Last week, the City Council voted unanimously to approve the 240,000 square-foot Union Square Tech Training Center, which is planned for 120 East 14th Street. The Council's vote was the final step in the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) process necessary for construction to begin on the former P.C Richard & Sons store.

The 21-story Union Square Tech Training Center will house a technology training center, classrooms, offices, start-up co-working spaces, ground-floor retail and food hall, and a civic innovation center all under one roof. Projected to attract 600 high-wage jobs in the technology and digital media fields, the Tech Training Center will enable New Yorkers of all income and skill levels to affordably gain digital training to enter the modern twenty-first century workforce.

"We are thrilled that the Union Square Tech Training Center has been approved by the City Council," said Jennifer E. Falk, Executive Director of the Union Square Partnership. "This important project will play a critical role in preparing and connecting all New Yorkers to twenty-first century jobs and reinforces the Union Square district's identity as the dual epicenter for the city's traditional tech and 'tech-for-good' sectors."

As part of the push for inclusiveness and bringing tech workforce development opportunities to underrepresented communities locally, NYCEDC and RAL have included numerous community-oriented benefits into the planning and programming of the Tech Training Center. These include promoting first-time and local food entrepreneurs in the food hall, working with for-profit workforce development partners to offer enrollment scholarships, and providing free space for community events and public meetings.

“Community Board 3 is very excited about the coming Tech Training Center. Our youth need and deserve training for good-paying twenty-first century tech jobs, said Community Board 3 Chair, Alysha Lewis Coleman said. "We are appreciative that the City responded to the CB3 priority to have a business incubator for our emerging entrepreneurs. We are excited for this important project to become a reality for our community.”

For more details on the project, visit the recently launched Union Square Tech Training Center website.

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About The Union Square Partnership

The Union Square Partnership is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that works to ensure the Union Square district's continued growth + success by providing a wide-range of services + programs including sanitation, public safety, economic development, marketing + events, and by investing in the beautification of Union Square Park.