Brooklyn Waterfront Development Unveils Revised Design

After pandemic-related delays, the developer of a massive project on the Brooklyn waterfront, the River Ring Waterfront Master Plan, is making efforts to get construction back on track, with a few changes. As reported by Diane Pham in Urbanize New York, the revised plan increases the height of the towers by 60 feet each and changes the buildings' facades to "a mix of glass, steel and concrete versus a combo of glass and a terracotta-colored cladding."

The buildings will now accommodate 50 more housing units than previously planned for a total of 1,050, of which "around 25 percent, or 263 units, will be made permanently affordable at 40 and 60 percent AMI." The project also includes a three-acre sandy beach surrounded by a circular esplanade, as well as "tidal pools, a salt marsh, nature trails, a wetland walk, overlooks, seating and picnic areas, a boating cove on North 1st Street, an amphitheater, and 5,000 square feet reserved for community kiosks" for a total of more than six acres of new public space. The plan also calls for the installation of breakwaters to mitigate potential flooding, and "per the River Ring website, the development will be supported by its own microgrid energy system, mitigating demand on the Con Edison system and offloading excess power to neighboring facilities and buildings."

Scheduled to complete construction in seven years, "the development is expected to generate approximately 2,000 construction jobs and more than 500 'well-paying' permanent jobs including building service workers, park employees, YMCA and community facility employees, and retail employees." Local residents have had mixed reactions, with many expressing support for the new park but alarm at "the scale of the towers and the effect so many new residents and waterfront patrons might have on local infrastructure and the economy."