Brooklyn's Progress
September 2002

Forest City Ratner Companies Holds Celebration for New York’s First New Commercial Office Building Since 9/11, and Final Building in the MetroTech Center Complex (New York, August 8) Forest City Ratner Companies today held a “topping out” ceremony and celebration for 9 MetroTech Center South, the 19-story, 670-000 square foot development that is the first commercial office building constructed in New York City since the terrorist attacks on September 11th. The ceremony commemorated the installation of the last steel beam in the final building in the MetroTech Center complex that has been a catalyst in the renaissance of Downtown Brooklyn over the last decade and a half. Bruce C. Ratner, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Forest City Ratner Companies, the developer of the MetroTech complex and of 9 MetroTech Center South, was joined at today’s festivities by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz; Dr. Michael A. Stocker, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the largest health insurer in New York State; and by officials from the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA). Empire will serve as the building’s anchor tenant, occupying approximately 395,000 square feet of office space housing 1,300 employees displaced by the destruction of 1 World Trade Center, while 700 HRA employees will occupy approximately 193,000 square feet of office space. Following this morning’s ceremony – in which Mr. Ratner, Borough President Markowitz, Dr. Stocker, and elected officials and civic, business and community leaders affixed their signatures to the final steel beam before it was installed in the topping-out ceremony – an informal luncheon was held to thank the construction workers and others whose efforts have enabled the development to come to fruition. “The topping-out of this building brings us one step closer to completing our vision for MetroTech Center,” said Bruce C. Ratner. “And, as the first commercial office building developed in the city since 9/11, this achievement stands as a testament to New Yorkers’ historic determination to endure and thrive in the face of adversity,” he said. Dr. Michael A. Stocker said, “Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield is proud to play a part in the revitalization of Downtown Brooklyn, which re-affirms our long-term commitment to the healthcare needs of New Yorkers by serving as the anchor tenant at the final building at MetroTech Center.” Nine MetroTech Center South was designed by the internationally renowned architecture firm of Cesar Pelli & Associates in association with the esteemed architects at Swanke Hayden Connell. It will feature 19 stories of office space and rise approximately 325 feet above street level. Its design is intended to promote a sense of vitality and community along Flatbush Avenue, while its lobby will open onto MetroTech Commons, the landscaped public space at the center of the MetroTech campus that features many notable artworks. Located at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Myrtle Avenue Extension, it adjoins the headquarters of the New York Fire Department and the Student Center for Polytechnic University. Nine MetroTech Center therefore symbolizes the links between the private sector, government, and educational institutions that have enabled MetroTech Center to bring scores of new businesses and thousands of new jobs to Downtown Brooklyn. The developer of the MetroTech complex, Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), is an affiliate of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises and is the largest publicly traded development company and a major mixed-used property owner and developer in the United States. FCRC has completed thirty projects totaling 7.1 million square feet at a development cost of $1.5 billion. In addition, another seven projects totaling $1.18 billion and 3.2 million square feet are under construction, with an additional 3.4 million square feet in active development. Recent noteworthy FCRC projects include the Embassy Suites Hotel in Battery Park City, the Hilton Times Square Hotel, and a joint venture formed with The New York Times Company to develop and own the new New York Times building in midtown Manhattan.