BROOKLYN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Brooklyn Navy Yard announced today that Brooklyn-based chocolate maker MAST CHOCOLATE, founded by brothers Rick and Michael Mast, will move into the third wing of the now fully-leased Green Manufacturing Center (GMC), a state-of-the-art, LEED-certified manufacturing facility and former ship building facility, which is expected to bring 800 jobs to the Yard.
With this expansion, MAST CHOCOLATE will more than double their existing workforce of nearly 75 people, with a long-term plan to create 100 more jobs. The Navy Yard’s onsite Employment Center will assist Mast with their HR and recruitment, helping to place local residents into the jobs being created. The chocolate maker will increase production capabilities significantly with its new factory, where it will continue to innovate and produce its signature chocolate from bean to bar for retailers and chefs around the globe. It will also be debuting the first-ever chocolate brewery where they will be brewing, bottling, kegging, and distributing its popular non-alcoholic chocolate beer. MAST joins a growing list of food and beverage manufacturers at the Yard including Russ & Daughters, Brooklyn Roasting Company, and Kings County Distillery.
The move will also mark the introduction of the MAST CHOCOLATE community programming initiative called M.A.S.T. (Math, Art, Science, Technology), which will bring grade-school students from local Brooklyn public-schools into the production facility throughout the year and will offer programming in conjunction with BLDG 92, the Yard’s public exhibition center, to provide public tours and other programs.
“When MAST CHOCOLATE moves to the Yard they will quickly double their existing workforce, creating good jobs for dozens of New Yorkers,” said Brooklyn Navy Yard President and CEO David Ehrenberg. “With nearly $700 million in development currently underway at the Yard, we’re thrilled to complete the first step of our larger redevelopment plan, which will add over 2.5 million square feet of space and more than 9,000 additional jobs on the Yard by 2020. Mast, and all the tenants at the fully-leased Green Manufacturing Center, will continue to boost the entire Brooklyn and New York City economy.”
About MAST CHOCOLATE
Founded in 2007 by brothers Rick and Michael Mast, MAST is introducing chocolate to the world with an obsessive attention to detail, meticulous craftsmanship, groundbreaking innovation, and inspirational simplicity. MAST makes its signature chocolate bars, beverages, pastries, and confections from scratch, in-house, with an emphasis on simplicity and clarity of flavor.
ABOUT THE BROOKLYN NAVY YARD
The Brooklyn Navy Yard has long been a center of innovation, contributing to the development of steam-powered technology, anesthesia, and radio communications. Today, products made at the Brooklyn Navy Yard include components of the Mars Rover, prototypes of next-generation motorcycles, and highly advanced protective gear for the military.
History
- Opened in 1801, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was among the first six federal shipyards.
- The Brooklyn Navy Yard launched America’s mightiest warships, including the USS Monitor, the USS Arizona, and the USS Missouri.
- Peak activity occurred during World War II when some 70,000 people worked here.
- The Brooklyn Navy Yard was in continuous operation until 1966, when it was decommissioned and sold to the City of New York.
Current Status
- Today, the 300-acre Brooklyn Navy Yard today is a national model of a sustainable, urban manufacturing center with some 300+ businesses employing 7,000 people.
- The city-owned site is undergoing its biggest expansion since WWII, with some $700 million in new development underway.
- Resulting in the creation and reactivation of 2,000,000+ square feet of new space for manufacturers, creative, technology, and other industrial companies.
- Employment at the Yard will more than double in the next few years, jumping from 7,000 to 16,000 by 2020.
- Each year, the Yard’s Employment Center places between 250 and 300 people in jobs, with a focus on creating employment opportunities for those that are typically hardest to employ (such as the chronically un- and under-employed, veterans, public housing residents, the formerly incarcerated, and less skilled workers).
- The Yard’s tenants represent a dynamic ecosystem of manufacturers, innovators, and artists, and these businesses are driving the future of the economy in New York and across the nation.
- The Brooklyn Navy Yard is committed to leveraging the Yard’s incredible assets by providing resources that benefit the local community, opportunities for economic mobility, and a place for businesses to grow and lead the next wave of American manufacturing.
Key development projects
- Building 77: The reactivation of this 1,000,000-square-foot building is the largest development project at the Yard in generations. The building will be the new public gateway to the Yard with a 60,000 square foot public food manufacturing hub on the ground floor. Job creation total: 3,000
- Dock 72: Breaking ground in May 2016, the 675,000-square-foot building is being developed by Boston Properties and Rudin Management, with We Work as the anchor tenant. Job creation total: 4,000
- Green Manufacturing Center: Now complete, this fully renovated, state-of-the-art modern industrial manufacturing facility will serve as the new home of Crye Precision, New Lab, Brooklyn Roasting Company, and a soon-to-be-announced fourth tenant. Job creation total: 800
About The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) is the not-for-profit corporation that serves as the real estate developer and property manager of the Yard on behalf of its owner, the City of New York. BNYDC’s mission is to fuel New York City’s economic vitality by creating and preserving quality jobs, growing the City’s modern industrial sector and its businesses, and connecting the local community with the economic opportunity and resources of the Yard. BNYDC’s vision is a vibrant and dense, modern manufacturing community where businesses are provided the stability needed to invest, grow, and thrive and where diverse job-seekers can come to find a high-quality, middle-class job.