MetroTech Center

Brooklyn, NY

With its financial services industry threatening to leave and downtown business districts reeling, the 1970s and early ‘80s formed one of New York City’s most difficult chapters. In Downtown Brooklyn, as Polytechnic University contemplated abandoning its longtime campus, the City looked to new public-private models for center city redevelopment and retaining key institutions and industries. One of the most successful of these efforts was MetroTech, a 4.7 million square foot redevelopment that has been cited for its success by Senator Charles Schumer.

EE&K’s master plan for MetroTech brought together academic and business interests within Downtown’s existing street grid. EE&K’s design established a remarkable set of public environments that, according to the Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn, “redefined Downtown Brooklyn,” accompanied by a detailed set of guidelines to address street-level treatment, materials, and massing.

At the heart of MetroTech is MetroTech Commons, a 3-1/2 acre oasis of green that serves as both the Polytechnic campus and as a focus for commercial office development. As New York City’s largest privately-owned public space, it has become a venue for festivals, concerts, and graduation ceremonies alike. MetroTech Center’s seamless integration into the Downtown Brooklyn fabric is highlighted by a three-block long promenade and continuous arcade. MetroTech’s success has spurred an additional 1 million square feet of development in Downtown Brooklyn; according to Crain’s, “It is not an exaggeration to say that MetroTech saved the borough’s economy.”

References
Privately owned public space: the New York City experience, Jerold S. Kayden. New York (N.Y.). Dept. of City Planning, Municipal Art Society of New York

Mixed-use development Handbook, Dean Schwanke, Urban Land Institute. Urban Development/Mixed-Use Council. Executive Group

For more information on Metro Tech, click here.