The Hudson River Park Trust in New York City voted unanimously on Feb. 11 to approve a plan to build a $130 million pier, with lush greenery and an outdoor performance space, on the Hudson River, according to Business Insider.
The so-called “floating park” is the brainchild of billionaire mogul Barry Diller and his wife, the fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg. The 2.4-acre park, officially called Pier 55, will rise out of the river, 186 feet from its shorelines, near West 14th Street. Various news reports, including one posted on the website DNAinfo.com, state that the park is scheduled to open to the public sometime in 2019.
Diller, the chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp, will contribute $113 million for construction, and will finance the park’s maintenance for 20 years. The city is kicking in $17 million, and the state will provide $18 million toward an expanded public esplanade between Bloomfield and 14th streets.
Diller’s largesse is the single biggest private donation to a public park in New York’s history, according to Capital New York, eclipsing a $100 million gift that hedge fund manager John Paulson bestowed on the Central Park Conservatory in 2012.
More than half of the performances held at the pier’s 700-seat amphitheater will be free or low-cost, according to a 20-year lease awarded to Diller’s P55 nonprofit organization. (That lease includes an option to renew for another 10 years.)
Diller told Capital New York that the nonprofit would produce works “across all forms of performance—musical, musical comedy, concert, pop concert, spoken theatrical play, ballet, etc.” P55’s board members include the film and theater producer Scott Rudin, movie director Stephen Daldry, and theater director George Wolfe,
To deflect criticism that this is just another land grab by a rich entrepreneur, the Hudson River Park Trust said it is establishing a community advisory committee comprised of local residents and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, which would consult on the park’s programming and ticket distribution.
The next step will be for the developers to apply for permits form the Army Corps of Engineers and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The goal is for construction to begin next year.
Capital New York reports that Heatherwick Studios has been commissioned to design the floating park. Heatherwick is notable for having built a garden bridge over the Thames River in London. It will work with landscape architect Signe Nielsen, who designed the Tribeca section of the Hudson River Park.
The new pier would replace the existing, albeit crumbling, Pier 54, which once served as one of Hudson River Park’s main performance venues. Capitol New York and the New York Times report that the new pier would stretch 320 feet by 320 feet between Pier 54’s old pile field and the pile field that once supported Pier 56. The parallelogram-shaped pier would be built atop 300 concrete columns that range in height from 15 feet to 62 feet above the water level.
Related Stories
| May 13, 2014
Steven Holl's sculptural Institute for Contemporary Art set to break ground at VCU
The facility will have two entrances—one facing the city of Richmond, Va., the other toward VCU's campus—to serve as a connection between "town and gown."
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
| May 13, 2014
Libeskind wins competition to design Canadian National Holocaust Monument
A design team featuring Daniel Libeskind and Gail Dexter-Lord has won a competition with its design for the Canadian National Holocaust Monument in Toronto. The monument is set to open in the autumn of 2015.
| May 11, 2014
Final call for entries: 2014 Giants 300 survey
BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 survey forms are due Wednesday, May 21. Survey results will be published in our July 2014 issue. The annual Giants 300 Report ranks the top AEC firms in commercial construction, by revenue.
| May 9, 2014
New York Public Library scraps drastic renovation plans
The New York Public Library's controversial renovation, involving the removal of stacks from the Schwarzman building and the closing of the mid-Manhattan branch, has been dropped in favor of a less dramatic plan.
| May 2, 2014
World's largest outdoor chandelier tops reworked streetscape for Cleveland's PlayhouseSquare
Streetscape project includes monumental gateway portals, LED signage, and a new plaza, fire pit, sidewalk café, and alfresco dining area.
| May 2, 2014
Must see: French pavilion to take food from roof to table
France has presented its design for Expo Milano 2015 in Milan—its representative building will be covered in gardens on the outside, from which food will be harvested and served inside.
| Apr 30, 2014
Visiting Beijing's massive Chaoyang Park Plaza will be like 'moving through a urban forest'
Construction work has begun on the 120,000-sm mixed-use development, which was envisioned by MAD architects as a modern, urban forest.
| Apr 29, 2014
USGBC launches real-time green building data dashboard
The online data visualization resource highlights green building data for each state and Washington, D.C.
Smart Buildings | Apr 28, 2014
Cities Alive: Arup report examines latest trends in urban green spaces
From vertical farming to glowing trees (yes, glowing trees), Arup engineers imagine the future of green infrastructure in cities across the world.