Borough To Get a LIttle Bit 'Greener,' Courtesy of Brooklyn Navy Yard

What was once the center of Brooklyn's mini-rust belt is set to get a whole lot "greener."

The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. announced Friday that it will invest $46 million in a new Green Manufacturing Center housing the next generation of environmentally sustainable industrial companies.

And, in the latest addition to the city's brightening employment picture, the project is expected to create 300 permanent and 400 construction jobs—a day after Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that private job creation was at level not seen in the five boroughs for 60 years. 

"The future will be built on a foundation of green jobs and the sooner we invest in this emerging industry, the more stable our long-term economic recovery will be," said state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, D-Boerum Hill. "Green technology makes good environmental sense and good economic sense."

In something of a return to the Brooklyn Navy Yard's original function as a hub for the U.S. Military, one of two anchor tenants at the center, Crye Precision, will almost double its production of body armor and apparel for men and women in the armed services. 

The manufacturing hub will also be home to several green technology and sustainable design efforts led by Cooper Union, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Columbia University.

Construction will center at existing buildings 28, 123 and 128, which will be combined with several former shipbuilding shops into a new 220,000-square-foot facility.

Though the announced investment in the center was expected, news Friday provided even more concrete evidence of the Navy Yard's transformation from an underused traditional manufacturing facility to a hub of the "new" economy.

"Today the Navy Yard is home to the kind of innovation that is going to create the jobs of the future and keep our city competitive in the long-term," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.