Silicon Valley of the East?

New Cornell/Technion Campus to be built on Roosevelt Island

By Allen Houston

Roosevelt Island is positioned to become the tech hub of New York City after Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Dec. 19 that Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology will build an eight-building, 2 million-square-foot applied science and engineering campus on the island.

The deal pairs two of the world"s top science and engineering schools and will increase the number of the city"s graduate engineering students enrolled in master"s and Ph.D programs by 70 percent. The two universities were among several that submitted proposals to the city as part of New York"s Applied Sciences NYC initiative, which aims to make the city the Silicon Valley of the East Coast.

“This project promises to create a beehive of innovation and discovery, attracting and nurturing the kind of technical talent that will spawn new companies and create new jobs and propel our city"s economy to new frontiers, said Bloomberg.

In addition to the Roosevelt Island site, currently the location of Goldwater Hospital, the city will provide $100 million in capital to assist with site infrastructure. Cornell announced it has received a $350 million gift from an anonymous donor to support this project.

“This is the time for a touchdown dance for New York City, said Cornell President David Skorton.

Cornell and Technion plan on opening an off-site location in 2012, with the first phase of the permanent Roosevelt Island home to open in 2017. It will immediately start offering master"s degrees and doctorates in computer science, electrical and computer engineering and information science and engineering.

An economic impact analysis by the New York City Economic Development Corporation projects that the campus will generate more than $23 billion as well as $1.4 billion in total tax revenue over the next three decades. The campus will create more than 20,000 construction jobs and 8,000 permanent jobs. In addition, there will be 30,000 more jobs created from spin-off companies, licenses and corporate growth in the city.

“This is a wonderful holiday gift for New York that will pay tremendous dividends for generations to come, said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who represents Roosevelt Island as well as the Upper East Side and parts of Queens.

The Tech Campus will be one of the most environmentally friendly in the city and will harvest as much solar and geothermal energy as it consumes.

Upper East Side Council Member Jessica Lappin has been a champion of building the new campus on Roosevelt Island. She launched a Facebook, Twitter and letter-writing campaign months ago to try to bring the project to the island.

“It is such an exciting thing for this city and it is how we will remain the greatest city in this world. This partnership symbolizes where we are going as a city and I"m thrilled that Roosevelt Island was chosen.