With a legacy of controversy dating back to the urban renewal schemes of the 1950s and 60s, arriving at a plan to develop a six-acre parcel on Manhattan's Lower East Side was no easy task. But after a collaborative process a vision has emerged.
Successive administrations dating to back to Mayor John V. Lindsay have failed to find an agreeable plan to replace the tenements demolished in 1967 on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
"But after a three-year effort to forge a compromise, the Bloomberg administration plans to announce on Wednesday that it has selected developers to erect a complex called Essex Crossing at the location, long known as the Seward Park urban renewal area," reports Charles V. Bagli. "The development would include retail markets, restaurants, office space, a movie theater, parks, an Andy Warhol Museum and 1,000 apartments. Half of the apartments would be for low-, moderate- and middle-income families."
The project, designed by SHoP Architects and Beyer Blinder Belle, results from "an unprecedented collaboration with the local community board and a task force" that saw each player compromise their long-held positions to reach consensus.
“This project is the pinnacle of urban development in 2013,” Deputy Mayor Robert K. Steel said on Tuesday. “It has all the hallmarks of a Bloomberg administration project: transforming an underutilized asset into a place that serves the diverse needs of the community.”
FULL STORY: City Plans Redevelopment for Vacant Area in Lower Manhattan
The Flawed Plan to Fill the Lower East Side's 'Black Hole'
David Bergman argues why plans recently approved by New York's Community Board 3 and City Planning Commission for the development of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA) are a step backwards for the area.
East Village Rezoning Falls Short on Affordable Housing
Enacted in 2008, a partial rezone of Manhattan's East Village and Lower East Side failed to deliver on affordable housing projections, falling short by 45 percent.
Behind the Scenes of Philly's New Land Bank Law
In Philadelphia, an alliance of unusual suspects worked together to convince the city to create the land bank. The law isn't perfect but the new land bank will significantly improve the city’s vacant property process.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association