Climate Research Center To Open on Governors Island

New York Mayor Eric Adams has announced plans for a new climate center on Governors Island. 

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) will design the net-zero New York Climate Exchange along with Stony Brook University, the consortium awarded by the city.

SOM architects aim for the site to achieve net-positive sustainability, as the Exchange will include electric buildings, solar power generation, and adaptive reuse of existing buildings. Newer buildings will be designed to be climate-resilient and raised to the Design Flood Elevation to combat rising water levels.

The site will also have True Zero Waste certification with exclusive use of rainwater and treated wastewater, barring drinking water, and will be one of the first facilities in the U.S. to achieve such certification.

Stony Brook will also help build a Global Center for Climate Solutions and lead green research on the site.

The $700 million campus will be a space for environmental research and include classrooms, greenhouses, exhibits, and laboratories to tackle the climate crisis. 

The new campus will also serve as a center for workforce development for communities affected by climate change.

Groundbreaking will begin in 2025, and the set opening for the New York Climate Exchange is in 2028.