WXY Architecture + Urban Design to lead Brooklyn Tech Triangle Coalition

The Brooklyn Tech Triangle Coalition designated a multi-disciplinary design team, led by WXY Architecture + Urban Design, to create an area-wide master plan to foster the growth of the borough's innovation economy. The coalition - led by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the DUMBO Improvement District and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. - conducted an economic impact study of the tech sector in Brooklyn earlier this year that found the sector employs 9,628 people, generates $3.1 billion of economic output and is poised to double over the next three years. The planning team will recommend transportation and infrastructure improvements, design "place-making" ideas, develop real estate and policy strategies to capture the rapid growth of existing tech companies and to attract additional technology-based industries, the planning team will recommend transportation and infrastructure improvements. To ensure that the workforce demands of these growing companies are met, the team will also develop a workforce development strategy to train and place area residents. "Nearly all of the city's top design, architecture and engineering firms submitted a proposal for the Tech Triangle planning study, which is a real testament to the opportunities on the horizon for the greater Downtown Brooklyn area," said Tucker Reed, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. "After a thorough review process, we selected a team that we are confident addresses our needs regarding placemaking, land use, transportation, real estate and workforce development." "We couldn't be more excited about working on this unique and strategic project," said Claire Weisz, principal of WXY Architecture + Urban Design. "The Brooklyn Tech Triangle is a vital initiative that builds on the tech-sector magnet of DUMBO, the Brooklyn Navy Yard's innovation, and the growing higher-education hub in Downtown Brooklyn. We have assembled a team of highly-regarded firms to create a dynamic new model for an urban tech zone. The aim is to meet the city's growing demand while also attracting firms and talent from around the world, and the entire area will benefit as a result." "The Brooklyn Navy Yard has been in the forefront of defining modern manufacturing," said Andrew Kimball, president & CEO of The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. "It is driven by rapidly changing technology and supports growing sectors in the City not traditionally defined as manufacturing including design, arts and culture, and media. This 'maker' community badly needs access to more space in the Navy Yard, DUMBO and Downtown Brooklyn, better transportation, an access to a job-ready workforce." "If you take a walk around the streets of DUMBO you are likely to run into CEOs and employees of the country's hottest tech and design companies, like Etsy and HUGE," said Alexandria Sica, executive director of the DUMBO Improvement District. "We know that tech wants to be here, but it is also our responsibility to ensure that there is space for all the firms that want to call DUMBO home." The designated team, chosen following a competitive bidding process, is comprised of the following core firms: HR&A Advisors Inc. (real estate, economic policy, risk assessment) Sam Schwartz Engineering (transportation and infrastructure) Control Group (transportation and infrastructure) Along with multiple specialists: Center for an Urban Future (provide studies and technical analysis) Domingo Gonzalez Associates (placemaking and lighting specialists) Gleeds (real estate, economic policy, and risk assessment) Ken Smith Landscape Architecture (placemaking) Pentagram (placemaking signage and visual connections) Space Syntax (modeling for land use changes ) Workforce Strategy (real estate, economic policy, and risk assessment) A request for proposals was issued by the coalition in July for a multi-disciplinary team to create an area-wide master plan to support the growing tech sector by providing solutions to physical constraints, transportation challenges and infrastructure conditions in the Triangle. The coalition received responses from 17 teams consisting of more than 60 firms, each presenting innovative ideas in land use, transportation, economic development, and placemaking ideas to nurture the burgeoning tech sector in the greater Downtown Brooklyn area. After an extensive review and selection process, the coalition selected the proposal put forth by WXY Architecture + Urban Design. The selection was based on criteria such as relevant experience and the quality of the solutions recommended. The coalition also required 30% participation from minority- and women-owned businesses as part of the teams, a threshold which WXY's proposal exceeded. The Brooklyn Tech Triangle initiative seeks to nurture the growth of the tech sector in Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO and the Brooklyn Navy Yard by ensuring the availability of affordable and well-situated commercial space, improving training of the local workforce and implementing transportation upgrades and placemaking solutions. Funding and other support for the initiative has come from Empire State Development Corporation, New York City Department of Small Business Services, New York City Council and Speaker Christine Quinn, Borough President Marty Markowitz, New York University, Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly), NYU's Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) and the Brooklyn Community Foundation.