NEW YORK CITY: $165M Park Planned For Hudson River Piers In Chelsea

Via Gothamist:

A crumbling old Hudson River pier once used by ocean liners like the Lusitania will be torn down and replaced by a 2.7 acre park on the water featuring rolling hills and an outdoor amphitheater. Mayor de Blasio is expected to reveal further details about the park at a press conference this morning, but the Hudson River Park Trust has revealed that the park will be largely financed by a foundation formed by the billionaire couple Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg. “New York has always reminded me of Venice, so I am happy the time has come to properly honor its waterways,” Diane von Furstenberg said in a statement. “What better than a park on the city’s western bank to rest, watch a sunset or a performance?” The talented producer Scott Rudin, theater directors George Wolfe and Stephen Daldry, and British theater executive Kate Horton will oversee the performance spaces, with Diller committing to fund cultural events there for 20 years.

The project will be built at Pier 55 and $35M will come from the city and state. Hit the link for more renderings.

RELATED: Meanwhile next door at Pier 57 (the site of the 2012 NYC Pride Pier Dance) a $200M makeover is due for a spring 2015 unveiling. That project, dubbed SuperPier, was first reported to include "the world's most sought after retailer, restaurant, and lifestyle brands, fused with the most promising emerging talents in food, fashion, film, art and other creative fields." More recent reports, however, indicate that much of the complex will now be devoted to office space.