One-acre rooftop farm and additional event space completes as part of $1.5 billion Javits Center Expansion

The Jarvis Center’s new rooftop farm and event space has completed as part of the Center’s $1.5 billion expansion project on Manhattan’s West Side. The 200,000-sf rooftop includes a glass-enclosed pavilion, an outdoor terrace, and a one-acre working farm that is expected to generate up to 40,000 pounds of produce each year.

The farm features a greenhouse that can host intimate gatherings or meals fo dup to 25 people. Brooklyn Grange will manage the day-to-day operations of the farm and the greenhouse. The produce will be sent directly to on-site kitchens to be incorporated into meals served to clients. It builds on the success of the convention center’s sustainability program, which includes an existing 6.75-acre green roof that serves as a habitat for area wildlife.

The 15,000-sf, glass-enclosed pavilion can host events with up to 1,500 individuals throughout the year. The pavilion is adjacent to a large outdoor terrace that features a meadow, a shade garden, and an orchard with 32 apple trees and six pear trees.

A solar farm with more than 3,000 solar panels, making it the largest rooftop solar farm in Manhattan, was also included as part of the project. It is expected to generate 1.7 megawatts of solar energy with an additional 3.5 megawatts of battery storage, providing the convention center with more than 2 gigawatt hours per year. The installation of two underground retention cisterns helps capture and treat rainwater to be used for irrigation on the roof, reducing the need for potable water for irrigation by at least 50%.

The total Javits Center project features 50% more front-of-house and back-of-house areas and more than 200,000 square feet of new meeting room and pre-function space, including a 54,000-square-foot special event space — the largest of its kind in the Northeast. The newly expanded Javits Center also features 500,000 sf of event space and a four-level truck marshaling facility that can house up to 200 tractor-trailers at one time.

The project was led by the New York Convention Center Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Empire State Development, the state’s chief economic development agency, a Lendlease and Turner joint venture and architectural firms TVS, Moody Nolan, Stantec and WXY Studio.