Metrotech Revival Announcement
"a financially wobbly university located in a decaying downtown. The campus neighborhood looked so unappealing that students and businesses alike shunned it"
HISTORY OF THE METROTECH RECONSTRUCTION
MetroTech was established in 1992 when a 16-acre (65,000-square-meter) rectangle was designated as a pedestrian zone in conjunction with the construction of new office buildings and parking garages.
The 1980s and 1990s saw significant large-scale development activity in Downtown Brooklyn. The MetroTech Center office complex was at the heart of this redevelopment, and it is within walking distance of numerous other significant construction projects, including Pierrepont Plaza, the Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, Atlantic Terminal Mall, and Renaissance Plaza. MetroTech is a symbol of Downtown Brooklyn's revitalization.
Former Polytechnic University President George Bugliarello had proposed a research and development center modeled like "Silicon Valley" in an effort to revitalize Downtown Brooklyn a decade earlier. Several years later, the City consented to choose Polytechnic as the urban renewal sponsor, under the condition that the project moves forward with the commitment of two tenants. Forest City Enterprises was chosen as the project's principal developer by both the City and Polytechnic because of its years of expertise, commitment to staying in the region, and financial capability. Forest City Ratner and Borough President Howard Golden exemplified the greatest features of public-private collaboration, and they soon transformed MetroTech's ambition from a research and development park to a campus.
While Forest City was negotiating with Morgan Stanley, the Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC) and Brooklyn Union Gas were vying for the MetroTech site (BUG). The MetroTech site's location on a separate power grid from Manhattan proved critical for SIAC since it meant their activities in Downtown Brooklyn would be safe if Manhattan had a power outage (as seen in 1977).
Original occupants of this area include JPMorgan Chase, New York City Fire Department, Bear Stearns, Keyspan Energy (now National Grid), Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, and NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. Later tenants include MakerBot Industries, Brooklyn Nets, the Ms. Foundation for Women, El Diario La Prensa, Robert Half International, UniWorld Group, and HeartShare Human Services of New York.