Discovery Park
Opportunities are emerging at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
About Discovery Park
Discovery Park is a new vision for the gateway to the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory. It will offer a flexible platform to advance science- and technology-based economic development for Long Island, New York State, and beyond.
Brookhaven Lab is a major destination along Long Island's Research Corridor. The concept for Discovery Park at Brookhaven's entryway includes the potential for development on approximately 60 acres of previously used, publicly accessible land. The Lab is working, in coordination with DOE, on a process for developers, collaborators, and entrepreneurs to propose, build, and operate new facilities that complement the DOE and Brookhaven Lab missions, leveraging opportunities from close proximity to the Laboratory.
Developers, collaborators, and entrepreneurs:
To discuss opportunities at Discovery Park, contact:
Steve Cannella
Brookhaven Lab Campus Development Director
cannella@bnl.gov, (631) 344-2116
Discovery Park at Brookhaven National Laboratory (Flyover Rendering)
September 14, 2020
Discovery Park is a new vision for the gateway to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, the only multidisciplinary national lab in the Northeast and a major destination on Long Island's Innovation Corridor. September 10, 2020
Plans for Discovery Park include several components
Upton Square
The “user village” in Discovery Park, envisioned to include:
The Science and User Support Center
Housing Accommodations
A new, modern housing facility for visiting scientists and researchers.
Food services and other amenities will be located nearby.
Center for Grid Innovation Facility
A proposed research facility for grid modernization, resiliency, and
security. This could offer simulation capabilities to solve emerging
issues of the modern electric grid. It could also provide training for
the electric grid workforce of the future as well as new opportunities
for collaboration with our many regional stakeholders.
Public Science Education Center
A privately funded destination to inspire students, teachers, and the local community at the only multidisciplinary national laboratory in the northeast United States.
Technology Park
A technology park for research and development (R&D). Collaborators and entrepreneurs can leverage privately funded development and close proximity to Brookhaven, its experts, and facilities.
A Joint Land-use Partnership
Discovery Park is envisioned as a joint land-use partnership with DOE; Brookhaven Science Associates, which manages Brookhaven Lab for DOE; New York State and Long Island local government; nonprofit entities; and private industry. Regional stakeholders and groups representing the Laboratory's diverse user research communities are actively engaged and strongly support the Discovery Park initiative.
Privately funded development will be enabled by long-term ground leases for the construction of facilities that align with DOE and Brookhaven's missions, leveraging commercial opportunities that result from close proximity to the Laboratory.
Accessible by Road, Air, and Rail
The proposed site is a previously developed apartment area at Brookhaven Lab. The area is adjacent to the core research area of the Lab site.
Brookhaven Lab and the future Discovery Park are located just north of the Long Island Expressway’s Exit 68, near a potential new Brookhaven Lab-Yaphank train station for the Long Island Rail Road, the Ronkonkoma Hub, and several airports. New residential developments as well as beaches, vineyards, and shopping are only a short drive away.
To increase accessibility for tenants and the public, Discovery Park will be configured to be outside Brookhaven Lab's current security perimeter.
Discovery Park Industry Day: Video Replay and More
Developers, collaborators, and entrepreneurs were invited to meet with key members of the U.S. Department of Energy and Brookhaven Lab teams at Discovery Park Industry Day on September 24, 2020. To watch a video replay, access presentation slides, and more, see this event recap.
Comments and questions from the development community are welcome at this time. The notional draft ground lease is available for review. Feedback may be submitted with the following form.
Three Reasons for Discovery Park
Brookhaven Lab’s need for efficient and modern office, housing, and technical space is immediate. When coupled with regional economic development goals, Discovery Park creates exciting opportunities for DOE, the Laboratory, commercial real estate developers, industry, and the community.
Economic Development
With privately funded facilities developed near the premier research capabilities available at Brookhaven Lab, tenants may leverage tools and technology development platforms for technology transfer, commercialization, and economic development to create:
- Supply-chain relationships for manufacturing, testing, or processing
- "Implant" laboratories for collaborators and entrepreneurs to enhance R&D capabilities with tools and expertise available at Brookhaven
- Joint institutes, collaborative institutes in allied technological fields
- Technology incubators for start-ups and spin-off entrepreneurial opportunities
These development platforms for collaborators and entrepreneurs are based on Brookhaven Lab's core competencies in R&D and a "direct line of sight" to commercial market growth. Computational science and space radiation simulation and testing are also strong candidates for market development.
Infrastructure Renewal
Brookhaven Lab currently relies in part on inadequate, substandard buildings that date to the site's days as Camp Upton, a U.S. Army facility during World Wars I and II. Discovery Park will help modernize the site for the Lab community, offering efficient new facilities that reflect Brookhaven's stature as a world-class research facility.
- Bright, modern, space-efficient work areas will be created with areas for collaboration and conferences.
- 285,000 square feet of old, inadequate, inefficient wood buildings can be demolished.
- $34 million of needed repairs can be eliminated while addressing additional infrastructure issues.
Improving Accommodations for Guests and Facility Users
Discovery Park will serve the needs of the Lab's growing user community with:
- An enhanced one-stop guest experience at the Laboratory's entrance that meets onboarding needs
- Modern housing
- Food services and other amenities, offering convenience and an attractive sense of place
- A conference center for scientific collaboration and international conferences
About Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory delivers discovery science and transformative technology to power and secure the nation’s future. It is home to seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, 37 R&D 100 Awards, and countless scientific and technological advances.
Brookhaven Lab employs more than 2,500 staff. World-class experts and unique facilities at Brookhaven typically attract more than 5,000 guest researchers annually. The Lab also regularly welcomes more than 30,000 students and teachers for education and workforce development programs each year.
Brookhaven’s budget for fiscal year 2020 was $625.1 million. Brookhaven Lab's presence adds approximately 4,800 jobs to Long Island and elsewhere in New York State.
Brookhaven Lab is managed for the Department of Energy's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a partnership between Stony Brook University and Battelle. Learn more.
This is Brookhaven Lab
June 4, 2019
Brookhaven National Laboratory delivers discovery science and transformative technology to power and secure America’s future. Operated by Brookhaven Science Associates for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, Brookhaven Lab is a multidisciplinary laboratory with seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, 36 R&D 100 Awards, and more than 70 years of pioneering research.
