"Silvercup had a need for additional studio space," Guy Geier, principal at NBBJ, explains, but they're interested in attracting cultural institutions, residential and some retail to make it a "24/7 mixed-use community-to create an active waterfront."

"The project is really just getting started," Geier notes. Plans will be developed over the next year and all financial aspects of the project cannot yet be determined until the designs are established. He notes that NBBJ and Richard Rogers will incorporate New York City waterfront development guidelines into the planning process. One interesting sidebar is that an existing structure on the property known as the "terracotta building" will be preserved as a landmark building.

From an invited list that included Arquitectonica, Enrique Norton of Ten Arquitectos, KPF, and Foster & Partners, Silvercup Studios owners Stuart and Alan Suna paired Richard Rogers and NBBJ to plan and design the site.