City Approves Plan for Pier 57 – Young Woo & Associates

NY Daily News
April 9, 2013
By Jason Sheftell

An abandoned and crumbling West Side pier will be transformed into a retail, food, art, and cultural beacon under a plan approved by the city Tuesday.

The Young Woo & Associates plan for the 61-year-old Marine and Aviation pier at W. 15th St. will also include repurposed shipping containers to appeal to start-ups.

The Tribeca Film Festival will run a permanent outdoor venue on the pier’s roof.

“This will be pretty cool if I don’t say myself,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. “Just as the Highline took unused train tracks and turned it into a world renowned destination, Young Woo will bring life to unused shipping containers by making them key pieces of the marketplace and open space design.”

Woo, who developed the Sky Garage condo at 200 11th Ave., won right to build on Pier 57 in 2009.

“Everything that is dynamic and cutting edge is happening in the Meatpacking district,” said Lauren Danziger, executive director of the Meatpacking District Improvement Association. “There is a special type of development happening here considered groundbreaking on a global level.”

Construction is slated to begin in October. Woo’s team, who’ll invest just under $200 million in the total project, is glad the wait to build is over. They’ll lease the pier from the Hudson River Trust for a period of 49 years.

“We loved the industrial gritty feel of the structure,” said Woo partner Greg Carney. “What a place for a cutting edge retail concept. Fashion, food, film, and art–all that’s great about New York City–will come together in one innovative experience.”