After extensive community engagement and a two-year design process, construction is well underway at Hudson River Park’s Gansevoort Peninsula, a 5.5-acre site being transformed into a green oasis for New Yorkers as part of the continued build-out of Hudson River Park.
Public amenities will include a resilient rocky beach with direct access to the Hudson River for non-motorized boaters on the southern edge, boardwalks, a large sports field, dog run, adult fitness area, restrooms and a small concession, pedestrian promenades and a salt marsh on the northern edge. FDNY Marine Company 1 will remain at Pier 53.
The first step in transforming this area into public parkland involved placing clean fill onto the existing land to “surcharge” or pre-load the site, compacting the existing land so that settlement is not an issue once the Park is complete. In May, construction began on the salt marsh and beach. As in-water construction is seasonal, over-winter work will focus on other Park elements, including the boardwalk, lawn for passive recreation and synthetic turf field along with the utilities needed to support these areas.
In September, the Trust’s Board of Directors authorized several additional contracts needed to build out the remainder of Gansevoort Peninsula, including the Park building and the installation of submerged habitat features consisting of oyster gabions and reef balls, the dog run and fitness area.
Funding for the design, construction and construction management of Gansevoort Peninsula is being provided by the City of New York; executed construction contracts to date total approximately $42 million as of November 1, with more to come within the month.
We anticipate completing construction of all Gansevoort Peninsula construction contracts in 2023.
The Design Process
In January 2019, the Hudson River Park Trust hired a design team led by James Corner Field Operations to design this new Park area. A critical part of the design process was hearing from the public about the types of uses that are desired for this large area. This process began in March 2019, when the design team and Trust attended a meeting of Community Board 2’s Parks & Waterfront Committee to provide initial information on the design opportunity and to begin listening to community feedback.
Several weeks later, the Trust hosted a well-attended follow-up design charrette, where Field Operations led community members through interactive exercises focused on ideas for future uses at the Gansevoort Peninsula. In July 2019, the Trust and Community Board 2 hosted a joint meeting at which James Corner Field Operations presented the Concept Design for Gansevoort Peninsula, followed by comments and Q&A. You can see the presentation here.
The Trust and Field Operations attended the Community Board 2 Parks & Waterfront Committee meeting on September 10, 2019, to discuss the design concept further. Based on feedback received, the design was updated further and presented again to Community Board 2 on January 8, 2020. The revised design was very well-received, allowing the team to move into design development, with the goal of completing the design by the end of 2020. The presentation can be found here.