2050.
10 Billion People.
A Hotter Planet.
More Crowded Cities.
Invent City turns NYC’s Financial District into a launchpad for solving climate, AI, and urban challenges. At its core: an industrial cluster anchored by an Urban Trade Mart, where companies showcase real solutions and strike real deals. Wrapped around it: events, popcasts, and metaverse reach. Built for speed. Designed for impact. Big upside for cities. Bigger upside for NYC.
Strategy to
Make FiDi a
Preeminant Solutions
Epicenter
Economics Drives Change — Policy sets the stage, but capital moves the world. When profit aligns with purpose, markets scale impact fast. Invent City's strategy: generate value for cities, companies, startups, and property owners alike. NYC becomes the launchpad to take climate tech from niche to norm.
Always Create Value
An Industrial Cluster is a dense network of talent, teams, and capital solving the same problem. It’s a proven model that delivers. Companies hire faster, test faster, win faster. Cities get jobs, tax revenue, and global relevance. Better products hit the market sooner—driving growth and profit. A FiDi-based cluster can lead the world in urban innovation.
A Trade Mart is a velocity engine for urban innovation. Buyers find solutions fast. Products meet real demand. It collapses the gap between invention and adoption—one conversation can close a deal. Visibility beats cold outreach. Urgency replaces inertia. Momentum becomes measurable. Deals move faster. Feedback is instant. Buyers come ready. Traction accelerates. Urban solutions unlock. Market momentum builds. Cities feel the impact globally.
Inside the Trade Mart, companies operate dedicated showrooms—some solo, others grouped by sector, region, or under shared banners like city-led incubators. This isn’t a mall—it’s a high-performance sales engine. Each space is optimized for speed, conversion, and scale. Trade marts are proven. They can deliver strong commercial returns with lower risk.
Transportation $5–6T by 2050
Buildings $4–5T by 2050
Power $6–9T by 2050
Waste & Materials $1–2T by 2050
Urban Agriculture $0.8–1.1T by 2050
Consumer Products $1–1.3T by 2050
Energy $3–4T by 2050
Water $1–2T by 2050
Wastewater $1–1.3T by 2050
| Transportation Industry Segments |
|---|
| Electric & Hydrogen Vehicles — Replacing internal combustion. (~$2.5–3.5T/yr) |
| Electrification of Public Transit — Greener buses, trains, ferries. (~$0.8–1.2T/yr) |
| Biking & Pedestrian Infrastructure — Active mobility. (~$0.3–0.6T/yr) |
| Water-Based Transit — Electric ferries & boats. (~$0.1–0.2T/yr) |
| Smart Traffic Management — AI congestion reduction. (~$0.2–0.4T/yr) |
| Mobility Hubs & Shared Vehicles — Integrated EVs + transit. (~$0.5–0.8T/yr) |
| Climate-Resilient Infrastructure — Storm-ready systems. (~$0.3–0.5T/yr) |
| Greener Shipping & Last-Mile Delivery — Electrified logistics. (~$0.4–0.7T/yr) |
| Policy & Public Engagement — Incentives & regulation. (~$0.1–0.2T/yr) |
| Buildings Industry Segments |
|---|
| Energy-Efficient Design — Passive strategies. (~$1.0–1.5T/yr) |
| Smart Building Technologies — Sensors + automation. (~$0.6–0.9T/yr) |
| Renewable Energy Integration — Solar + storage. (~$0.8–1.2T/yr) |
| Low-Carbon Construction Materials — Cement alternatives. (~$0.5–0.8T/yr) |
| Climate-Resilient Architecture — Heat/flood protection. (~$0.3–0.6T/yr) |
| Vertical Green Spaces — Roofs + walls. (~$0.1–0.3T/yr) |
| Water Management Systems — Reuse & stormwater. (~$0.2–0.4T/yr) |
| Retrofitting Older Buildings — Efficiency upgrades. (~$0.8–1.2T/yr) |
| High-Efficiency Equipment — HVAC & appliances. (~$0.5–0.8T/yr) |
| Sustainable Design — Biomimicry + circular. (~$0.2–0.4T/yr) |
| Power Industry Segments |
|---|
| Renewable Power — Solar, wind, hydro, WTE. (~$1.5–2.5T/yr) |
| Smart Grids & Grid Modernization — Microgrids, EV-integration. (~$0.8–1.2T/yr) |
| Energy Storage — Batteries + hydrogen. (~$0.7–1.0T/yr) |
| Decentralized Systems — Local micro sources. (~$0.3–0.5T/yr) |
| Electrification — Buildings + transport. (~$1.0–1.5T/yr) |
| Resilience & Grid Hardening — Storm-proofing. (~$0.4–0.7T/yr) |
| Carbon Capture & Hydrogen — Hard-to-electrify sectors. (~$0.5–0.9T/yr) |
| Decommissioning & Transition — Fossil → clean. (~$0.2–0.4T/yr) |
| Energy Equity — Affordable access. (~$0.1–0.3T/yr) |
| Waste Industry Segments |
|---|
| Zero-Waste Initiatives — Reuse + bans. (~$150–200B/yr) |
| Advanced Recycling — Chemical + AI. (~$180–250B/yr) |
| Organic Waste — Composting. (~$100–140B/yr) |
| Waste-to-Energy — Power from waste. (~$130–180B/yr) |
| Circular Economy — Industrial reuse. (~$120–160B/yr) |
| Smart Waste Collection — Sensors + routing. (~$70–100B/yr) |
| Landfill Reduction — Diversion. (~$60–90B/yr) |
| Plastic Reduction — Alternatives & policy. (~$90–120B/yr) |
| Sustainable Materials — Circular design. (~$80–110B/yr) |
| Methane Capture — Gas recovery. (~$50–80B/yr) |
| E-Waste Management — Electronics reuse. (~$100–130B/yr) |
| Industrial Processing — Reprocessing + upcycling. (~$80–120B/yr) |
| Urban Agriculture Segments |
|---|
| Vertical & Rooftop Farming — Efficient land use. (~$200–300B/yr) |
| Closed-Loop Systems — High efficiency. (~$100–150B/yr) |
| Local Food Hubs — Distribution. (~$120–160B/yr) |
| Advanced Growing Tech — Hydroponics + AI. (~$150–200B/yr) |
| Rooftop & Indoor Gardens — Household/community food. (~$80–110B/yr) |
| Policy & Land Access — Enabling frameworks. (~$60–90B/yr) |
| Urban Ag Jobs — Economic lift. (~$100–150B/yr) |
Green by design — Circular, transparent, climate-smart products could own a $1.3T slice of the future market.
| Energy Industry Segments |
|---|
| Building-Scale Solar — Rooftop PV. (~$0.8–1.2T/yr) |
| Energy Management Platforms — AI optimization. (~$0.3–0.6T/yr) |
| Efficiency Retrofits — Envelope + HVAC. (~$0.6–1.0T/yr) |
| Electrified Appliances — Heat pumps, induction. (~$0.5–0.8T/yr) |
| District Heating & Cooling — Central thermal. (~$0.2–0.4T/yr) |
| Smart Meters & Sensors — Real-time optimization. (~$0.1–0.2T/yr) |
| Energy-as-a-Service — Subscription model. (~$0.3–0.5T/yr) |
| Industrial Optimization — Automation + analytics. (~$0.4–0.6T/yr) |
| Water Industry Segments |
|---|
| Water Recycling — Grey + blackwater. (~$200–300B/yr) |
| Stormwater Management — Capture + reuse. (~$100–150B/yr) |
| Desalination — New freshwater. (~$80–120B/yr) |
| Smart Water Systems — Monitoring + AI. (~$150–200B/yr) |
| Decentralized Systems — Local treatment. (~$70–100B/yr) |
| Climate-Resilient Infrastructure — Flood/drought defenses. (~$100–150B/yr) |
| Water Equity — Underserved areas. (~$50–80B/yr) |
| Advanced Treatment — Membrane, UV, oxidation. (~$150–180B/yr) |
| Leak Detection — Sensors + analytics. (~$80–120B/yr) |
Reclaim everything — Circular water and next-gen treatment tech could make wastewater a $1.3T industry.
NYC is the launchpad — global reach, local power. Home to the UN, Wall Street, and 120+ consulates. A magnet for talent. A nexus for scale.
FiDi is the edge — Historic clout, future-ready. 13 subway lines, ferries, PATH, Citi Bike. Millions of square feet of vacant space. Industries can be placed in individual buildings. Because the use is flexible, if a building is redeveloped or sold, the cluster’s uses can easily shift.
Well Connected Access is everything.
Fast to Activate Move in. Launch fast.
Blue Highway Water moves the future.
Hub Network Connected and scalable.
LMCR Built to endure.
Well Known Global name. Instant credibility.
Transit Power — 13 subways, 2 PATH lines, 30 buses, 18 ferries, and 35 Citi Bike stations—linking all boroughs, New Jersey, and airports.
Vacant Advantage — 20M+ sf below Chambers—10M in FiDi. High ceilings, open floors, fast conversions to showrooms or event hubs.
Water Logistics — Shift freight from roads to rivers—cut emissions, ease congestion, future-proof delivery.
Regional Links — Access to Liberty State Park, Governors Island, and Brooklyn hubs—enabling overflow and cross-harbor mobility.
Coastal Resilience — Elevated streets, retractable floodwalls, and upgraded utilities keep FiDi secure from rising seas and storms.
Iconic Legacy — Wall Street, the NYSE, Edison’s grid—born in FiDi. The name sells itself.
Vacant office and retail floors convert fastest and cheapest into showrooms—minimal structural change, lower capital, and short build times. Compared to residential conversions, they deliver quicker ROI, lower risk, and faster impact.
| SUPPLY | Inventory | Vacant |
|---|---|---|
| Finance West | 6,211,658 sf | 2,103,351 sf |
| Insurance | 12,587,451 sf | 4,678,003 sf |
| World Trade | 24,144,411 sf | 4,814,215 sf |
| Finance East | 29,924,952 sf | 7,966,073 sf |
| Totals | 72,868,472 sf | 19,561,642 sf |
| DEMAND | Area Needed |
|---|---|
| Invent City Direct | 1,000,000 sf |
| Invent City Indirect | 2,000,000 sf |
| Totals | 3,000,000 sf |
Vacant Office Space Significant vacant space in FiDi
Vacant Retail Space High-profile, retail-oriented showrooms
Vacant Land Micro-cargo, transit, toilets
Under the FDR Along the East River
POPS Micro-cargo, transit, toilets
Educational Facilities Student programming & industry
Vacant Office Space — Repurpose FiDi’s vacant office floors into working showrooms and live deployments—a modern take on the Trade Mart. For property owners, much of this space isn’t easily convertible to residential use; showrooms offer a faster, more cost-effective option while also driving demand for traditional office support (the Chelsea Harbour effect).
Vacant Retail Space — FiDi’s retail faces challenges: Community Board 1 (CB1) in Lower Manhattan has the highest retail vacancy rate in NYC, per NYC SBS FY2024 “Report on Storefront Businesses.” Of 2,305 storefronts in CB1, 556 (~24%) are unoccupied. Source
Vacant Land — Some sites were razed for future towers that haven’t been built. With FiDi office vacancies north of 30%, office uses are improbable. Deploy temporary-to-permanent urban innovation: micro-grids, stormwater parks, solar canopies, and pavilion showrooms.
Under the FDR — Privately finance upgrades in exchange for curated exhibits and programming—keeping spaces open and welcoming. Multiple ferry access. Pier 17. Brooklyn Bridge. Water-based exhibits. Showrooms on barges.
Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) — Indoor or outdoor spaces open to the public, often needing upgrades. Learn more at the Municipal Art Society and NYC Planning.
Educational Facilities — Ideal for summer student events connecting youth with industry leaders. Examples: Pace University (John Street, One Pace Plaza), Peck Slip High School, and High School of Economics and Finance.
Neighborhood-scale systems — Complementing the Blue Highway, Invent City promotes hubs for micro-cargo, micro-transit, waste transfer, and public toilets—cutting congestion and boosting urban efficiency.
An urban “nervous system” for the cluster and Trade Mart — a shared data spine linking every part of the city. Predictive, adaptive, finance-ready. What was once fragmented becomes a living, optimizing system.
AI is already being deployed in NYC.And Cities Worldwide
Nairobi 2025: 5.77M • 2100: 46.66M
Singapore 2025: 6.11M • 2100: n/a
Jakarta 2025: 11.63M • 2100: 18.22M
Seoul 2025: 10.03M • 2100: n/a
Copenhagen 2025: 1.40M • 2100: n/a
Tokyo 2025: 37.04M • 2100: 25.63M
Amsterdam 2025: 1.19M • 2100: n/a
Pittsburgh 2025: 1.72M • 2100: n/a
Barcelona 2025: 5.73M • 2100: 6.06M
AI-timed signals — Crop diagnosis by phone; flood-risk alerts along the Ngong.
City digital twin — Smart lampposts; AI dengue hot-spot prediction.
AI flood forecasting — Adaptive traffic control; waste-sorting vision pilots.
Citywide digital twin — AI CCTV; subway crowding forecasts in real time.
“Green-wave” AI for bikes — District-heat optimization; storm surge decision support.
Predictive metro maintenance — Quake damage mapping; service robots in stations.
AI-managed canals — Smart mobility pricing; building-energy tuning.
CMU smart signals — AV testbeds; bridge inspection with computer vision.
CityOS + IoT — AI leak detection; smart lighting & traffic tuned block-by-block.
Invent City never sleeps — its marketing engine runs nonstop, turning moments into momentum. Live events, digital drops, and immersive media keep the Trade Mart buzzing long after the handshake.
Events Showcase NYC
Podcasts Global Interaction
Incubate / Deploy From Pilot to Scale
Events — Events extend the Trade Mart’s market reach, activate buyer networks, and compress sales cycles.
Podcasts — On-demand conversations scale globally, keep brands top of mind, and create evergreen discovery paths.
Metaverse — Persistent virtual showrooms expand geographic reach and maintain contact between live events.
Benefits
for NYC,
for Business
General Economic Growth — Invent City drives measurable output: higher tax revenues, more jobs, and stronger commercial activity.
Attract Companies — The Cluster + Trade Mart model pulls innovators to NYC. Companies open showrooms and operations close to buyers, partners, and talent pipelines.Global firms and startups sustain steady demand that keeps FiDi’s cafés, shops, and services thriving year-round.
Regional Spillover — Growth radiates across the tri-state region. Suppliers, builders, and logistics firms win contracts that strengthen interconnected industrial corridors. Invent City will work to engage NYSERDA, and the SUNY network.
Tourism & Business Travel — Invent City will help strengthen Lower Manhattan as a global crossroads for innovation, drawing investors, delegations, and buyers from every continent. Each cluster and/or showroom driven visit fuels the city’s economy—supporting hotels, restaurants, shops, and transit systems—creating an economic flywheel that mirrors the world’s top convention and innovation destinations. The impact is measurable, recurring, and transformative.
- • $1.57 B in annual visitor spending
- • $135 M in new tax revenues each year
- • 7,700+ tourism-supported NYC jobs
| Stay | Origin | Purpose | Taxes @ 8.61% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overnight | Domestic | Business | $58M |
| Overnight | Domestic | Leisure | $7M |
| Overnight | International | Business | $58M |
| Overnight | International | Leisure | $11M |
| Day | Domestic | Business | $1M |
| Day | Domestic | Leisure | $0M |
| Day | International | Business | $1M |
| Day | International | Leisure | $0M |
| Totals (annual) | $135M | ||
| Stay | Origin | Purpose | Taxes @ 8.61% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overnight | Domestic | Business | $57,844,735 |
| Overnight | Domestic | Leisure | $6,726,132 |
| Overnight | International | Business | $57,652,560 |
| Overnight | International | Leisure | $11,083,705 |
| Day | Domestic | Business | $1,195,757 |
| Day | Domestic | Leisure | $298,939 |
| Day | International | Business | $512,467 |
| Day | International | Leisure | $128,117 |
| Totals (annual) | $135,442,412 | ||
| Stay | Origin | Purpose | Direct Spend | Indirect + Induced (0.55×) | Total Impact (1.55×) | Jobs Supported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overnight | Domestic | Business | $433M | $238M | $672M | 3,300 |
| Overnight | Domestic | Leisure | $50M | $28M | $78M | 384 |
| Overnight | International | Business | $432M | $238M | $670M | 3,289 |
| Overnight | International | Leisure | $83M | $46M | $129M | 632 |
| Day | Domestic | Business | $9M | $5M | $14M | 68 |
| Day | Domestic | Leisure | $2M | $1M | $3M | 17 |
| Day | International | Business | $4M | $2M | $6M | 29 |
| Day | International | Leisure | $1M | $1M | $1M | 7 |
| Totals (annual) | $558M | $1,573M | 7,726 | |||
Targeted Visitation — The Trade Mart fuels recurring business travel and events that fill 10,000+ hotel rooms annually.
Regional Impact — Ripple effects strengthen supply chains across the tri-state area as fabricators, logistics firms, and vendors gain steady demand.
| Bucket | SF | Showroom/Office Staff | Building Ops FTE | Total On-site Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct (showrooms) | 1,000,000 | 1,000 | ~110–120 | ~1,110–1,120 |
| Knock-on (offices) | 1,500,000 | ~8,571 | 175 | ~8,736–10,180 |
| Total | 2,500,000 | 9,571 | ~275–300 | ~9,846–11,300 |
| Bucket | SF | Rent $/SF | Rent ($M) | Property Tax (≈28%) | Commercial Rent Tax (≈3.9%) | Total Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct | 1,000,000 | $40 | $40M | $11M | $2M | $13M |
| Knock-on | 1,500,000 | $60 | $90M | $25M | $4M | $29M |
| Total | 2,500,000 | — | $130M | $36M | $5M | $41M |
Crossing the Chasm From pilot to mainstream.
DOOH District Where every wall is media.
Buy / Sell Where commerce happens.
Expand & Deepen Stay visible. Stay connected.
Retail Impact Without Crowds — Produces retail-level lift without high foot traffic—ideal for repositioning vacant offices.
Real Estate Catalyst — Anchors FiDi’s revival by turning empty floors into profitable showrooms and creative workspaces—modeled on London’s Chelsea Harbour (1.5 sf office : 1 sf showroom).
Faster Redevelopments — Delivers quicker, lower-cost conversions than residential projects, enabling earlier returns and occupancy.
Global Accelerator — Positions NYC as a world hub for climate innovation—showcasing scalable solutions that link growth and sustainability.
Faster Deployment — Accelerates adoption of clean energy, mobility, and building tech, helping NYC reach net-zero faster.
Urban Leadership — Reinforces New York’s global status as a model for sustainable city transformation.
Innovation Economy — Draws startups, investors, and industries that convert innovation into exports and jobs.
Nature-Based Resilience — Integrates greening, stormwater systems, and adaptive infrastructure that protect and cool the district.
Public Engagement — Immersive showrooms let people see and experience the next generation of sustainable living.
Replicable Blueprint — Establishes a carbon-zero model any dense, historic city can follow.
