The Plant

THE POWERPLANT

DEVELOPMENT DONE DIFFERENT

This abandoned coal-burning powerplant will be transformed from a symbol of the industrial revolution that has led to today’s problems to a monument of collaboration and innovation toward an abundant, regenerative future that will fuel today’s clean economy.

From Coal to Clean

Once used to burn coal to electrify Grand Central Terminal, The PowerPlant will, one day soon, become the epicenter of a positive global transformation – to combat the climate crisis and its ripple effect on the planet.

The PowerPlant represents the first 100 years of industrialization. Built in 1907, The PowerPlant housed cutting edge technologies and served as a symbol of American innovation, engineering, and architectural achievement. Yet, it is also a symbol of an era of resource extraction, combustion, and pollution – a paradigm we must abandon if we are to preserve the planet for future generations.

A century after its creation, The PowerPlant now stands at a crossroad in its history, on the verge of collapse. For the next 100 years, The PowerPlant will become a global home for those working to solve humanity’s most pressing problem – climate change.

Climate change is the number one existential threat facing humanity. It’s time to meet the challenge of repairing the vandalization wrought by the industrial revolution and the 20th century.

The Story
of The PowerPlant

The PowerPlant was built in 1907 and stands on 6000 piles over the Hudson River with unparalleled views of the New York City skyline and the Palisades. It is one of the only remaining power plants constructed for the electrification of the Grand Central Railroad and has been abandoned since the 1970s. In 2013, Lela Goren bought the Yonkers Power Plant, ending 75 years of disuse and neglect. Today, a new chapter is being written.

The PowerPlant is composed of three interconnected buildings. The Rotary Building will provide offices, micro kitchens, meeting lounges and double-height gathering space in the historic rotary room. The Turbine Hall becomes an event space hosting exhibitions, conferences and performances. The Smokestack provides cafe, exhibition, meeting and office spaces within the structure that once stored and burned coal.

Revitalized as The PowerPlant, this historic building will be reimagined as a co-working, incubator, maker space, and grand convening space, for events, workshops, public art and gatherings that engage entrepreneurs, innovators, scientists, artists, youth and governments engaged with climate solutions.

“The PowerPlant and its architectural interventions are in the spirit of the raw creative power of the historic power plant. Human power and innovation will replace coal power to secure our existence for the next 100 years.”

Bjarke Ingels, BIG Architects

HISTORY

The Glenwood Power Plant (also known as the Yonkers Power Plant) in Yonkers, built between 1904 and 1906, is one of two power stations constructed for the electrification of the New York Central Railroad from Grand Central Terminal to the northern suburbs of New York City. As an integral part of the monumental civic vision of Grand Central Terminal—which included electrification of the line, construction of the new terminal building, the re-establishment of Park Avenue and the cross streets by depressing the tracks below street level, and the development of an entire district of new real estate—the Glenwood Power Plant is of significant historical value.

The Power Station was designed by the architecture firm of Charles Reed & Alan Stem who, in association with the firm Warren & Wetmore, also designed Grand Central Terminal. Specialists in the design of railroad buildings, Reed & Stem designed both the Glenwood and the Port Morris Power Stations, the associated substations and various local stations on the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad lines.

The Glenwood Power Plant is an outstanding example of early 20th-century engineering and is the last remaining and intact power station constructed for the electrification of the Grand Central railroad. Its monumental scale and Romanesque-Revival style architecture are fine examples of the industrial architecture of the period. The New York Central Railroad owned and operated the power station between 1907-1936, when it served the sole function of powering the railroad.