Developer Douglas Durst has a new idea to save Greenwich Village’s Pier 40 that wouldn’t require new residential or hotel buildings, or the years of planning such structures would necessitate. According to the New York Post, Durst wants to consolidate the three-story parking garage that sits at the front of the pier into one floor with the same 1,700 spaces by adding attendees and a stacking system to the 20-foot tall ceilings. Then, Durst proposes the Hudson River Park Trust use the liberated upper floors of the existing structure as 500,000 square feet of commercial space for lease.
Durst, who is chairman of the Friends of Hudson River Park, said he has no interest in undertaking the project himself; he told the Post his suggestion comes merely as a knowledgeable and interested private individual. He said the Trust should issue a request for proposals to find a developer for the project.
As has been widely reported, Pier 40 is crumbling and losing approximately $2 million a year, threatening its own existence and the prospects of the entire park, which was supposed to be funded by revenue from the pier. A recent study found that apartments and hotels on the site would generate enough income to save the park and pier, but that plan has been met with resistance and would take years to implement. [Post] — Adam Fusfeld