NYU to Develop New Applied Research Center in Downtown Brooklyn

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a historic partnership with New York University and the Polytechnic Institute of New York to proceed with the next milestone in the city’s Applied Sciences NYC Initiative: the Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP), a new applied research facility in Downtown Brooklyn.

The announcement comes nearly one year after the New York City Economic Development Corporation issued a Request for Proposal seeking a higher education institution  in exchange for city-owned land with the full support of local authorities.

The new NYU research center will be located at 370 Jay Street in a 460,000-square-foot underutilized building that is partially occupied by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and New York Police Department (NYPD). According to Businessweek, NYU agreed to pay $60 million to the existing tenants to relocate by fall 2012 and, in return, will receive $15 million in tax exemptions and energy cost savings. The city will lease the building to NYU for 99 years.

To begin with, CUSP will lease and renovate 60,000 square feet of space in the building so that the center can welcome its first class of students in the fall of 2013. Going forward with its project, NYU will remodel 150,000 square feet of space into classrooms, offices and lab space, and an additional 40,000 square feet will be transformed into an incubator for CUSP-related businesses. Work at the site is estimated to be completed by September 2017.

Over the next 30 years, the new NYU campus is expected to generate more than $5.5 billion and add around 7,000 jobs.

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Rendering courtesy of NYU Local