There are some new developments brewing at Brooklyn Bridge Park….I’ll let you decide what is the good, the bad and the ugly, but I couldn’t resist quoting some people on the upcoming changes…..
The Bad?
“On June 19th Mayor Bloomberg announced that the board of Brooklyn Bridge Park has voted to designate a joint venture between Toll Brothers City Living and Starwood Capital Group as the developer of an approximately 550,000-square-foot development complex that will include a 200-room luxury hotel and 159-residential units adjacent to Pier 1. The hotel is to be called 1 Hotel, and the proposed building plan will feature nearly 16,000 square feet of restaurant space, 16,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space, 2,000 square feet of retail space, a 6,000-square-foot spa and fitness center and 300 parking spaces. It also includes park restrooms as well as maintenance space for park operations. The development is expected to generate approximately 210 permanent jobs and 300 construction jobs. The project, which is located immediately south of Old Fulton Street and the Brooklyn Bridge adjacent to the park’s major entrance at Pier 1, will benefit from its high visibility and proximity to the Brooklyn Bridge Park East River Ferry landing.”
I hate this. This will destroy the view from the Promenade. Good for the developers, terrible for people living in Brooklyn Heights. Ugh. This is monstrous. (mward99)
How tragic. Brooklyn Heights/DUMBO is right now a unique, thriving, interesting and diverse place to visit (even if you ALREADY can’t afford to live there) is going to become a sequestered playground/mall/hotel for the wealthy. You’re taking away a resource paid for by our tax dollars, and turning into a corporate “backyard” for your latest development enclave. Pretty soon, public school teachers like me won’t be able to afford to live anywhere in NYC. We’ll be priced out. Also, the building is ugly and blocks the beautiful, historically significant view. (sarahjhill )
The Ugly?
“The ten-story hotel and residential complex and five-story residential building are designed by Rogers Marvel Architects, and feature a stepped façade of stone and metal, sculpted to embrace the unparalleled views of the New York harbor and the park. They feature green roofs, a variety of walkways to access the park and a newly activated Furman Street sidewalk. The development is also projected to achieve LEED Silver Certification. Rogers Marvel is a New York City-based firm, responsible for a number of highly-regarded projects, including the State Street Townhouses in Brooklyn, Studio Museum in Harlem, McCarren Pool and Bathhouse, and several schools and libraries in New York and other municipalities. Rogers Marvel was named the 2011 Firm of the Year by the New York State American Institute of Architects New York Chapter, among other awards.”
Why do I see not a park but Battery Park City II We certainly were lead down a path when we were told this was going to be a park not a major residential developement which negates what was unique and special about the Promenade. (johnny 5543)
There goes the neighborhood. No more clear view of Manhattan and bridges from any vantage point in Brooklyn Heights. Does not look great. Looks like more of the same institutional style that Ratner espoused and Bloomberg seems to favor. (stash2011)
The development team expects to break ground on the development by summer 2013 and open the hotel and residential building in fall 2015.
Pier 5 recreation fields to come this Fall
The Good!
Summer 2012
Early July: Pop-Up Pool and beach especially for kids and families
Fall 2012
• Pier 5 opening, including three active recreation fields, and the adjacent Picnic Peninsula
• Squibb Park pedestrian bridge, providing a new entrance into the park at Middagh Street
Fall 2013
• Pier 2, with 5 acres of court sports including basketball, in-line skating, handball, and more
• Pier 3 uplands
Future
• John Street site north of the Manhattan Bridge
• Pier 3
• Completion of Pier 6