Winston,
Are they just developing this to cash in on it's potential real-estate value???
From where I sit, everything points to that exact motive!
The last sentence in the article (click on Dogpatch's link) shows that they do not need additional housing in Brooklyn.
The Witnesses own several other properties throughout Brooklyn, including a million-square-foot Bible shipping facility at 360 Furman St. in Brooklyn Heights, which they listed for sale six weeks ago.
Can someone tell us how many people work in the million-square-foot shipping facility at 360 Furman St in Brooklyn Heights? That's an awfully big building, with I am SURE an awful lot of "employees" who will no longer need housing in Brooklyn once that building sells.
IMHO, they are getting into real estate investing, plain and simple, and they want to use their tax-exempt status to make more than any ordinary real estate developer would make given the exact same project and costs.
growedup