NYC Offers Historic CRE Opportunity

The potentially largest “adaptive reuse” project of historic buildings in the nation, the Trust for Governors Island, is asking developers for proposals to redevelop more than one million square feet of space at Governors Island, off Lower Manhattan. The request for proposal (RFP) is for the adaptive reuse of more than 40 historic buildings owned by the trust located in the 92-acre Governors Island Historic District. The RFP asks for input on the trust’s intent to have the historic buildings, circa 19th and early 20th centuries, redeveloped for commercial and nonprofit usage.

The Trust for Governors Island, created in 2010, manages approximately 150 acres of the island that was sold by the federal government in 2003 to New York City and New York State. Twenty-two acres are designated as the Governors Island National Monument, which is managed by the National Park Service.

"Governors Island is the centerpiece of our administration’s transformation of the city’s waterfront,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. “We have invested more than $260 million to update the island’s infrastructure and build 30 new acres of park and public spaces. These improvements set the stage for this RFP, which will continue to ensure Governors Island is a destination enlivened by year-round tenants and uses.”