Fordham University has landed another $2.5 million to finish building a clean energy training hub on East Fordham Road, bringing the three announced awards to $6.9 million. University President Tania Tetlow and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson announced a $1 million commitment toward the Bronx Green Jobs Center, while Con Edison pledged an additional $1.5 million, according to the university. The center is expected to open in early 2027 at 585 East Fordham Road.
Con Edison's $1.5 million grant is earmarked specifically for a first-floor classroom and event space designed to host up to 200 people for job fairs and technical training sessions, according to Fordham Now. Gibson's $1 million commitment, meanwhile, is directed toward broader building renovations. As reported by the Bronx Times, the center aims to connect Bronx residents with career opportunities and establish a clean energy workforce development hub offering hands-on training in solar panel installation, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, energy efficiency and urban agriculture.
The new grants build on a funding stack that predates this week's announcement. The New York City Economic Development Corporation selected Fordham in July 2025 as the inaugural recipient of its Greenlight Innovation Fund, awarding $3 million to renovate the university-owned space. Earlier in 2026, the center also received $1.4 million in state clean energy workforce development funding, per the same Bronx Times report.
A Vacant Carpet Factory Gets a Second Life
According to StreetEasy, the two-story, 12,000-square-foot building at 585 East Fordham Road was constructed in 1931. The gut renovation will convert the building into learning laboratories, classroom space, an event venue, and what organizers describe as New York's first dedicated green economy entrepreneurship support center. The redesign will also include a street-level café showcasing locally produced goods.
Fordham says the project has taken roughly two years for design and construction, though the underlying idea for a green workforce and entrepreneurship hub dates back to 2007. In preparing the program, the university brought in community-based organizations, K-12 partners, experts from other universities, and industry and hiring partners, and says it has created pathways to skilled careers for high school students along the way.
Betting on a Fast-Growing Green Job Market
The timing lines up with a labor market state officials expect to keep expanding. New York State projects adding more than 172,000 clean energy jobs through 2030, according to Fordham. Employment in New York City's green economy is expanding at an estimated annual rate of 8%, roughly double the growth rate of overall municipal employment, the university says.
That growth is being driven in part by state law. New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, enacted in July 2019, mandates that 70% of state electricity come from renewable sources by 2030 and 100% from zero-emission sources by 2040, according to Environmental Advocates NY. The same statute requires that at least 35% of climate and clean-energy investments be directed to designated Disadvantaged Communities, including neighborhoods like the Bronx.
Health Stakes in Asthma Alley
Fordham and Gibson's announcement frames the center as sitting in some of the most environmentally unjust zip codes in the United States, with the Bronx described as disproportionately impacted by climate injustice and climate change. The Bronx is also called Asthma Alley.
Tetlow said the center will bring clean energy and sustainability leaders together and help scale their work to meet New York's climate and clean energy goals. Gibson said the facility will give Bronx residents training, skills, resources and opportunities to lead the green economy. Travis Proulx, Fordham's vice president of external affairs, said the project will prepare community members to compete for jobs in the growing green economy.
The Bronx Green Jobs Center is a green workforce project in the borough. When the Bronx Green Jobs Center opens its doors in early 2027, it will mark the culmination of a project nearly two decades in the making — one intended to connect Bronx residents with jobs in the growing green economy.
