19\/12\/2013<\/p>\n
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Cornell University President David J. Skorton, and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology President Peretz Lavie today formally executed a 99-year lease between the City of New York and Cornell Tech, which will pave the way for construction of the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island, exactly two years after Cornell and academic partner Technion were named the first winners of the City\u2019s Applied Sciences NYC competition.<\/p>\n
Cornell Tech is a revolutionary model for graduate-level technology education and is establishing itself as a world-leading institution, conferring graduate degrees and conducting research that drives technology, innovation, commercialization and the creation and retention of businesses and jobs in New York City. The land transfer will allow for groundbreaking on the campus to begin in January, with the first classrooms on Roosevelt Island set to open in 2017. Cornell Tech students began classes this fall in space donated by Google at their Chelsea headquarters on Eighth Avenue. Construction of the entire 2 million square foot build-out, which will span 12 acres on Roosevelt Island and house approximately 2,000 students and nearly 280 faculty and researchers, will be completed by 2043. New details and renderings for the first phase of the full campus were also released today, revealing how the physical campus will be designed to support Cornell Tech\u2019s focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration between academia and industry. Mayor Bloomberg and President Skorton signed the lease documents at a City Hall ceremony to finalize the official land transfer to Cornell Tech, where they were joined by President Lavie, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel, New York City Economic Development Corporation President Kyle Kimball, U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney, Council Member and Borough President-Elect Gale Brewer, Council Member Jessica Lappin, Cornell Tech Vice President Cathy Dove, Cornell Board Chair Robert Harrison, Cornell Provost Kent Fuchs, Cornell Tech Dean Daniel Hutenlocher, Forest City Ratner Companies President and CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin, and Hudson Companies Principal David Kramer.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal has been to make New York City the global capital of technological innovation, and this new campus on Roosevelt Island is a central part of our strategy for achieving it,\u201d said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.\u00a0 \u201cIt is one of the most ambitious and forward-looking economic development projects any city has ever undertaken, and it\u2019s going to help add thousands of new jobs to our economy in the decades ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe State was proud to work closely with the Mayor\u2019s Office, RIOC and Cornell because we strongly believe that the path to New York State\u2019s continued economic growth will largely be defined by partnerships that start with our State\u2019s academic institutions,\u201d said Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. \u201cThis project leverages two of the world\u2019s most notable institutions in a way that will help foster technological innovation within New York State, while creating jobs and spurring business investment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCornell Tech is the proof that government and universities can work together to innovate and support economic growth, and we will be forever grateful for Mayor Bloomberg\u2019s leadership in making this campus possible,\u201d said Cornell University President David J. Skorton. \u201cThe Roosevelt Island campus is being built for the future, to be the place that generates the next big ideas, the new companies and extraordinary talent that will change New York and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to Mayor Bloomberg\u2019s vision, New York City is fast becoming a leading global center of innovation,\u201d said Technion President Peretz Lavie. \u201cThrough the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute, our international partnership with Cornell Tech, we look forward to helping to further the city’s future as\u00a0the technology capital of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Applied Sciences NYC was launched by Mayor Bloomberg in 2011 in an effort to capitalize on the considerable recent growth and even larger opportunity for future growth in technology-related jobs and businesses in New York City, and builds on the Bloomberg Administration\u2019s record of creating a more diversified economy for the City\u2019s future. In July 2011, NYCEDC issued an RFP seeking a university, institution or consortium to develop and operate a new or expanded campus in the City in exchange for City capital, access to City-owned land and the full support and partnership of the Bloomberg Administration, and subsequently received seven responses from 17 world-class institutions from around the globe. Cornell Tech was the first of four Applied Sciences projects to be announced by the City in an effort to strengthen New York City\u2019s global competiveness \u2013 including its growing technology sector \u2013 and ensure that the City establishes itself as a worldwide hub of science, research, innovation and urban solutions for the digital age and the information economy. Cornell Tech was selected for this initiative based on its innovative model for graduate technology education and its emphasis on the intersections between academia and industry and forward-thinking areas of study. When completed, the new Roosevelt Island campus alone will nearly double the number of full-time, graduate engineering students enrolled in leading New York City Master\u2019s and Ph.D. programs.<\/p>\n
The four Applied Sciences NYC projects that have been announced by the Mayor include:<\/p>\n
Collectively, the four Applied Sciences NYC projects are expected to generate more than $33.2 billion in nominal economic activity, over 48,000 permanent and construction jobs, and approximately 1,000 spin-off companies by 2046, fulfilling the initiative\u2019s goal of dramatically transforming the City\u2019s economy for the 21st century. These institutions are already strengthening the City\u2019s position as a hub of science, research, innovation and world-class urban solutions in a global economy driven by technological fluency and innovation.<\/p>\n
\u201cMayor Bloomberg\u2019s Applied Sciences initiative will transform the City\u2019s economy, doubling the number of engineering faculty and graduate students in New York City. These are the skills we need to compete in the knowledge and information economy of the 21st Century,\u201d said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel. \u201cThe closing of the Cornell Tech lease is a major step toward that goal and I congratulate Presidents Skorton and Lavie on this critical moment in the arc of Cornell and the Technion\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOver only two years, thanks to an unprecedented model of collaboration across City and State government, top academic institutions, and the private sector, we have transformed Applied Sciences NYC from a visionary idea into a physical reality that is already reshaping our City,\u201d said NYCEDC President Kyle Kimball. \u201cSince selecting Cornell and the Technion as our first winners, in partnership with the Health and Hospitals Corporation we have built and opened a new hospital in Harlem that is currently serving former Coler-Goldwater patients; secured all necessary approvals for the Roosevelt Island campus; selected three additional Applied Sciences winners; and launched classes. Thanks to Mayor Bloomberg\u2019s leadership, this initiative will create jobs, businesses, and technologies, resulting in transformative economic activity that will help secure the City\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCornell Tech is extremely grateful for the unwavering support of the Roosevelt Island community throughout the public review process and we are committed to being great neighbors during construction and beyond,\u201d said Cornell Tech Vice President Cathy S. Dove. \u201cWe are also fortunate to have such extraordinary development partners in Forest City Ratner and Hudson\/Related to help us make this vision a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are thrilled to be working with Cornell and so many great partners to help create a truly extraordinary new place on Roosevelt Island,\u201d said Forest City Ratner Companies President and CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin. \u201cUnder Mayor Bloomberg\u2019s watch the City\u2019s tech sector has grown enormously and we are well poised as a company and as a project to continue with that growth at Cornell Tech.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Mayor Bloomberg\u2019s vision guiding the way, Cornell Tech will be at the leading edge of the next generation in tech and applied sciences,\u201d said David Kramer, partner of The Hudson Companies. \u201cWe look forward to bringing out-of-the-box thinking to a best-in-class building on the forefront of design and sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am pleased to join Mayor Bloomberg for this monumental step toward making the Cornell Tech camps a reality.\u00a0I have strongly supported bringing Cornell Tech to Roosevelt Island from the very beginning of this process,\u201d said U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney. \u201cThe campus holds great promise for Roosevelt Island and for New York City, attracting future leaders in the technology and engineering industry.\u00a0 Many of the amenities included in the plans will be open and available to the public, including areas of park space.\u00a0 I commend Cornell for its transparency during the planning process and commitment to being a good neighbor to Island residents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCornell Tech will generate opportunities and innovations for generations to come, and today we take a step closer to our city’s future,\u201d said Council Member Jessica Lappin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI applaud Mayor Bloomberg, Cornell Tech, and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation on their historic lease signing to build a new applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island,\u201d said Manhattan Borough President-Elect Gale A. Brewer. \u201cThis partnership will play a key role in the growth of New York City\u2019s tech sector in the coming years, and will attract new development to Roosevelt Island. I look forward to working with all parties to ensure the success of this venture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Academic uses of the campus are anticipated to include classrooms, laboratories, teaming areas, and lecture halls, as well as start-up incubator\/accelerator space to encourage entrepreneurship. The remainder of the space in the campus will be devoted to corporate co-location space designed to facilitate the interaction between academia and industry, residential uses, an executive education center, and ancillary uses, such as retail in support of the faculty, staff and students on the campus, as well as the creation of new open space.<\/p>\n
While planning is underway for the opening of the permanent campus in 2017, Cornell Tech is already operating in temporary space in Manhattan. The campus master plan, designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill with James Corner Field Operations, includes a number of innovative features and facilities across a river-to-river campus with expansive views, a series of green, public spaces, and a seamless integration of indoor and outdoor areas. Cornell Tech will combine cutting edge technologies to create one of the most environmentally friendly and energy-efficient campuses in the world, not only employing, but developing new environmental technology.<\/p>\n
A sustainable and innovative academic building will be designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne of Morphosis Architects and, in a significant departure from traditional academic facilities, take its cue from the tech world by offering open-plan space and extensive collaborative workspaces. The phase one academic building, if completed today, would be the largest net-zero energy building in eastern United States, with all of its power generated on campus.<\/p>\n