Building 78 at Kearny Point — Photo by Jeffrey Vock for Real Estate NJ
By Joshua Burd
A firm that arranges helicopter flights for photography has opened a new 10,000-square-foot storefront at Kearny Point, the sprawling former shipyard that is being repositioned as a modern campus for creative businesses.
Property owner Hugo Neu announced that NYONair had committed to the ground-floor space of the flex property known as Building 78. The tenant will use the space to house the storefront and office operations of its FlyNYON arm, which offers “doors-off” helicopter experiences.
FlyNYON’s new space will be as a lounge for clients waiting to embark on their trip and as “an immersive virtual tour for prospective flyers,” Hugo Neu said in a news release. Visitors will be able to experience an interactive, virtual-reality-based flight preview, showcasing the sights and sounds of a FlyNYON’s experience.
Hugo Neu said its new tenant fits in well with the other creative, next-generation businesses at Kearny Point, citing FlyNYON’s effort to make professional aerial photography services accessible to everyone. The company, which provides a crowdsourced aerial experience, offers flights in New York City, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles, where customers can shoot professional-style photos from an open-air, doors-off helicopter.
Its parent company, NYONair, also offers its own aerial production services and licenses high-quality images and fine art prints.
“Since we moved into Kearny Point earlier this year, the complex has proven to be the perfect fit for our business, with adaptable spaces that accommodate our operational necessities and a creative energy that suits our personality,” NYONair CEO Patrick Day said. “For those reasons, and because Kearny Point is located just a few short miles from our New York City-centric customer base, we’re excited to open our storefront at Kearny Point, within a larger space that will also support the processes driving each of our different verticals.”
Building 78 was the first building to be redeveloped at Kearny Point, a site that once housed a massive shipbuilding operation with 30,000 employees during the first and second World Wars. Hugo Neu said the 207,000-square-foot flex building is now 95 percent leased, home to more than 100 small businesses and a co-working facility.
The 130-acre site is part of a peninsula on the Hackensack River about five miles from the Holland Tunnel.
“Kearny Point is a place that harnesses the creativity of the people and businesses that work within it, and we’re thrilled that NYONair has opened its public storefront here at Building 78,” said Steve Nislick, chief financial officer at Hugo Neu. “The fact that such a forward-thinking business has committed staying and growing with us at Kearny Point is validation of our broader vision for the site as a sought-after destination for today’s generation.”
Hugo Neu is now at work on the next phase of Kearny Point, known as Building 100, which will be redeveloped into a technologically advanced creative office environment geared toward larger office users. The structure will be complemented by some 25 acres of new open and civic space, including restored native habitat, a continuous waterfront promenade and a living shoreline.
In total, the Kearny Point project will reactivate more than 3 million square feet of industrial space for more than 5,000 jobs, Hugo Neu said.
