Take Me to the River

[i]3 Finalists Selected for Implementing Take me to the River Concept Plan; Winning Team to be announced in January [/i] The West Harlem Art Fund, the NY State Department’s Division of Coastal Resources and the Office of the Manhattan Borough President announced the winning design team for “Take Me to the River,” a project that will improve pedestrian access to the Hudson River from West Harlem to Washington Heights. Currently, access to Riverside Park is obstructed by the combination of the Amtrak railroad tracks and the Henry Hudson Parkway. The winning team, led by Nautilus International Development Consulting, Inc. in association with Donna Walcavage Landscape Architecture + Urban Design, will create a set of recommendations to improve the appearance and maintenances of paths and side walks, and to provide signage. It will also create a plan to strengthen the cultural and economic resources of West Harlem and southern Washington Heights. Other members of the team include Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates, H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture LLC, Ernst & Young, Creative Cities, Studio L’Image, Warren Antonio James Architect, Kendal Henry Public Art & Urban Design, and V.J. Associates Inc. The selected work will consist of four main tasks: - Working Group Meetings & Public Presentation: The team is committed to a community-based planning process. A working group will be assembled composed of local residents, elected officials, business and property owners, neighborhood organizations and key public agencies. - Existing Conditions & Use Analysis: The team will analyze existing conditions and uses as a prerequisite to design. - Streetscape Guidelines & Transportation Plan: The team will integrate transportation improvements and streetscape guidelines. - Cultural Corridor Plan: The team will create a cultural plan that reflects the wealth of cultural assets in West Harlem and southern Washington Heights. Take Me to the River spans portions of West Harlem and southern Washington Heights, and includes the Broadway corridor from 135th to 157th Streets, extending west to Riverside Park. Thirteen proposals were received by the Borough President from top urban planning, design, architecture and transportation planning firms. From these, the jury selected three team finalists in late November. The jury included representatives from the West Harlem Arts Fund, the NYS Department of State Division of Coastal Resources, NYC Transportation and Parks and Recreation departments, Manhattan Community Boards 9 and 12, and the Borough President’s Land Use and Development Department. Nautilus International and DWLA+UD, who have extensive experience in successful waterfront revitalization from Greenpoint-Williamsburg to Shanghai, Suzhou and Nanchang in China, conducted the previous phase of Take Me to the River and produced its community-based Concept Plan. The winning team is expected to complete this phase of Take Me to the River by the end of this summer. When the project is complete, the Manhattan Borough President’s Office will be ready to begin working towards final design and construction documents of the streetscape and transportation improvements and implementation of the cultural corridor plans. For more information visit the official site: http://www.mbpo.org/free_details.asp?id=94