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Gowanus Canal Esplanade Envisioned for Public Place
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 27, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 27, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Rendering of proposed Public Place development by The Hudson Companies.
Earlier in the week, the department of Housing Preservation and Development [HPD] revealed renderings for a proposed housing development and park on 5.8 acres of heavily polluted land by the toxic Gowanus canal. Located on the site of a former manufactured gas plant, the city has owned the land, which stretches from Smith Street to the canal, for two decades. National Grid, who took over the site from KeySpan Energy, would need at least two years to decontaminate the area, called Public Place.
But as you can see from the rendering above, an urban oasis is just around the corner, where kayakers can paddle free from fear of gonorrhea. Plans by two finalists (The Hudson Companies and the Related Companies) were presented at the community meeting and both would construct over 700 units of housing, with at least 100 apartments for low-income senior citizens and over 60% of the total units made available to families earning less than 130% of the area's median income. The roughly two acres of park space would be administered by the Parks Department and Brownstoner notes that each developer will seek the environmentally-friendly LEED certification and vow to “capture and clean all storm water before it went into the canal.”
The two plans differ mostly in the amount of retail space that would be allocated and in density of the developments. And the proposals could get even more ambitious; Gowanus Lounge reports, via the Brooklyn Eagle, that the owner of a sprawling adjacent property is interested in joining forces with the development. Clothing magnate Henry Abadi is offering to demolish his warehouse and combine his four acre property with Public Place, which could push the total number of housing units above 1,000.
Tagged
brooklyn
development
esplanade
gowanus canal
gowanus lounge
housing
Housing Preservation
HPD
park
parks department
Public Place
related companies
smith street
the city
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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