Native Species

Flora and Fauna of NYC

In addition to its ambitious sustainable building designs, St. John’s Terminal brings nature back into the city by incorporating green spaces throughout the building and the surrounding area. Our ecology team worked alongside a team of nature experts that includes the New York Botanical Garden’s Dr. Eric Sanderson, author of the book Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City, to create extensive outdoor plantings that add significant green space to the neighborhood. Altogether there are roughly 1.5 acres of native vegetation at street level, in rail bed gardens, in window boxes, and on terraces. These green spaces restore the site’s native ecology, bringing back many of the species that would have been found here in the past. Over 95% of the exterior plants installed at St. John’s Terminal are native to New York State, and over 85% are native to New York City — with plant choices informed by the island’s natural ecosystems.

The native vegetation at St. John’s Terminal is designed to create a biodiverse habitat that supports a variety of local bird and insect species. Terrace and ground-floor plantings are designed to support nesting, foraging, and migration habitat for multiple bird species, and nest boxes are meant to attract birds that nest in tree cavities, which are rare in city centers. Working with NYC Audubon from July through October 2023, we've recorded over 40 bird species using the habitat created at St. John’s Terminal. The site’s monarch butterfly habitat expands an approach used across our California campuses to support this iconic, yet struggling species. Our ecology team plans to monitor the species that arrive and adjust its program as needed to support focal wildlife.

Inside the building, St. John’s Terminal incorporates biophilic design elements to promote healthy workspaces. Biophilic design weaves nature and natural patterns into a building to reduce stress, refresh the brain, improve mood, and enhance creativity and problem-solving. This approach shows up throughout the building in many forms, including live plants and wooden materials that enhance connections to nature, water references that trace the site’s original Hudson River shoreline, and nature-inspired ceiling installations that evoke tree canopies and foliage