Construction on a new $60 million commercial bioscience center (BioBAT) at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn is scheduled to begin later this year through a partnership between the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. The 486,000-sq- ft BioBAt project is expected to create more than 1,000 permanent jobs.

Rendering courtesy of NYCEDC

BioBAT is being designed by HOK of St. Louis, Mo. with construction on the first 56,000 sq ft of space scheduled to begin this year and completion expected in 2011. Upon completion of build-out, BioBAT will offer spaces ranging from 5,000 sq ft to more than 10,000 sq ft for research, laboratory and bio-manufacturing uses. So far, tenants include the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative which already has occupied space at the Brooklyn Army Terminal since November 2008 and Terminal, Apath LLC, currently a tenant at the SUNY Downstate Incubator in central Brooklyn has announced its intention to expand and relocate to BioBAT.

The Brooklyn Army Terminal is a 97-acre Cass Gilbert-designed facility located on the Brooklyn waterfront owned by New York City and managed by the NYCEDC. BioBAT, Inc. is a non-profit corporation made up of the Research Foundation of SUNY on behalf of SUNY Downstate Medical Center and NYCEDC and was established to support the development of commercial bioscience research, development, and manufacturing space in Brooklyn. The city has already invested $12 million into BioBAT along with State Senator Golden who invested an additional $48 million in state funding by working with SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

SUNY Downstate Medical Center also operates the Advanced Biotechnology  Incubator in central Brooklyn. The city council and the Brooklyn Borough President’s office have set aside about $10 million to expand it a total of 50,000 sq ft.

In an effort to support the growth of the bioscience sector, the city is investing in capital projects and development efforts to support the local workforce talent and attract companies from around the world. Over the past six years, the city has facilitated development of nearly 1.6 million sq ft of new commercial laboratory space including BioBAT and 1.1 million sq ft at the Alexandria Center for Science and Technology at East River Science Park. When these facilities are complete, New York City will have ten times the commercial bioscience space it has today.