Time Inc., publisher of Time, People and Sports Illustrated, has signed a 15-year lease at Brooklyn's Industry City, where it will have offices and a studio for a new automotive website.

The 55,000-square-foot space will be home to more than 300 employees by the end of the year, the New York-based company said Thursday. The deal includes a 5,000-square-foot ground-floor showroom that will be used for video work for TheDrive, a website focused on car news and culture aimed at readers under 35.

Brooklyn is emerging as an attractive office market for technology and media companies, who are drawn to the area's startup culture and refurbished warehouses. In March, Industry City's owners, Atlanta-based Jamestown and its partners, unveiled a $1 billion plan to transform the 19th century waterfront complex into a modern hub for technology and manufacturing.

Industry City is "an ideal space for building new products, reimagining content creation and developing advertising solutions," Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp said in a statement.

Time Inc.'s lease, in addition to the showroom, includes the entire fourth and fifth floors of one of the 16 buildings at Industry City. Also relocating to Brooklyn will be employees that develop new technology for Time Inc.'s media properties and the team that works on commercial and advertorial content.

The company has plans to relocate its headquarters to lower Manhattan from the Time & Life Building in Midtown, where it has operated since 1959. Time Inc. is leasing 700,000 square feet on six floors at 225 Liberty St., in the Brookfield Place complex. Both moves will be completed by the end of the year, according to the company.

~ Bloomberg News ~