Brooklyn Navy Yard to Invest $46 Million for Green Manufacturing Center

Project Expected to Create Nearly 300 New Jobs

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and state and city elected officials today announced that the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation will invest $46 million to build a Green Manufacturing Center in the Navy Yard.

This New York City Regional Economic Development Council priority project consists of the adaptive reuse of three former WWII-era Navy machine shops into a state-of-the-art industrial complex, creating nearly 300 new permanent jobs and approximately 400 construction jobs. 

"This project is an example of how the Regional Council initiative is helping the state invest in a productive and sustainable innovation economy that will put New Yorkers back to work now and for years to come," Governor Cuomo said.

"This is an eco-friendly investment that will create almost 300 new jobs while making space available for a successful company to produce the tools needed to keep the heroic members of our armed services safe."

"The Brooklyn Navy Yard is an economic success story if there ever was one, and this investment in green manufacturing is more great news for the Navy Yard and for New York City’s economy," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

"Today the Navy Yard is home to the kind of innovation that is going to create the jobs of the future and keep our city competitive in the long-term."

"The Green Manufacturing Center at the Brooklyn Navy Yard—with its lead tenants Crye Precision and Macro Sea—will show the world how to successfully incorporate green manufacturing and sustainable practices into a state-of-the-art facility that will create hundreds of permanent and construction jobs," said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

"Bravo to Governor Cuomo, Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn, our Brooklyn Legislative and Council delegations, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation President Andrew Kimball and all their partners for transforming ‘navy blue’ into ‘navy green.’ There is no better example than the Navy Yard of Brooklyn’s dynamic, diverse—and green—economy, and I was proud to support the Green Manufacturing Center project."

"The Navy Yard is a testament to New York City’s resilience and creativity," added New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn.

"Through thoughtful redevelopment efforts, what was once a thriving shipbuilding facility is now a model urban industrial park that houses some of the City’s most cutting edge companies, and now soon, a Green Manufacturing Center. We are proud at the Council to have partnered with the Governor, Bloomberg Administration, Borough President Markowitz, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to ensure that the Navy Yard continues to thrive and create more jobs for New Yorkers."

The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a 300 acre industrial park on the Brooklyn waterfront that houses more than 275 businesses, employing 6,000 workers, up from 230 businesses and 3,600 workers in 2001.

Over $200 million in infrastructure investments by the City, State, and federal governments have leveraged over $500 million in private investment for new and renovated industrial buildings and hundreds of millions more in tenant machinery, equipment and fit-out. 

The development of the Green Manufacturing Center will continue the expansion underway at the Brooklyn Navy Yard – its largest growth since WWII, adding more than 1.8 million square feet of new space and over 2,500 new jobs over the next two years.

Home to more than 30 green manufacturers, the development of green facilities has long been a priority at the Yard. This major new investment will transform buildings 28, 123, and 128, former Navy ship building machine shops, into a 220,000 square foot multi-tenanted, into the LEED Silver-certified Green Manufacturing Center.

Major construction begins this summer and will take approximately 18 months to complete.

The Navy Yard has become a thriving hub of high-tech and clean-tech manufacturing," said "We are thrilled to get this project underway with the support of our partners at every level of government and to have two fantastic anchor tenants secured," stated BNYDC President & CEO Andrew H. Kimball.

Crye Precision – a premier designer and manufacturer of body armor and apparel for the U.S. military as well as federal and state law enforcement agencies - which was awarded $1 million through the New York State Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process, has agreed to become one of two lead tenants at the new Green Manufacturing Center.

Crye currently operates in four separate spaces at the Navy Yard, with 110 employees, and will now lease 80,000 square feet, consolidating multiple sites into one central location.

Crye decided to expand in the Navy Yard after considering numerous options for consolidation and expansion, including New Jersey.

The company’s expansion into the Green Manufacturing Center will create 100 new jobs over the next five years. Crye also has several commercial product lines under development; one uses locally recycled materials that are converted into fabrics. 

Crye Precision Executive Director Caleb Crye, noted, "The Navy Yard has been exactly what our business needed to grow and we are thrilled that our future will remain here. We started here a decade ago with 4,500 square feet, today we’re up to 45,000 square feet with more than 100 employees and when the new facility is complete we’ll have a more efficient operation with room to grow and add at least 100 new jobs."

A second anchor tenant, Macro Sea, will lease more than 50,000 square feet for New Lab, a cutting-edge facility that will promote design and manufacturing innovation using the latest in environmentally-conscious processes and machinery.

Through traditional tenancies and co-working spaces, New Lab will encourage the collaboration between design and fabrication by hosting a dynamic mix of designers, digital manufacturers, architects, graduate research facilities, and others in a hive of sustainable design and innovation.

Working at the forefront of green technology advances, New Lab has received strong interest from the following universities and firms:

The Cooper Union, Institute for Sustainable Design Innovation Laboratory

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's School of Architecture and Center for Architecture Science & Ecology (CASE)

Columbia University, Laboratory of Applied Building Science (L-ABS) at the Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation

Terreform ONE, Brooklyn based nonprofit design group and unique laboratory for scientists, artists, architects, students, and individuals of all backgrounds to explore and advance the larger framework of green design

Within Lab, a London-based design consultancy best known for creating tools which constantly push at the boundaries of the possible in the world of additive layer manufacturing.

"New Lab will bring together graduate students, designers, and high-tech manufacturers in a unique space that will encourage innovation and collaboration. The Navy Yard’s community of manufacturers represents the future of urban industry and New Lab will seed the next generation of cutting-edge Yard businesses," stated Macro Sea Managing Principal David Belt.

The $46 million construction project will be built to LEED Silver standards and funded through capital grants from New York State ($6 million from Empire State Development), the New York City Council ($7.5 million), the Brooklyn Borough President ($2.5 million) and the U.S. Economic Development Administration ($2.5 million).

In addition, Crye has been awarded $1 million in Excelsior tax credits from Empire State Development through the New York State Consolidated Funding Application process. BNDYC has financed the balance of construction through the federal EB-5 program. Crye will expend approximately $9 million on their fit-out and equipment and Macro Sea will expend approximately $10 million. 

The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation is a non-profit corporation that manages operations of the Brooklyn Navy Yard for New York City. It is tasked with leasing space, promoting local economic development and redevelopment of underutilized areas, and modernizing the Yard’s infrastructure.

Prior to its reopening as an industrial park, the Brooklyn Navy Yard served one of America's preeminent military facilities for more than 150 years. The rich past, thriving present and promising future of the Yard is captured in a newly opened exhibition, visitors and employment center: the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92.