Rooftop Farm-to-Table Food Part of Javits Expansion
by REW July 19, 2019
The 1.2 million Javits Center expansion is expected to be complete next year.
The Javits Center is launching a new hospitality brand aimed at offering a locally grown and celebrated food and beverage operation to exhibitors and visitors.
The new venture will source food from a working farm being built on the roof as part of the center’s massive expansion.
The New York Convention Center Operating Corporation (NYCCOC), which operates the Javits Center, has joined with Levy Convention Centers and CxRA to launch the brand called Cultivated.
NYCCOC president Alan Steel believes Cultivated will redefine hospitality at the Javits Center undergoes 1.2 million square foot set to be completed in 2021.
The 1.2-million-square-foot addition has been designed by tvsdesign at a cost of nearly $1.5 billion. It will increase the total area of the facility to 3.3 million square feet and add an extra 22,000 s/f to what is already the largest green roof in New York City.
In collaboration with a design/build team led by Lendlease (US) Construction LMB Inc. and Turner Construction, the project features 90,000 s/f of permanent exhibit space, to be combined with current exhibit space, which will create an approximately 500,000 s/f exhibition hall.
In addition, the expansion will include 45,000 s/f of meeting room space, a 55,000 s/f ballroom, and a green roof terrace and pavilion accommodating 1,500 people for outdoor events.
As an urban convention center, the team is also creating an on-site truck marshaling facility with room for more than 230 event and exhibit related trucks and 27 new loading docks out of the public view.
The new Cultivated hospitality venture will focus on sustainability and community and use of state-of-the-art technology to create “an inspirational culinary experience that captures the vibrancy and vitality of the greatest city in the world.”
As well as the rooftop pavilion and outdoor space, the expansion will include additional kitchens, multiple food preparation stations and loading docks, all designed to transform the on-site catering experience.
Andy Lansing, president and CEO of Levy. “We’re rolling up our sleeves and working closely with the restaurants, purveyors, farms, and community organizations that define New York’s culinary scene. Anyone who visits Javits Center should leave feeling like they experienced the best the city and state have to offer.”
All event managers, exhibitors and attendees at the Javits Center will now be served by the Cultivated team.
New menus and a new microsite are dedicated to advanced and on-site catering services and a leadership team at Cultivated will leverage local resources and producer partnerships to showcase New York offerings.
The Javits Center will offer coffee roasted by El Dorado Coffee Roasters, based in the Maspeth section of Queens and sustainable beer made by re-using bread made on-site in partnership with a local brewery.
There will be a line of products infused with honey harvested from the Javits Center’s rooftop bee hives; and straws will be scrapped as the center introduces 100 percent compostable serviceware
Cultivated will also play a role in the success of a one-acre rooftop working farm being constructed as part of the expansion project.
When completed, the farm is expected to produce up to 40,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables, which will be directed to the convention center’s kitchens where Cultivated staff will create a true roof-to-table experience for customers throughout the year.
Brooklyn Grange will manage the farm and work with the Cultivated culinary team.