ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP PLANNING PROGRESS REPORT FEBRUARY, UNDERSTANDING IMAGINING & TRANSFORMING the YARDS

Transcription

1 ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP PLANNING PROGRESS REPORT FEBRUARY, 2005 UNITY UNDERSTANDING IMAGINING & TRANSFORMING the YARDS

2 The ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP is a collaborative association with a dual mission: Transforming the Atlantic Yards site into a place that is culturally and economically productive is one part of the mission - transforming the development process is the other. We are joining citizens, elected officials, designers, and developers in a collaborative effort to imagine a new model for urban design and development in New York. In cooperation with City Council Member Letitia James, a team of architects and urban designers from Brooklyn are working to create a menu of development alternatives for the Atlantic Yards Site alternatives of course, to the recent 7.6 million square foot proposal by Forest City Ratner Companies... ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 2

3 WHERE IS THE SITE? NJ MANHATTAN BROOKLYN Atlantic Yards is a world class location. The site is 11 acres of fallow land that forms the frontier between Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, Park Slope and Boerum Hill. It sits at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, a major crossroads in New York. There is intensive transportation infrastructure available to the site. Property values in all of the surrounding neighborhoods are skyrocketing. The Brooklyn Academy of Music, only two blocks away, attracts performers and visitors from around the world. BOERUM HILL ATLANTIC YARDS FORT GREENE ATL YARDS But except for the daily passing of a few commuter trains, the Atlantic Yards lies quietly and almost invisibly, twenty feet below the sidewalk. Atlantic Yards has incredible value and incredible potential for all of Brooklyn. It could have an incredible future. PARK SLOPE PROSPECT HEIGHTS ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 3

4 WHAT IS THE SITE? BAM Flatbush Fort Greene The black line shows the boundaries of the existing MTA rail yards and bus storage. Atlantic Terminal Atlantic Center The red outlines additional property that Forest City Ratner Co. wants to obtain for their project either through purchase or condemnation by the state of New York. Park Slope Atlantic Forest City Ratner has purchased some of the properties but many other owners are not selling. So Forest City Ratner has stated their intention to take any remaining properties necessary through the use of eminent domain. Rail Yards Ratner Footprint Prospect Heights Vanderbilt Pacific Dean 0 ft 500 ft ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 4

5 IT S BIGGER THAN THE ARENA The diagram shows what properties Forest City Ratner owns in yellow and what they wish to acquire is in red. Flatbush BAM Atlantic Terminal Atlantic Center What Ratner Owns What Ratner Wants Fort Greene Atlantic Terminal: 900,000 square feet of office & retail Atlantic Center Mall: 400,000 square feet of retail Pacific Street Closed What they already have built in yellow is the Atlantic Terminal, Atlantic Center and the PC Richards and Modell s stores (The Shops at Atlantic Center). Park Slope Prospect Heights Atlantic Pacific Dean What they have proposed to build in red is six times more than that. THE BLACK ELLIPSE IS THE PROPOSED BASKETBALL ARENA- ONLY 800,000 SQUARE FEET (10.5%) OF THE CURRENT 7.6 MILLION SQUARE FOOT PROPOSAL BY FOREST CITY RATNER CO. The Shops at Atlantic Center: 17,000 square feet of retail WHAT RATNER OWNS The proposed 20,000 seat Arena WHAT RATNER WANTS Vanderbilt 0 ft 500 ft ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 5

6 THE RATNER EFFECT COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL RETAIL ARENA 2,167,267 sf 4,407,880 sf 307,336 sf 800,000 sf The Forest City Ratner Proposal is about real, physical changes to this part of Brooklyn. WILLIAMSBURG SAVINGS BANK Transforming the skyline. Transforming the scale with 2 million square feet of commercial space, 4.4 million square feet of residential, 300,000 square feet of retail, and an 800,000 square foot arena. The white tower at the left end of both silhouettes is the Williamsburg Bank Building. BEFORE AFTER This is the Ratner effect. The image shows Forest City s Atlantic Center and Atlantic Terminal buildings with the Williamsburg Savings Bank peeking out from behind. Is this the future of Brooklyn? Or can we imagine something better? ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 6

7 A NEW VISION We can achieve more. We can go beyond housing, and build HOMES. We can go beyond jobs, and create BUSINESSES and CAREERS Instead of selling Atlantic Yards short, let s INVEST in our community. Instead of putting all our eggs in one basket and giving 11 acres of public land to one developer without any competition, let s give local firms an opportunity to get a piece of this very big pie. By treating Atlantic Yards as a valued public resource, we can build something with broader long term benefits for Brooklyn. ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 7

8 SETTING THE TABLE In March, 2004 City Council member Letitia James brought together hundreds of residents with Local architects and designers, politicians and local businesspeople, to begin a new discussion on the Yards. This event was the birth of the Atlantic Yards Development Workshop. We are creating a model for development that invites all stakeholders to the table from the beginning. The Workshop has looked at the issues of housing, ecology, public space, traffic, retail, infrastructure, etc And now all of those ideas have taken shape in the following proposal. SENATOR VELMANETTE MONTGOMERY NYCC LETITIA JAMES CITIZENS COMMUNITY BOARDS ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP LOCAL BUSINESSES DEVELOPERS DESIGNERS ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 8

9 UNITY 1. New street extensions-to link Fort Greene to Prospect Heights and Park Slope. The new streets also divide the Yards into 1 acre blocks to allow for smaller local development and construction firms to get involved. 2. In green we ve included a new park system so that when people come together in this new place, they have real public space to live and play. 3. Next, in gold we ve included up to 600,000sf of new retail and commercial space for local businesses and local jobs. FLATBUSH AVENUE 4. On top of that, in blue, we have 2300 units of housing an equal density to that of the Ratner proposal. Many of these are units that people can own, more than just rent. 5. New public amenities and facilities including a much-needed recreation center, a new school and day care. UNITY brings our neighborhoods together to create a stronger city. ATLANTIC AVENUE ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 9

10 UNITY 1. CONNECTIONS & BLOCKS 2. PARKS 3. RETAIL 4. HOUSING & SERVICES ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 10

11 NEW STREET NEW STREET CONNECTION CONNECTION NEW STREET NEW STREET UNITY INTEGRATING: Instead of demolishing existing homes and businesses, our proposal is completely within the boundaries of the Rail Yards. We have also proposed the preservation of two existing buildings on Atlantic Avenue. CONNECTING: Instead of closing streets, we have extended South Eliot, South Oxford, Cumberland, Adelphi, and Clermont into the site. The new streets create more lot frontages for retail and pedestrian connections. They also create smaller development sites that could be developed by multiple firms over time. OPENING: Instead of creating privately held courtyards, we have proposed a new public greenway that would stretch the length of the site and connect to surrounding streets. The greenway also connects to a new park at the heart of the site. And a new recreation center and school would open onto a new public plaza at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. CUMBERLAND ST. EXTENSION SOUTH ELIOT PLACE NEW BUILDINGS RETAIL AT GROUND FLOOR, HOUSING ABOVE EXISTING BUILDINGS: ADAPTIVE RE-USE CARLTON ST. ADELPHII ST. SOUTH OXFORD ST. EXTENSION FORT GREENE PL. SOUTH OXFORD ST. SOUTH PORTLAND AVE. CUMBERLAND ST. VANDERBILT AVE. CLERMONT AVE. RECREATION & COMMUNITY CENTER SOUTH ELIOT ST. EXTENSION SCHOOL FLATBUSH AVENUE A T L A N T I C A V E N U E EXISTING BUILDINGS CLERMONT AVE. EXTENSION ADELPHI ST. EXTENSION MORE PARK PUBLIC GREENWAY NEW BUILDINGS RETAIL AT GROUND FLOOR, HOUSING ABOVE 6TH. AVE PACIFIC STREET DEAN STREET CARLTON AVE. VANDERBILT AVE. NEW BUILDINGS, RETAIL AT GROUND FLOOR, HOUSING ABOVE ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 11

12 AYDWS IN THE NEWS ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 12

13 AYDWS IN THE NEWS ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 13

14 GOOD THINGS HAPPEN WITH UNITY IN THE CITY. ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 14

15 The ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP DESIGN TEAM is: MARSHALL BROWN ANNA DIETZSCH JOHN NAFZIGER SARAH STRAUSS CONTACT: ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP 15