Governors Island may soon become a year-round destination

In addition to a waterfront streetcar and smartphone meter payment, Mayor de Blasio will be unveiling big plans for Governors Island in his State of the City address tonight.

The island has changed remarkably since the city took ownership in 2010 with new park space, renovated buildings and popular events like the semi-annual Jazz Age Lawn Party.

That transformation is set to continue over the next few years with a greater amount of the island being developed and opened to the public. For the next phase of development, the city is focusing on 900,000 square feet inside historic buildings, new waterfront promenades with views of the harbor, 48 acres of parkland (that will open this summer) and a 33-acre “Innovation Cluster.” 

Courtesy: The Trust for Governor's Island

The Governors Island Innovation Cluster will be similar to the Roosevelt Island Cornell-Technion campus with spaces for educational institutions, start-ups and tech companies. (This sounds a lot more boring than the waterfront promenades.)

The Trust for Governors Island, which recently announced that the Hills at Governors Island was ahead of schedule, will oversee the project. The Trust is planning on sending out a call for proposals to develop the historic and vacant spaces by the end of the year.

The first phase of construction will most likely not begin until 2019.