Thanks to Robert Cordero, Grand Street Settlement’s executive director, who sent along this overhead view of Essex Crossing Site 5. Workers this week have been installing trees inside a 15,000 square foot park that’s going to be part of the big development project.
The Broome Street park, designed by West 8, will be publicly accessible, open from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Here’s the somewhat overwrought description on West 8’s website:
With a few simple moves, the Park at Essex Crossing delivers a calm, verdant, island within the urban fabric. An entirely native palette of trees and groundcovers are located in raised planters around a central open plaza. Picking up on the Lower East Side’s history of beloved urban gardens, the Park design layers canopy and understory trees, swaths of woodland planting, and vine-covered vertical plantings to create a woodland garden in the city. Meandering geometries and an oblong central gathering area gives the illusion and opportunities of a larger park, while also offering flexibility for small events and performances to occur simultaneously. At the southwest of the site, younger visitors will discover a child-sized ravine to explore and climb, with challenging rope crossings allowing for boundless exploration and interactive play. Multifunctional planter edges offer seating throughout the park, with robust wooden details that are both comfortable and offer a soft antidote to the typical glass and steel of the city. A community table area at the Broome Street edge offers seating for larger groups or the opportunity for families to sit gather a table in the Park.
