BlankSlate to acquire Brownstoner

March 16, 2015 Shlomo Sprung

The Brownstoner real estate site was acquired by BlankSlate. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

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BlankSlate has announced that it has acquired Brownstoner. Launched by Jonathan Butler as a blog in October 2004, Brownstoner is a Brooklyn-focused real estate media brand, with its unique blend of stories about Brooklyn real estate and lifestyle. In 10 years of publishing, Brownstoner has put out more than 42,000 posts about real estate, history, lifestyle and culture — along with its marketplaces for real estate listings and service providers.

The Brooklyn brand has expanded and succeeded in both Upstate New York and Queens with both The Brownstoner Upstate and Brownstoner Queens websites.

BlankSlate and Brownstoner have been working closely together for nearly 5 years, BlankSlate handling the business side of Brownstoner, including ad sales and content marketing as well as the technology that powers Brownstoner’s real estate listings and services marketplace. BlankSlate provided technical and advertising support to the site in exchange for access to a highly engaged and affluent local audience, ideal for local and national-to-local marketing efforts.

BlankSlate has also introduced several major enhancements to the Brownstoner site, including the “Local Home Pros” marketplace of home renovation, maintenance, and real estate professionals; and Brownstoner Real Estate, a listings search platform.

Brownstoner purchased the site QueensNYC from BlankSlate in 2013 in an effort to expand its real estate coverage, and it became the basis for Brownstoner Queens. The transition was covered in the New York Times.

This acquisition will give Brownstoner the resources to expand and refine its editorial scope, with an investment in new original content. Major enhancements are also planned for the real estate listings and service providers marketplaces.

“We’re looking forward to taking it to the next level, by leveraging all the different ways that media sites like Brownstoner can help people connect with the things they’re passionate about,” said Kael Goodman, CEO of BlankSlate.

“Starting Brownstoner in 2005, I could not have imagined what an incredible community would coalesce around the site and all the exciting opportunities it would lead to for me personally,” said Jonathan Butler. “After ten years, though, it’s time for this old-school blogger to hand off the baton to a company that is perfectly positioned to make the most of the site in the current media environment. Meanwhile, I look forward to continuing to devote myself to my other businesses–Brooklyn Flea, Smorgasburg, Berg’n and 1000 Dean—and watching with interest as Kael and his team execute upon their vision for Brownstoner.”