Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center

What Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center does

Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC) is a New York City nonprofit industrial real estate developer founded in 1992 to preserve and create affordable manufacturing space for small and medium-sized industrial firms. GMDC acquires, rehabilitates, and manages industrial properties — typically historic manufacturing buildings — across Brooklyn and Queens, leasing them at below-market rates to artisans, craftspeople, and light manufacturers. The core product is industrial space rental on minimum 5-year leases with 5-year renewal options, in unit sizes of approximately 1,200 to 7,000 square feet, with shared amenities such as loading docks, spray booths, 3-phase power, and high ceilings. Notable technical and structural components include two photovoltaic arrays (51 kW and 59 kW) at the flagship Manhattan Avenue complex, LEED Silver certification at the Atlantic Avenue Industrial Center, and over $11.5 million invested in odor/vapor barriers, vibration isolators, and acoustic treatments at the Brownsville Industrial Center to enable residential-industrial co-location.

GMDC's portfolio spans more than 685,000 square feet across seven owned and managed properties — including the 360,000 sq ft Manhattan Avenue flagship, 221 McKibbin Street (a former jute factory), Atlantic Avenue, Brownsville, and Ozone Park — housing more than 130 businesses that employ over 700 workers, 92% of whom are NYC residents and approximately 35–51% of whom are English-second-language speakers. The 2022 average tenant-employee salary was $54,587, meaningfully above retail ($37,140) and food service ($34,860) benchmarks. All properties report 100% occupancy.

GMDC's business model blends below-market rental income with complex project finance: acquisitions and rehabilitations are funded through layered capital stacks combining New Markets Tax Credits, Historic Preservation Tax Credits, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, NYCEDC Industrial Developer Fund grants, NYS HCR subsidies, and philanthropic capital from partners such as the Partnership Fund for New York City, JPMorgan Chase, and Enterprise Community Loan Fund. Distribution is direct-to-tenant through GMDC's in-house property and leasing team, with go-to-market relying on earned media, government referrals, industry partnerships, and word-of-mouth within NYC's small manufacturing community. The 2024 opening of Bridge Rockaway, a $118 million co-development with The Bridge and Mega Development that combines 174 affordable housing units with 39,000 sq ft of manufacturing space, marks GMDC's first new-construction project and the first NYC mixed-use development of its kind.

Name

Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center

Legal name

Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center

Website

https://gmdconline.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC) is a NYC nonprofit industrial real estate developer that acquires, rehabilitates, and manages affordable manufacturing space across 685,000+ square feet in Brooklyn and Queens. It leases below-market, long-term industrial units to 130+ small manufacturers, artisans, and craftspeople.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Industrial Space Leasing: GMDC generates revenue through leasing industrial real estate to small manufacturing businesses, artisans, and artists. The organization intentionally sets rates slightly below market to support mission goals while maintaining financial sustainability. Properties are currently 100% occupied across the portfolio.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

GMDC is a nonprofit industrial real estate developer that acquires, rehabilitates, and manages industrial properties across New York City, leasing below-market workspace (1,200–7,000+ SF) to small and medium-sized manufacturers, artisans, and artists under long-term leases (minimum 5 years with options). The organization also provides shared technology and equipment, financial services, and business development assistance to tenants across its 685,000+ square-foot portfolio of seven Brooklyn and Queens properties.

Product overview

GMDC is a nonprofit industrial real estate developer offering affordable, flexible manufacturing and light industrial workspace across seven properties totaling over 685,000 square feet in Brooklyn and Queens. The core offering is industrial space rental with long-term leases (minimum 5 years) at below-market rates. Properties include the flagship Manhattan Avenue complex, McKibbin Street, Atlantic Avenue Industrial Center, Brownsville Industrial Center (newest mixed-use project), and Ozone Park Industrial Center. Tenants include woodworkers, metal fabricators, custom cabinet makers, textile manufacturers, and artisanal tradespeople. Shared amenities include loading docks, spray booths, 3-phase power, and finishing rooms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GMDC Industrial Space Rental Affordable, flexible industrial and manufacturing workspace for small and medium-sized businesses. Offers unit sizes ranging from 1,200 to 7,000+ square feet with minimum 5-year leases at below-market rates, shared amenities including loading docks, spray booths, and 3-phase power.
• 1155-1205 Manhattan Avenue Property GMDC's flagship 360,000 square foot industrial complex in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Historic building converted to multi-tenant project serving 70+ small businesses employing nearly 400 workers. Features two photovoltaic arrays (51 kW and 59 kW).
• 221 McKibbin Street Industrial Center 72,000 square foot building in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. $17.8 million gut renovation of historic jute factory. Units ranging 1,200-7,000 sq ft leased to artisans, light industrial users, and small manufacturers including display manufacturers, woodworkers, metal finishers, and print makers.
• Atlantic Avenue Industrial Center Redevelopment of former auto parts warehouse at 1102 Atlantic Avenue in Crown Heights into artisanal manufacturing space. LEED Silver certified project financed through New Markets Tax Credits. 100% occupancy achieved.
• GMDC Brownsville Industrial Center 39,000 square feet of light manufacturing space at 805 Rockaway Avenue in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Part of first NYC mixed-use development combining manufacturing with 174 units of affordable housing. Features 10 units (1,250-6,000 sq ft), loading dock with hydraulic lift, state-of-the-art finishing room. Expected to create up to 35 jobs.
• Ozone Park Industrial Center 90,000 square foot industrial facility in Ozone Park, Queens. $42 million rehabilitation of 113-year-old factory. First awardee of NYC's Industrial Developer Fund. Capacity for 24 businesses and 80 living wage jobs.

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Mega DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Mega Development (MEGA Development) served as the general contractor for the $118 million Bridge Rockaway/GMDC Brownsville Industrial Center project. Development principal Emanuel Kokinakis represented Mega Development at the groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting ceremonies.
• Think! Architecture and DesignmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 September 2024Think! Architecture and Design designed the Bridge Rockaway/GMDC Brownsville Industrial Center mixed-use development, which features two residential towers (six and seven stories) separated by an 11,000-square-foot garden, with light manufacturing space on the ground floor.
• The BridgecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2022The Bridge is a Harlem-based nonprofit focused on creating quality affordable housing and offering supportive services to underserved New Yorkers. Partnered with GMDC on the Bridge Rockaway development combining 174 units of affordable and supportive housing with 39,000 sq ft of light manufacturing space. The Bridge owns and operates Bridge Rockaway and provides on-site supportive services for residents including formerly homeless seniors, veterans, and adults with serious mental illness.
• TF CornerstonecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2017GMDC partnered with TF Cornerstone to develop industrial space at the Anable Basin mixed-use development in Long Island City. GMDC's manufacturing facility is one of the first sites to open in this $925 million, 4.5-acre waterfront project that includes 1,000 apartments and 100,000 square feet of light manufacturing space.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• NYCEDC (NYC Economic Development Corporation): NYCEDC is the City of New York's economic development arm that awarded GMDC its first IDF grant in 2016 and continues to support Bridge Rockaway. It is comparable to GMDC as a NYC industrial-policy actor and ecosystem funder, but as a city-chartered agency it plays an enabling and grantmaking role rather than competing with GMDC's property-ownership and leasing operations.
• Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF): NFF is a national CDFI providing capital and consulting to nonprofits, including community developers. It is comparable to GMDC as part of the same nonprofit community-development financing ecosystem (NMTC, LIHTC, and complex public stacks), though NFF operates as a funder and advisor rather than as a property owner or lessor, so it is enabling rather than directly competitive.
• Pratt Center for Community Development: Pratt Center is a NYC-based nonprofit focused on community-driven industrial retention, planning, and equitable economic development in Brooklyn and Queens. It is directly comparable to GMDC's mission of preserving NYC manufacturing and is cited as a GMDC collaborator; however, Pratt Center operates as a policy/planning entity rather than a building owner and property lessor, so it is adjacent rather than directly competitive.
• Urban Manufacturing Alliance (UMA): UMA is a national alliance of organizations that supports industrial retention and urban manufacturing ecosystems, and GMDC's CEO Brian Coleman presents nationally through UMA-style channels. UMA is a direct peer in mission (preserving urban manufacturing ecosystems and nonprofit industrial developers), though it is an advocacy/coordinating body rather than a property owner, so it complements rather than competes with GMDC's operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): LISC is a large national nonprofit CDFI that finances and develops community real estate including industrial, commercial, and mixed-use projects across the U.S. It is comparable to GMDC as a mission-driven nonprofit real estate developer and capital stacker using NMTC, LIHTC, and public-private partnerships, though LISC operates nationally and at much greater scale across asset classes while GMDC is NYC-specific and focused on industrial.
• Enterprise Community Partners: Enterprise is a national nonprofit that combines development, lending (including Enterprise Community Loan Fund, a GMDC capital partner), and policy advocacy to create affordable housing and community assets. It is comparable as a partner-type nonprofit developer using stacked tax credits (NMTC, LIHTC) and public-private financing, while operating at far broader scale and asset-class breadth than GMDC.

Emerging players

• The Bridge (Bridge Community Development): The Bridge is a Harlem-based nonprofit housing and supportive services provider that partnered with GMDC on the Bridge Rockaway project as co-developer. It is comparable as a nonprofit co-development partner on a NYC mixed-use asset (housing + industrial), though its core focus is supportive and affordable housing rather than industrial leasing; within GMDC's pipeline, The Bridge is a complement, not a competitor, for the housing component of mixed-use projects.
• Evergreen Cooperatives: Evergreen Cooperatives is a Cleveland-based network of worker-owned, mission-driven businesses anchored in manufacturing and supported by community-financed real estate. It is comparable as a mission-driven nonprofit/community development entity focused on manufacturing employment and economic inclusion; however, it operates via cooperative employee-ownership rather than industrial real estate leasing, so the overlap is in impact thesis rather than business model.

Direct peers

• Regional Development Corporation (NYC RDC): NYC RDC is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit industrial developer that acquires and rehabilitates industrial properties to preserve manufacturing space in NYC, similar to GMDC. It is a direct peer in nonprofit industrial real estate development and IBZ-aligned mission, though its portfolio is smaller and concentrated in specific Brooklyn submarkets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/greenpointmanufacturingdesigncenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/greenpoint-manufacturing-and-design-center

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center