was put up for sale last spring.
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