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.

Chelsea To Get "SuperPier"

Back in April, I reported that Chelsea's Pier 57, which last year hosted an indoor version of NYC Pride's famed Pier Dance, had been leased to retail developers who promise a massive $200M makeover.  This week the project's management announced that the new complex will be called SuperPier. From the press release:

SuperPier, when complete in the spring of 2015, will be the most innovative culture, entertainment, dining and retail experience New York City has seen since the opening of Rockefeller Center in 1939. Nearly 12 acres of raw space will undergo an extensive renovation in preparation to accept the world's most sought after retailer, restaurant, and lifestyle brands, and fuse them with the most promising emerging talents in food, fashion, film, art and other creative fields. SuperPier extends on-over-& under the Hudson River at West 15th Street adjacent to The Meatpacking District, West Chelsea, The High Line, the Whitney, Chelsea Market, and sits at one of the most trafficked nexuses of the city. SuperPier includes 270,000 square feet of total leasable space for targeted uses such as food markets and restaurants; culture and recreation; creative retailers; and an "Incubox" marketplace.

If you want a preview of SuperPier, a Fashion Week "pop-up" event is slated to start tomorrow.