IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NYU-Poly Expands Campus in Brooklyn’s MetroTech Center
Leases 120,000 Rentable Square Feet as Part of its $38M Capital Plan;
Consistent with NYU’s Efforts to Develop Academic Space Outside of
Greenwich Village
NEW YORK, May 24, 2011 – In an important step to fulfill NYU’s city-wide strategic vision
for expansion of its academic facilities, NYU’s engineering affiliate, the Polytechnic Institute
of New York University (NYU-Poly), will expand into neighboring space in Downtown
Brooklyn’s MetroTech Center.
The move is part of NYU-Poly’s $38 million capital plan, called the i2e Campus
Transformation – where the “i2e” stands for invention, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The expansion into MetroTech will allow NYU-Poly to accommodate faculty offices, dry
computational labs, small classrooms, and administrative functions, while freeing up space
in current facilities for renovation and potential redevelopment.
“MetroTech Center has a great central commons area,” said NYU-Poly President Jerry
Hultin. “Expanding into buildings that flank the commons creates a better presence of
NYU-Poly in the square, and imparts a more dynamic, vibrant feel to our campus.”
NYU-Poly is entering into a 20-year lease with real estate developer Forest City Ratner
Companies for a total of 120,000 rentable square feet of space at 2 MetroTech and 15
MetroTech, which also involves a 9-year sub-lease of space from Wellpoint Insurance.
The space will house two academic departments, Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)
and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), as well as Provost Operations, academic
spaces and administrative functions. Renovations to the space, on the 9th and 10th floors of
2 MetroTech, are expected to begin this summer.
“We welcome NYU-Poly’s expanded presence at MetroTech,” said Brooklyn Borough
President Marty Markowitz. “NYU-Poly will draw students from all over the world as it puts
Downtown Brooklyn on the map as a top destination for cutting edge technology and
research. The increased student population will be a boon for businesses and attract
greater private investment to the area, which will strengthen Downtown Brooklyn as the
city's third-largest business district.”
NYU 2031 is a city-wide academic space strategy set in motion more than four years ago
that provides a roadmap for meeting NYU’s academic space needs between now and the
university’s 200th anniversary in 2031. Half of the total square footage will be located in
NYU’s core and half spread over three remote locations beyond Washington Square and
Lower Manhattan – along Manhattan’s Eastside health corridor, in Downtown Brooklyn,
and on Governors Island.
“This new lease at MetroTech is an integral part of our Downtown Brooklyn initiative,” said
Lynne Brown, Senior Vice President for University Relations and Public Affairs. “Our first
priority is to enhance the current campus environment and facilities and then move
forward with plans for smart growth around the Poly campus. The result of this
transformation will be a vibrant, 24/7 community for NYU students, faculty and the
Downtown Brooklyn community.”
Inextricably linked to NYU-Poly’s academic plan, the i2e Campus Transformation is critical
to accommodating projected growth, attracting top-level faculty and high-achieving
students and firmly establishing the Institute as a world-class center of applied science,
technology and engineering.
Now in the second year of the 10-year campus transformation to upgrade its facilities,
NYU-Poly already has completed several initiatives, including: the building of the new
Center of Innovation for Technology and Entertainment (CITE), made possible by a $2
million New York state grant, on the ground floor of the Bern Dibner Library Building; the
renovation of the main corridor of Rogers Hall, complete with a high-tech information hub;
and significant upgrades to the information systems infrastructure.
Among future projects slated for the i2e Campus Transformation are: the renovation of
Rogers Hall, the heart of the NYU-Poly campus; to upgrade current laboratories for new
faculty hires; the possible redevelopment of the Jacobs Administration and Civil
Engineering building sites; and the allocation of funds to address critical life/safety and
deferred maintenance issues in its current facilities on an ongoing basis.
NYU-Poly-owned buildings that round out the rest of the Downtown Brooklyn campus
include: 6 MetroTech, the Jacobs Academic Building and Rogers Hall complex; 5
MetroTech, the Bern Dibner Library Building; Othmer Residence Hall at 101 Johnson
Street; and the historic Wunsch Building at 311 Bridge Street.
In other NYU 2031 news relating to growth outside Greenwich Village, it was announced
today that NYU has chosen EYP Architecture & Engineering and Kohn, Pedersen, Fox
Associates (KPF) to design a new, 170,000 square-foot school along the University’s
existing First Avenue Health Corridor on Manhattan’s East Side. The school will be the new
home for NYU’s College of Nursing, which is currently located in Washington Square, will
provide expanded facilities for the College of Dentistry, and will create space for a new
multi-school bioengineering program.
About NYU 2031: NYU in NYC
NYU 2031: NYU in NYC, is a strategic framework for growth, aiming to be a thoughtful, comprehensive, city-wide
vision for thinking about how to keep the University moving forward academically while respecting the
communities and the city in which we make our home. For more information about NYU 2031 please log
onto www.nyu.edu/nyu-in-nyc .
About New York University
New York University is located in the heart of Greenwich Village. Founded in 1831, it is one of America’s foremost
research universities and a member of the selective Association of American Universities. It is one of the largest
private universities, it is a leader in attracting international students and scholars in the U.S, and it sends more
students to study abroad than any other U.S. college or university. Through its 14 schools and colleges, NYU
conducts research and provides education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education,
nursing, the cinematic and performing arts, music and studio arts, public administration, social work, and
continuing and professional studies, among other areas.
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