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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Union Square Tech Hub Readies for Operation In New York City

02/20/2017
Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled the latest designs and details for the new Union Square Tech Hub, a City-backed project to provide space for tech worker training in New York City.

City officials said the hub itself will generate 600 good paying jobs, and serve as a new home for Civic Hall that will include a digital job training facility for all New Yorkers, and modern, flexible workspaces designed to meet the unique needs of early-stage startups in New York’s vibrant innovation economy.

“This new hub will be the front-door for tech in New York City. People searching for jobs, training or the resources to start a company will have a place to come to connect and get support. No other city in the nation has anything like it. It represents this City’s commitment to a strong and inclusive tech ecosystem,” said de Blasio.

“I am thrilled we're seizing this opportunity to create a new technology nexus in Manhattan," said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. "By anchoring the tech and public policy nonprofit Civic Hall, digital job training, and leasing flexible-term office space for tech startups in this project, we are creating the opportunity for the kind of cross-pollination that will produce innovation and jobs for business, government, and everyday New Yorkers, not to mention the construction work to build it! Kudos to Mayor de Blasio for understanding the need, and filling it.”

“This project will set a new standard for the booming creative economy around Union Square,” said Robert A. Levine, President & CEO of RAL Development Services. “From the outset, we identified Civic Hall as the perfect anchor for this project, and we’ve built a comprehensive, cutting-edge program around their strong track record in the industry. So many promising young companies train their sights on the Union Square area and this project will provide them with the leg up they need to flourish in the neighborhood. At the same time, we're incorporating traditional and flexible office spaces that will provide tech companies with direct access to a steady pipeline of potential future employees. We're honored to work with the de Blasio administration and the EDC team on this important jobs initiative for New York City.”

“We are thrilled to be the anchor tenant of a project that solidifies The City of New York's commitment to making sure every New Yorker has access to 21st Century skills and jobs,” said Andrew Rasiej, Founder & CEO of Civic Hall. “When complete, the facility will not only produce thousands of new digitally trained workers to support the city’s fast growing technology ecosystem, but will also act as a model for how technology can support economic and civic renewal.”

“We’re working to ensure tech businesses can grow and create jobs, and New Yorkers can get the skills they need to access those jobs. This new innovation hub at Union Square offers both, with space for more than 600 good jobs at growing companies, and affordable job training for all New Yorkers. It will be a new beating heart for the innovation community right in the heart of our city,” said James Patchett, President & CEO of NYCEDC.

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