Sunset Park's Brooklyn Army Terminal is getting a serious climate-tech glow up under a $100 million city program called BATWorks. The plan will convert roughly 200,000 square feet of waterfront space into labs, prototyping bays and workforce training centers, with officials expecting the permanent facility to open in 2028. City leaders say they are also hosting an open house next week to give neighbors an early look at what is coming.
According to NYCEDC, the investment is expected to create roughly 600 jobs, support about 150 startups over the next decade and generate an estimated $2.6 billion in economic activity for the city. A consortium led by the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator and the Cambridge Innovation Center will design and operate BATWorks inside the Brooklyn Army Terminal. NYCEDC has also awarded $1.4 million to the South Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation to run an Economic Mobility Network that connects local residents to training and hiring programs.
In interviews reported by News12 Brooklyn, Nse Esema of NYCEDC said the project will "begin really deeply engaging with community, deeply engaging with innovators who we believe are building the climate solutions." Alex Mitchell of LACI described the campus as a rare urban proving ground that gives "multiple innovators each year the opportunity to test and deploy their technology on this campus." News12 Brooklyn also reports the city will host a public open house in Sunset Park next week where residents can see early designs and programming.
Pilots At BAT And The Road To 2028
LACI will lead a "Pilots at BAT" program that gives startups access to BAT's plumbing, heating, waterfront and roadway testing zones, and that pilots program is billed as the flagship activation ahead of a full BATWorks launch targeted for 2028, according to BATWorks. The site explains that pilots typically run six months to a year and include city support for permitting, installation and de-installation so demonstrations do not permanently alter the campus. Organizers say the mix of century-old structures and modern infrastructure makes the terminal an uncommon urban testbed for technologies that have to work in real city conditions, not just in a lab.
Jobs, Training And Local Partnerships
NYCEDC says the Economic Mobility Network will partner with local organizations including Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, Solar One and the Chinese American Planning Council to create clear pathways into green-economy jobs. City officials frame BATWorks as part of a "Harbor Climate Collaborative" that links BAT with the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Governors Island to scale pilots and city procurement. The administration says the goal is to move from pilots to procurement and long-term contracts that benefit Sunset Park workers and businesses, not just visiting startups.
The Brooklyn Army Terminal campus already hosts more than 100 tenants that collectively employ around 4,000 people, and campus managers say the city has invested more than $500 million to modernize the site, according to Brooklyn Army Terminal. Those existing facilities, including piers, heavy power capacity and industrial bays, are a key reason planners picked BAT for climate pilots, organizers say. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso has praised the hub for its potential to protect vulnerable communities while creating jobs, according to coverage in Brooklyn Eagle.
Hoodline first covered the city's BATWorks announcement in May 2025 when the consortium and financing were unveiled. See our earlier piece on the city's $100 million BATWorks launch for background on the consortium and city goals.
For neighbors who want more detail, BATWorks includes a notification sign-up and information about pilot cycles and events. The BATWorks programs page posts application windows and event listings for public workshops and open houses, and residents can sign up there to be notified of upcoming dates.
