According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses) could quite possibly the largest single landowner in Brooklyn, N.Y. except that is for the government.

The Watchtower’s huge real estate portfolio in Brooklyn consists of a huge chunk of DUMBO, the old Bossert Hotel on Montague Street, as well as waterfront property facing Pier 1 below the (Brooklyn) Heights. They also own buildings at Bridge Plaza.

The Watchtower Society, owns a staggering amount of Brooklyn real estate, and is certainly the largest single property owner in the Brooklyn Heights area.

But will the Watchtower remain in Brooklyn?  With the economic downturn it seems that for the moment the Watchtower is staying put. But they are not expected to remain for long. Quite recently the organization has acquired 248 acres in Ramapo, N.Y., about 45 miles north of New York City. The $11.5 million site will reportedly someday house more than half of the organizations 1,500-person administrative staff.  Additionally the Watchtower is in the process of buying another 253 acres near their Wallkill printing plant (a little over 40 miles north west of NYC). This will be the 4th major land acquisition in as many years.

The organization currently has eight other buildings (located in the Brooklyn Heights) on the market, including the Bossert. But according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle it is very likely that when the economy and real estate market improves, the Witnesses will sell their DUMBO locations, as well as their buildings on Sands Street.

Another jewel in their real estate portfolio is their waterfront building near Old Fulton, which has been long coveted by residential developers. Area developers look to it as a future source of operating revenue for the community, perhaps as a conference center or hotel.

What is clear is that despite the massive property holdings in Brooklyn, they are nothing compared to the hundreds and hundreds of acres owned in more rural areas of NY and NJ.

According to an article in The Brooklyn Paper back in April of 2009, Richard Devine, a Watchtower spokesperson said regarding the Ramapo acreage, “We would like to build a live-work complex”.

Until now, the Watchtower’s residential and publishing facilities in Brooklyn have remained separate. Combining both facilities at one remote upstate site would create a huge, centralized religious compound.

It seems highly likely that the Watchtower Society will continue the trend of selling off its highly valuable Brooklyn real estate as the market improves, predictably moving their operations and residences to the more cost efficient properties upstate.

One can only imagine the equity the organization has built in those NY properties over the years, it seems the time has come to cash-in.

Photos of some Watchtower property in Brooklyn, N.Y.

DUMBO

Watchtower Tennis Courts at DUMBO

Watchtower owned, Bossert Hotel

Lobby inside the Bossert Hotel, owned by the Watchtower