Brooklyn's About to Welcome a New $3.5 Million Fashion Manufacturing Hub

Possibly in response to a surge of renewed interest and demand in recent years for high-quality, domestic fashion and textile manufacturing, New York City officials recently announced plans to inject $3.5 million USD into Brooklyn’s Manufacturing Innovation Hub for Apparel, Textiles & Wearable Tech, due to launch in 2015. Aimed at nurturing the fashion and garment industry in New York, which currently makes up 6% of the city’s workforce, the hub will house 20 – 30 businesses and up to 50 designers, along with the creation of 300 jobs. Planned to house sample-making factories, wearable tech R&D studios, and an incubator space for 50 designers, the 160,000 square-foot hub will be located in an eight-storey industrial building and will be redesigned by Ole Sondresen Architect, which has previously designed offices for Kickstarter and Etsy. The beginning of construction will coincide with New York Fashion Week in February 2015 and its expected to last nine months.