Seward Park Project | The Lo-Down : News from the Lower East Side

Seward Park Developers Create Website, Detail Essex Crossing Plans

It’s been about six weeks since the city announced the development team and overall concept for “Essex Crossing,” the mixed-use project for the former Seward Park urban renewal site. Time for an update.

SPURA Timeline 2009-2013: The Long Road to a Development Deal

Last week’s big news concerning the Seward Park site – the selection of developers for the billion dollar project – ends a chapter in the Lower East Side’s longest-running saga.

Followup: Essex Crossing on the Lower East Side

A day after the city announced plans for Essex Crossing, the billion dollar project on the Seward Park site, there’s plenty of new information to pass along.

Mayor, Developers Unveil “Essex Crossing” Plan

Mayor Michael Bloomberg came to the Lower East Side this morning to announce that the Seward Park project, delayed for four decades, was finally a “done deal.”

Essex Crossing: Renderings & Development Plans Detailed

Renderings: DSA/ShoP Architects.

Here are all of the renderings released today showing what Essex Crossing, the new Seward Park project, might look like. Keep in mind, architects still need to design the buildings. These images are simply representational. Following the renderings, see a detailed narrative on the housing, retail, open space and community facilities to be built during the next decade.

Essex Crossing: Your First Look

Mayor Bloomberg just made the official announcement of the development team that will be transforming what is known as the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area into “Essex Crossing.” Click for some of the renderings presented at the press conference today.

Happening Now: Seward Park News Conference

Awaiting Mayor Bloomberg’s arrival at the news conference announcing the development team for the Seward Park project.

Educational Alliance’s Dual Generation School Part of Seward Park Project

Additional details concerning the Seward Park Project are continuing to come in this morning. We’re learning that an Educational Alliance pilot program, the country’s first two-generation school for low income families, will have a place in the big LES development.

More Seward Park Details: Bowling Alley, Urban Farm, Condo Units

Seward Park rendering; ShoP Architects.

As we reported yesterday, today’s the day Mayor Bloomberg and city planning officials formally unveil the development team for the Seward Park redevelopment project.

L+M Development, BFC Partners, Taconic Partners Win Seward Park Site

The Seward Park site, looking south on Delancey Street. Photo by Vivienne Gucwa.

This afternoon, the New York Times has the story: details of the Seward Park Project, set to be announced on the Lower East Side tomorrow morning.

Seward Park Developer To Be Announced Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a big day for the Lower East Side. The city is poised to announce the development team it has chosen for the Seward Park site.

More Seward Park Proposal Details Emerge

City planners have revealed a few new tidbits about the proposals being considered for the Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Project.

Report: BD Hotels Envisions Project With “Pod Size Rooms” at Seward Park

The city is not expected to publicly announce the winning bids for the Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Project until the fall – but the morning there’s another tidbit about one of the proposals for the large residential/retail site near the Williamsburg Bridge.

LES BID Selects “Babel Blocks” For Delancey History Fence

Rendering: “Babel Blocks” Delancey Street proposal. Image for illustrative purposes only.

Several months ago, we told you about a design competition from the Lower East Side BID for a Delancey Street History Fence. Through a 400 foot art installation, the organization, which operates two parking lots along the busy thoroughfare, was looking to pay tribute to the neighborhood’s diverse cultural legacy. The BID has now made its choice.

A selection committee recently notified the LES-based design firm, Boym Partners, that its proposal for a “Babel Blocks Fence,” celebrating the varied “races, religions and cultures” that make up the Lower East Side,” had won the competition. Babel Blocks, a series of wood figures, were created by Constantin Boym and Laurene Leon Boym in 2007, loosely based on their Lower East Side neighbors. They were included in “Design & the Elastic Mind,” an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, and won the National Design Award in 2009.

Peebles Corp. CEO Mentions Lower East Side Development Project

Don Peebles.

Today the New York Times published an interview with Don Peebles, who runs one of the largest African-American owned development firms in this country. The Peebles Corporation already has several New York projects in the works, including a large condo development in Tribeca. When asked what other plans his firm is making, Peebles responded, “There’s a series of properties that the city is going to be having a competition for and we’re going to bid on those as well. This is on the Lower East Side.” He did not offer any other details, but since it’s the only major city-owned site poised for redevelopment, speculation will immediately be focused on the Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Project. This month, developers submitted proposals for the 1.6 million square foot project. The city will choose the winning bid or bids by the fall. While some development firms have spoken in general terms about their proposals, the city has not disclosed any information about the companies competing for the big real estate prize.