The New York Building Congress, a membership organization serving the design, construction and real estate industry, appreciates this opportunity to express our support for Extell Development Company’s ambitious Riverside Center project. Riverside Center completes a redevelopment initiative that has transformed an important segment of Manhattan’s western edge into a desirable destination, creating significant usable open space and contributing to the regional economy.
The project proposes a diverse development program including both market-rate and substantial affordable residential units, space for a public school, nearly three acres of new public open space, and an intelligent allocation of commercial space. The project also creates much needed construction and permanent jobs, while providing long-term economic returns to the City estimated in the billions of dollars.
There has been considerable public discussion about this project, particularly about aspects of its layout, proposed uses, and overall density. The Building Congress believes this project is an appropriate bookend to a success story of urban renewal in an area that was not long ago a derelict, abandoned neighborhood that severed access to our waterfront. Today, people come from across the City to enjoy the park space provided by the developers of Riverside South. The neighborhood itself is a desirable place to live. Thousands of jobs have been created.
Riverside Center adds, as a percentage of its overall program, more open space and more affordable housing than earlier sections of Riverside South. What’s more, in response to concerns from the community, Extell has already reduced the project’s density and eliminated a big-box format retail store. Its design is open and inviting.
Government leaders must therefore carefully weigh public and private interests when considering how to shape a privately financed project like this one during the approvals process. We need only look at the failed and vacant Kingsbridge Armory site in one of our City’s poorest neighborhoods to understand the importance of balancing both sides of this equation. Extell’s elegant and thoughtful design is the right one for land that has been underutilized for many years.
The Building Congress therefore encourages the City Planning Commission to endorse this impressive extension of the Riverside South project, whose benefits extend far beyond its footprint.
