Plan for $100M climate innovation at Brooklyn Army Terminal moves forward

EDC issues request for proposals

March 18, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

The Brooklyn Army Terminal on the Sunset Park waterfront. Photo courtesy of EDC

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SUNSET PARK — The New York City Economic Development Corporation on Monday announced the release of an up-to-$100 million request for proposals for an operator to develop a world-class Climate Innovation Hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park.

This cutting-edge hub is expected to grow New York City’s climate technology ecosystem and help climate technologists, entrepreneurs and others working to develop, pilot, and deploy new solutions to combat the effects of climate change.

The Climate Innovation Hub will be part of the recently formed Harbor Climate Collaborative — a partnership that will link climate tech businesses and programs at BAT with the rest of the Sunset Park district, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and the Trust for Governors Island.

The new hub is envisioned as a 112,000-square-foot area for business development, incubation and research that will serve 150 startups over 10 years and offer workforce development opportunities for the local community. This new space will enable emerging market innovators, small companies, and growth-stage and commercialization-stage companies to build and prototype products; provide business support; and carry out product research and development.

In February 2024, Mayor Eric Adams released his Green Economy Energy Action Plan, which outlines a number of city-led actions that will complement private-sector activity to triple the green economy’s economic output and more than double the number of ”green collar” jobs by 2040. NYCEDC’s investment of up to $100 million to create the aforementioned Climate Innovation Hub is part of this plan.

A rendering of the plaza at the planned Climate Innovation Hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. Rendering courtesy of FX Collaborative

“The Climate Innovation Hub will further secure New York’s position at the center of the green economy revolution,” said Adams. “As we laid out in our State of the City address, we’re going to have 400,000 green economy jobs in New York by 2040, and we’re going to harness the tremendous economic potential of building a cleaner, greener city for our children.”

“There is no better location for the Climate Innovation Hub than at the historic Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, which will serve as a home for clean tech innovation and manufacturing, encourage climate innovation startups, all while training and positioning New Yorkers of all backgrounds to benefit from the nearly 400,000 projected ‘green-collar’ jobs in the city by 2040,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball.

“The Climate Innovation Hub at Brooklyn Army Terminal will be at the cutting edge of transforming New York into the green energy capital of America — all in Sunset Park here in New York,” said Congressman Dan Goldman.

“New York’s green future is being built right here in Sunset Park,” said State Sen. Andrew Gounardes. “I’m looking forward to working with NYCEDC, Mayor Eric Adams and Sunset Park community leaders to build an equitable green economy for all of us.”

“The Climate Innovation Hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal will help establish Sunset Park as a critical part of NYC’s growing green economy,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “Hubs for innovation like this will not only play an essential role protecting our communities against climate change, they will also offer entry into high-paying, growing career opportunities for our neighbors.”

A rendering of the interior of the planned Climate Innovation Hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. Rendering courtesy of FX Collaborative

“Initiatives like the forthcoming Climate Innovation Hub will meaningfully build on the city’s existing climate solution research and entrepreneurship ecosystem at Governors Island and here at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. We look forward to growing the sustainability industry together,” said Lindsay Greene, president and CEO, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation.

Successful proposals will put forward plans for a new space to incubate and accelerate climate tech businesses and create employment and training opportunities for New Yorkers. The Hub will enable these goals through catalytic business growth programs, advanced manufacturing facilities for prototyping and product development, piloting opportunities, and workforce development initiatives.

The Brooklyn Army Terminal, managed by NYCEDC since 1986, is a home and business incubator for modern industrial businesses and entrepreneurs, providing manufacturers with the tools and space they need. Formerly known as the Brooklyn Army Base, BAT was built in 1918-19 and designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert. At one time, it was was the largest military supply base in the United States.