diff --git a/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/index.ts b/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/index.ts
index 4ae4a8454ea1..a5229e6dcf86 100644
--- a/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/index.ts
+++ b/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/index.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import {
   empty,
   mergeWith,
   move,
+  noop,
   schematic,
 } from '@angular-devkit/schematics';
 import {
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ export default function (options: NgNewOptions): Rule {
     mergeWith(
       apply(empty(), [
         schematic('workspace', workspaceOptions),
-        schematic('application', applicationOptions),
+        options.createApplication ? schematic('application', applicationOptions) : noop,
         move(options.directory || options.name),
       ]),
     ),
diff --git a/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/index_spec.ts b/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/index_spec.ts
index 268a3dd87508..8903428d9bab 100644
--- a/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/index_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/index_spec.ts
@@ -56,4 +56,13 @@ describe('Ng New Schematic', () => {
     const moduleContent = tree.readContent('/foo/src/app/app.module.ts');
     expect(moduleContent).toMatch(/declarations:\s*\[\s*AppComponent\s*\]/m);
   });
+
+  it('createApplication=false should create an empty workspace', () => {
+    const options = { ...defaultOptions, createApplication: false };
+
+    const tree = schematicRunner.runSchematic('ng-new', options);
+    const files = tree.files;
+    expect(files.indexOf('/bar/angular.json')).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+    expect(files.indexOf('/bar/src')).toBe(-1);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/schema.json b/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/schema.json
index 5f4179e8cc74..cefb1a6a8974 100644
--- a/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/schema.json
+++ b/packages/schematics/angular/ng-new/schema.json
@@ -131,6 +131,11 @@
       "type": "boolean",
       "default": false,
       "alias": "S"
+    },
+    "createApplication": {
+      "description": "Flag to toggle creation of an application in the new workspace.",
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "default": true
     }
   },
   "required": [