Downtown East River Waterfront plan released

Real Estate Weekly, August 14, 2002

The Downtown Alliance and Community Board 1, in coordination with the Economic Development Corporation and the Department of City Planning, released The Downtown East River Waterfront Concept Plan, a comprehensive land-use strategy for Lower Manhattan's eastern waterfront.

The study, which surveyed a 30-block area bounded by the Brooklyn Bridge, the East River, Battery Park and State, Water and Pearl Streets, was a coordinated effort by the entire Lower Manhattan community and the public policy and redevelopment leadership of the city.

The plan is intended to help coordinate and direct future development along the waterfront of Lower Manhattan on the East River, where proposed projects include the Downtown Guggenheim museum on the piers south of the South Street Seaport and redevelopment of the historic, 140,000-SF Battery Maritime Building.

The plan's eight steps to transform the waterfront, which will create around 35 new acres of open space for Downtown, include:

1. Taming the FDR Viaduct and capturing it for people as an urban balcony similar to the celebrated Brooklyn Promenade.

2. Reinventing historic slips at the city's edge as neighborhood open spaces by reclaiming parking lots for open space, neighborhood parks and gateways between the water and the city.

3. Creating a great pedestrian waterfront asset out of a found urban object by transforming the under structure of the FDR Drive viaduct into a colonnaded public space.

4. Proposing new uses for an evolving Downtown and supporting the possibility of a new Guggenheim Museum for the region.

5. Supporting transportation in its many forms in a rational and effective way by providing new locations for expanded ferry traffic and coordinating pedestrian traffic, vehicular traffic and parking facilities.

6. Embracing ongoing improvements by others and integrating them into the Downtown by coordinating traffic flow and setting public space use goals for the benefit of the area.

7. Financing the maintenance of the improvement plan through ongoing revenue sources.

8. Identifying a capital investment by private and government sources of approximately $400 million to bring the project to fruition.

Marilyn Jordan Taylor, chairwoman of New York-based architecture and planning firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and Ken Greenberg, founding partner of Toronto-based architecture and planning firm Urban Strategies, led the study. The waterfront research team also included Arup, a London-based engineering consultancy that focused on transportation issues, and Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alschuler, a New York economic research firm that analyzed financial issues.

"Now that the Hudson River waterfront is being developed Downtown, it is important to recognize the opportunities on the East Side," said Madelyn Wils, chairwoman, Community Board One! Board Member, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. "Doing a comprehensive plan will enable us to create open space opportunities that do not currently exist."

"The time is ripe for Lower Manhattan to take advantage of its waterfront that surrounds this community on three sides," said Carl Weisbrod, president, Alliance for Downtown New York. "We look forward to working with the City and State to implement this plan for this valuable stretch of waterfront"

"The Lower Manhattan eastern waterfront has enormous potential for exciting redevelopment opportunities," said Andrew M. Alper, president. NYC Economic Development Corporation. "This plan will help us make sure we make the most of this stretch of waterfront and balance the mix of development and community open space needs."

"We are very excited to be participating in this effort to re-vitalize Lower Manhattan's East River waterfront," said Amanda Burden, director, Department of City Planning. "This comprehensive plan brings to light the enormous potential of this area--from promoting cultural and recreational activities and restoring public access to the waterfront--to planning for the economic opportunities presented by new development proposals. I am particularly enthusiastic about providing continuous access around the tip of Manhattan from Lower Manhattan's East River waterfront to the existing esplanade on the Hudson."

"Lower Manhattan's eastern waterfront is one of the most valuable and underutilized resources anywhere in New York City," said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

"This concept plan maximizes the potential of the waterfront for residents and visitors. A newly developed waterfront should be a key element in the broader resurgence of Lower Manhattan, which will also include the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site and significant improvements to our transportation system."