Gowanus rising [WSJ]

Genius is doing a better job getting some of its key developments covered in the business press. First it landed a Business Insider #longread (which we broke down here) but it saved one piece of news for the Wall Street Journal — that it’s moving from Williamsburg into an expansive space in Gowanus.

The story is ostensibly about the rise of Gowanus as an innovation hub (though most of the focus is on Genius’s work and its new space, which will be explicitly non-Googley). It also mentions Farmigo and Holstee. It misses Brooklyn Creative League, Kitchensurfing and Operation CMYK.

From the WSJ:

Holstee, with 10 employees, moved to the area from Manhattan just over a year ago. The founders marketed what Holstee called a manifesto that opened, “This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often.” … Holstee co-founder Michael Radparvar said when Holstee arrived, its street had no foot traffic. Today he said they see 50 to 100 people walk by as design companies and other creative enterprises move in. “At the time it was one of those areas where people said, ‘You guys are either pioneers or you’re going to a dead-end area,’ ” he said.

Gowanus residents are debating the future of the neighborhood largely associated with the heavily polluted canal. The area has for years largely resisted the flurry of residential development common to many northern Brooklyn neighborhoods.

Read the whole story at WSJ.com