Now that the city has launched its Jamaica Now Action Plan to revitalize the neighborhood, more and more businesses are expected to migrate to the area.
York College, a City University of New York (CUNY) institution that has a 50-acre campus in downtown Jamaica, is hoping to be an incubator and usher in new companies to the neighborhood, and also partner with them for the benefit of students.
The school has already been negotiating with businesses looking to move to and grow in Jamaica through Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s START-UP NY tax-free program.
In addition to York’s business networking, the school plans to add a nine-story, 162,988-square-foot Academic Village and Conference Center (AVCC) in the near future. The center will further promote business as it will be anchored by the School of Business at York, providing the next generation of managers, company owners and entrepreneurs with modern classrooms and more services.
The new building, which was approved by the CUNY board of trustees back in 2011, will replace the aging 4,000-square-foot Classroom Building at 94-43 159th St., which was the first structure built on York’s campus.
Updated renderings of the Ennead Architects-designed center reveal a modern glassy exterior. School officials believe it will revolutionize the experience at York not only because of its appearance, but also because of the various amenities in the building. In addition to the business school, the building will house a bookstore, student common and recreation spaces, a conference center and some administrative offices.
“It will sort of serve as our front door,” said York College President Marcia Keizs. “It will really be, in our minds, a critical facility for us.”
Permits have yet to be filed for the new structure with the Department of Buildings, and the project still needs more funding, according to Keizs.
She added that an anticipated completion date has not been decided.
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