The west side’s crumbling Pier 40 is long overdue for a renovation, and it appears the body overseeing its fixes is growing impatient of the drawn-out process that’s prohibiting it from moving forward. Crain’s reports that the Hudson River Park Trust has tapped a firm to design the 15-acre pier’s overhaul, although the larger funding for the project is not yet in place.
The trust tapped engineering firm Ch2M out of Colorado to lead the overhaul, noting in a statement that "Ch2m's work will allow the pier to be repaired and open to the community for years to come." The firm’s work on the redesign will take six months, while the actual repairs, which will be lead by a yet-to-be-named firm, will kick off in 2017.
But this actionable timeline is contingent on the sale of $100 million of air rights from the pier to the neighboring St. John’s Terminal. In 2015, the Hudson River Park Trust agreed to transfer 200,000 square feet of air rights to Atlas Capital Group and Westbrook Partners for the hefty sum, which would allow the developers to convert the St. John's Terminal site into a five-building project with thousands of apartments (both market-rate and affordable), retail, and a hotel/office. (This plan, since announced, may have changed.)
The redevelopment of St. John’s Terminal is now making its way through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). Before the sale of the air rights can be validated, the project must clear that hurdle.
Representatives for the Hudson River Park Trust have previously said that the entirety of the $100 million generated from the sale of air rights would be spent fortifying the 3,500 decaying piles that currently hold up the pier. The reinforcement project would take about four years to complete, and already the HRPT has secured $1 million from the developers across the street to begin the preliminary work. If the ULURP is successful, the rest of the funds will be gradually released over the next few years.
- Engineering firm tapped to design overhaul of deteriorating Hudson River Park pier [Crain’s]
- West Village Residents Still Hesitant Over Pier 40 Development Deal [Curbed]
- Pier 40 Air Rights Are Worth Less Than Expected, Say Appraisers [Curbed]
- Pier 40 Repairs Could Begin As Soon As Next Year [Curbed]
- Pier 40 Plan Will Bring 1,586 Apartments to the West Village [Curbed]