Development along the Hudson isn't letting up anytime soon. Now that Hudson River Park construction is well underway (and completed in some parts), proposals are being floated for refurbishing the hulking 14-acre Pier 40 terminal.
The Villager has a thorough, if skewed, examination of the dualing Pier 40 visions. One, a joint venture of The Related Companies, Cirque du Soleil and the Tribeca Film Festival, calls for a Lincoln Center-style performing arts center. The other, put forth by Urban Dove, a local nonprofit, and CampGroup (run by Benerofe Properties), is a mix of sports facilities and academic complexes for nearby high schools and colleges.
In September, the Hudson River Park Trust, the city-state authority that runs the five-mile waterfront park, issued a Request For Proposals (RFP). According to The Villager, the Trust needs to generate more revenue (in addition to the $5 million it receives annually from the parking facility), so the park can run itself. The RFP specifically indicated that big-box stores would not be considered for the site.
The first proposal, known as Pier 40 PAC, has a price tag of $626 million (more than the park itself) and, according to the RFP submission, “will become a premier destination spot for evening activity in Downtown Manhattan.”
It includes a heavy Cirque du Soleil presence, including an 84,000 square-foot theater, a 10,000 square-foot restaurant, a 30,000 square-foot club and a 9,000 square-foot shop. It also includes a 60,000 square-foot movie theater run by the Tribeca Film Festival, two 45,000 square-foot halls, one for live performances and one for special events. There’s even a proposed "Beach Club" and a 50-slip marina.
Here’s the kicker: the 400,000 square-foot courtyard would be filled in and the athletic fields there would be rebuilt on a 227,000 square-foot roof space on the northern edge. Hello, wind!
The other proposal, the People’s Pier, pushes for an athletic and educational facility that, according to the RFP submission, “belongs to the residents of the city that surrounds it.” The existing sports fields would stay in the courtyard – and there would be 33 percent more open space than required. The Hudson River Park Act mandates that 50 percent of the pier’s footprint be set aside for public open space.
People’s Pier would preserve the 300,000 square feet of recreational space that already exists and 85,000 square feet of artificial-turf fields would be added to the rooftop. There would be eight “multi-use courts” (basketball?), swimming pools (two indoor and one outdoor), approximately 2,000 more parking spaces, 100,000 square-feet of facilities for CampGround (which will be running a summer camp), a 75,000 square-foot high-school complex, a similarly-sized college complex and a facility for Urban Dove’s Net gain program, which provides basketball courts to students who don’t have courts at school.
Pier Park & Playground Association President Tobi Bergman, a supporter of the People’s Pier proposal, said the Pier 40 PAC plan will transform the Village into Times Square and Broadway.
The Villager doesn’t feature any quotes from Pier 40 PAC supporters, unsurprisingly. But it does note that the election of Spitzer means there will be a new Hudson River Park Trust chairperson and five new trustees.
Expect Jane Jacobs-style handwringing if the Pier 40 PAC plan moves forward.
