Field for Pier 1 Hotel and Residential Structure Narrowed to Three

By on February 22, 2012 5:30 pm in Architecture, brooklyn bridge park, News

Three finalists have been selected from among the seven original proposals for a combined hotel and residential complex to be built on land lying between Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park and Furman Street, which will generate payments in lieu of taxes to help fund maintenance and operation of the Park. One of the finalists is the Dermot Company proposal (image above), designed by FXFOWLE, which would incorporate a Hyatt hotel and a space dedicated as a permanent home for St. Ann’s Warehouse theater. Other finalists are Starwood Capital Group and Toll Brothers; images of their proposals can be seen on Curbed NY. The Dermot proposal is currently the favorite in Curbed’s reader poll. Announcement of the winner is expected this spring.

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  • http://deleted Anon

    What a total debacle – green roofs? Yeah, when hell freezes over. And condos inside a public park? @#$*$!!! The Heights elite really didn’t ever want a park, did they.

  • Pedro

    why can’t they be lower. they all look like they are obscuring the view from the promenade.

  • James

    Pedro, if you click through all the photos you can see they all DO obscure the view, rather terribly. The building aren’t bad design wise, but way too tall for the area.

  • Matthew Parker

    +1 for the Dermot proposal. It’s the only submitted proposal that’s truly iconic.

    However, rather than donating the smaller parcel to St. Anne’s Warehouse, which has already found a new home, it should be given back to the public to enjoy as parkland. If the Dermot proposal can afford to give the parcel to St. Anne’s Warehouse that doesn’t need it, they can afford to give it back to park users.

  • bhbqe

    I don’t get why they don’t build it further south. This would accomplish the helpful task of blocking the park there from the noise, smells and site of the BQE. To me it would actually enhance the park to block the BQE. The park adjacent to the current site already has the BQE blocked. The only issue would then be blocking the views from the promenade, but couldn’t they build longer and lower structures. Developers might even prefer this because its cheaper to build lower. Not sure why this has never been seriously considered.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    Matthew: St. Ann’s has found quarters, but they are only temporary. They need to find a new space that will be available a few years from now: http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/33712

  • Matthew Parker

    Thanks Claude, but the post you reference doesn’t say they need to seek another home, only that after they move into their new space that they would continue to do so.

    Is it known if the three year lease was because St. Anne’s Warehouse didn’t want to commit to a long term lease or that was all the new landlord was willing to give? Unless they buy or get a sweetheart long lease elsewhere, wouldn’t they need to do the same wherever they go?

    I love St. Anne’s Warehouse, have seen many performances there, wish them well; however, it appears they can land on their feet and find their own locations, rather than take up precious park land that is already being partially consumed by high-rise condos and a large hotel complex.

    My point is that if the Dermot proposal doesn’t need Parcel B, as they clearly were willing to “give” it to St. Anne’s Warehouse, as if it’s theirs to “give”, that parcel can just as easily be “given” back to usable park space for the public, which would minimize the sprawl of the two “development” parcels and leave more actual park land for Brooklyn Bridge Park.

  • ABC

    I agree with Matthew. I’m pro st Ann’s but why did they become more vital than more public land, a middle school, some other venture. I realize the bbp people are in love with st Ann’s but they really can find space all by themselves.

    Funny, I remember the head saying they looked at “everything” and there was no space in Brooklyn for them if they lost the tobacco space. A couple months later when they did lose it, voila – they found a space.

  • Flashlight Worthy

    Pedro and James, as I recall, NONE of the seven proposals block the view from the promenade. They ALL fit within the footprint of the buildings that used to be there (the cold storage warehouse) and they’re ALL shorter than those buildings.

  • EHinBH

    I am all for a hotel and condos here, but these buildings are waaaay to large for the space.

  • Wrennie

    The seventh picture (Dermot) on the Curbed post shows people walking around wearing capri pants and backpacks. Womp. Summer tourists.

  • Cranberry Beret

    What on earth are all of those fake tall building in the Heights doing in that rendering? It shows a variety of 8-10 story buildings filling in the streets east of Willow Street all the way between Old Fulton Street and Orange Street. Total BS. I actually have no problem with the BBPDC building hotels/condos down on Furman Street, but the rendering is SO misleading to make it look like the size of these new buildings will be in scale to what’s up on the Heights.

  • James

    Flashlight Worthy, if you look at the photos in the Curbed story, the second photo from Toll Brothers clearly shows it blocking some of the bridge (and states it is the view from the promenade). The next photo from Starwood also shows the building blocking the bridge view, but doesn’t state it is specifically from the promenade.

  • princess

    Any art space in the hotel should be made available to multiple theater groups…and not JUST St. Ann’s.

  • Flashlight Worthy

    James, regardless of the renderings, the buildings will not be any taller than what was there before. Yes, some will block part of the view of the bridge… So did the old building. Would it be better if the new buildings didn’t block the view at all? Yes. :-/

  • Ex-heightster

    Do public parks really need pricy hotels & condos in them to generate revenue for their survival?

    Seems like the elite 1% are using the above as a pretext to build lucrative accommodations in a park.

  • David on Middagh

    I’m waiting for the movie:

    Mocked-Up Mid-Scrapers of the Historic District

    (“They broke ~all~ the rules!”)

  • TMS

    What school will all the children who move into these dreadful condos go to (and the children from 20 Henry and it’s sister building, and the poplar street old police building condos and the brooklyn eagle condos)? PS8 is over capacity, there is simply not enough school space for all of these new families. Does anyone know if anyone is addressing this?