Luring tech tenants key to new Pier 40 plan

There’s now a new plan in the mix to save Pier 40, off the West Village, the New York Observer reported. Developer Douglas Durst says he finds it better to keep the pier as is and to reuse the space to create room for downtown tenants, such as tech firms, art galleries and retail stores. The plan could yield a $10 million annual profit, according to the proposal.

As previously reported, Durst had floated the idea to free up space for commercial uses, since including housing would be pricey. Most recently, Durst stepped down from his Friends of Hudson River Park post over disagreements over pier plans.

Durst spoke about the plan at a public meeting of the Hudson River Park advisory council this week and said, “We think this concept is compelling because the space available at Pier 40 for office use is exactly what is in greatest demand today by the fastest growing sector of New York’s economy … tech firms want large floor plates, high ceilings, large windows and unconventional and interesting space.”

As designed by Dattner Architects, the plans call for a consolidation of parking spaces in the middle of the ground floor with stacked parking. This, he said, would increase the number of spaces to 2,000 and would grow revenue. And with this comes the freeing up of 415,000 square feet on the perimeter of the ground floor and mezzanine for office space and some 99,000 square feet for retail. In addition, the roof would be designated for public use and the sporting fields would still have mezzanine-level space.

David Gruber, the chair of Community Board 2, told the Observer that it is important for the community to have options up for consideration. In February, there will be a forum to talk them over. [NYO] —Zachary Kussin