Designed by Danish architect Peter J. Lauritzen in a Romanesque Revival style, the eight-story building was built between 1890 and 1892 as a commercial structure, housing the S. Wechsler & Brother department store.

The building was developed by Brooklyn Sugar Refining Company president Henry Offerman, who agreed in late 1889 to lease the entire structure to S. Wechsler & Bro.

In the first two decades of the 21st century, the Laboz family leased out the lowest floors as retail space and converted the upper stories to apartments.

[12][13][14] According to the Brooklyn Daily Times, the Romanesque Revival style had been chosen because it "readily lends itself to richness and solidity of design".

[3] In the outer sections, the first and second stories were redesigned in the 2010s with a cast stone facade, in a simple imitation of the original design, and metal-and-glass storefronts.

The Bridge Street wing is two stories high and has a facade with metal and concrete frame, as well as full-height glass windows.

[26] When the building opened, the central arch on Fulton Street led to a vestibule with marble-mosaic tiles spelling out the name of the first tenant, S. Wechsler & Bro.

[33][34] The first floor was described in the Brooklyn Daily Times as having "gleaming white Corinthian pillars support[ing] a richly ornamented ceiling" measuring 21 feet (6.4 m) high.

[39][40] The basement of the Offerman Building, and the first and second floors of both the original structure and the Bridge Street annex, operate as commercial space and are arranged in an open plan.

[48] During 1889, Offerman and real estate agent Frank A. Barnaby had discussed the feasibility of erecting a seven-story building at the corner of Fulton and Duffield Streets.

[54] Shortly before construction began, Offerman sued Barnaby, claiming that two of the Duffield Street plots could have been acquired at a lower price.

[56] The store was so popular that, by 1892, the owners had decided to acquire several additional lots on Duffield Street, measuring a total of 87 feet (27 m) wide and 100 ft (30 m) deep.

[31][32] The annex provided space for multiple new and expanded departments of the store, in addition to a restaurant, beauty salons, and photography studios.

[81][82] The building was then acquired by businessman Ralph Leininger, who incorporated the Kingston Realty Company with $1,000 in paid-in capital and a valuation of $1 million.

[83] Leininger had intended to operate the Darlington department store within the Offerman Building,[84] renovating the interiors to designs by "experts from Paris".

[86] Leininger spent $75,000 renovating the building[87] before announcing in September 1907 that the store's opening, which had been planned for the next month, had been delayed indefinitely.

[94][95] Martin's, operated by the Zeitz family, had occupied the corner of Fulton and Bridge Streets since 1904,[69] and it planned to raze its existing structure after moving into the Offerman Building.

[102] The company expanded its infants' clothing department to the Offerman Building's mezzanine in 1928,[103] and Martin's had built its "men's corner" at Bridge and Fulton Streets by the next year.

[99] The city government briefly considered leasing space for a municipal courthouse within the Offerman Building in 1930 before canceling their plans later that year.

[112] Martin's president Fred Zeitz wanted any architect to remain associated with the store for the long term, and Lapidus agreed, as he had no other clients at the time.

[117] Lapidus also redesigned the Offerman Building's facade on Fulton Street in March 1947, re-cladding the first two stories in Swedish granite and adding a red-granite arch.

[116][121] The store's continued presence in the Offerman Building led The New York Times to describe Martin's as "an oasis of calm" in 1966.

[121] Compared with competitors on Fulton Street, Martin's remained successful in part because it focused on providing customers full service, similar to the upscale stores on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.

[126] The Seedman Manufacturing Group had bought the Martin's chain in 1977;[127] in an unsuccessful attempt to attract buyers, they started selling lower-quality and cheaper products at the Offerman Building location.

[133] Albert Laboz bought the building in 1979 through his company United American Land, and he and his younger brothers Jason and Jody subsequently operated the structure.

[144] As part of this redevelopment, clothing store H&M announced in June 2008 that it would move into the ground floor of a neighboring retail structure at 497 Fulton Street that Laboz, planned to develop.

[149] The opening of the H&M store was delayed because United American Land had to negotiate with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operated the Hoyt Street subway station.

[41][43] Since at least 2005, Al Laboz had indicated that he wished to convert the upper stories to loft apartments, similar to those that he and his brothers had developed in the SoHo and Tribeca neighborhoods of Manhattan.

[134][144] By 2011, United American Land had finalized plans to convert the Offerman Building's upper stories into upscale residences.

[12] Lore Croghan of the Eagle wrote in 2016 that "the Offerman Building is a tasty piece of Romanesque Revival-style eye candy".