26 Nov 2019
Pier 55 and East Midtown Greenway updates continue Manhattan Waterfront Greenway development
BY Stu Robarts
The development of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway is continuing as the East Midtown Greenway breaks ground along the East River, designs are released for the Hudson River Park's Pier 97 and Pier 55 becomes "Little Island".
The Manhattan Waterfront Greenway is a 32mi (51km) continuous pedestrian and bike route around the waterfront of Manhatten Island.
Its three main sections are the East River Greenway, the Harlem River Greenway and the Hudson River Greenway.
While large sections of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway were already complete, Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio last year announced more than $250m (€227m, £194m) of investment to fill in and link up key parts of the loop.
That included revitalising and further developing the East Midtown Waterfront, which once complete will account for a 1.1mi (1.8km), 22-block stretch of the waterfront loop.
Olga Gorbunova, principal with Stantec, who are delivering landscape architecture and waterfront, civil, structural, and electrical engineering for the project, told CLAD: "This dynamic design serves to link the community with the waterfront, offering improved mobility options for pedestrians and bicyclists while creating an aesthetically pleasing and welcoming destination that supports the need to address sea-level rise."
Work on the East Midtown Greenway, which forms part of that section, began last week and will see the construction of a 40ft-wide esplanade with space for recreation, seating and bike- and footpaths. It is due for completion in 2022.
The Hudson River Park, meanwhile, is being built along 4mi (6km) of Manhattan's western waterfront and forms part of the Hudson River Greenway.
The stretch of waterfront was first designated the Hudson River Park in 1998 and work developing it has continued since then, with much of it complete.
Some projects are ongoing, though, such as the development of Pier 97 with !melk's designs for a recreation and relaxation destination having only just been released.
The Heatherwick-designed Pier 55, meanwhile, has recently been renamed Little Island, with additional renderings released that show how it will look once completed in 2021.
Built on 132 concrete support structures and with construction ongoing, the new public space will sit 15ft (5m) above the Hudson River with elevations ranging up to 62ft (19m).
It will provide 2.4ac (1ha) of green space with approximately 100 species of trees and shrubs and is designed to serve as a serene retreat from the urban city, with areas set aside for arts, educational and community programming throughout the year.
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