A host of elected officials, community leaders, and clergy gathered Nov. 12 for the grand opening and dedication of the National Urban League (NUL) Empowerment Center in Harlem.
The $250 million, 414,000-square-foot, 17-story complex — located at West 125th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard — serves as the new national headquarters for the NUL. The building also includes the forthcoming Urban Civil Rights Museum in Harlem, scheduled to open in 2026, along with 171 affordable housing units, a conference center, and retail space.
Other tenants include One Hundred Black Men of America, the United Negro College Fund, administrative offices for the Studio Museum in Harlem, Jazzmobile, and Virginia Union University.
NUL President and CEO Marc Morial was joined at the ceremony by Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Councilmember Yusef Salaam, and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
“This center represents not just a building but a beacon,” said Morial. “It embodies the resilience of Harlem, the strength of our movement, and the promise of economic and social justice for future generations. I am proud to see this dream realized in the very heart of our community.”
Construction on the building began in 2021. The NUL’s previous headquarters were located in Lower Manhattan, where the organization faced the end of its lease.
“This project is the most significant development built in Harlem in 50 years,” Morial told AmNews in 2021. “It will be Black-owned. We are not tenants. We wanted to demonstrate to people that you can complete a project with African American professionals and African American ownership.”
TO ME THIS IS A VERY HISTORICAL MOMENT.. NOT ONLY DOES THIS PROVE EMPOWERMENT BY MY PEOPLE SO TO SPEAK BUT HOPEFULLY AND ADVANTAGEOUS EFFORT BY MORE SUPPORT OF BUILDINGS AND COMMUNITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS TO LOOK FORWARD INVESTING BACK INTO THEIR COMMUNITY BUT BEING BUILT AND BEING BLACK OEN. IT’S NOTHING LIKE BEING/HAVING YOUR OWN AND NOT A TENANT TO OTHER CONGRATULATIONS TO THE URBAN LEAGUE AND ITS LEADERSHIP GOD BLESS TOODLES.