High Line Design Plan Begins

NEW YORK CITY-A request for qualifications alert has gone out signaling the first step in a process to create a master plan for the High Line restoration, which is expected to provide for more than one million sf of new residential and commercial development in the West Chelsea area. The city and advocacy group Friends of the High Line have jointly began a process to select the design team which will create a master plan for former railway’s conversion to public open space.

The pair has advertised for groups of architects, landscape architects, urban designers, engineers, horticulturists and other professionals form teams and submit written applications by an April 1 deadline. According to a project timeline, a team is expected to be selected late in the summer. Due to the expansive nature of the project, the RFQ requires a team be headed by an expert in on of the three principle areas of expertise required for the project: architecture, landscape architecture and urban design. Additional areas of expertise include engineering, public art, lighting, horticulture, recreation, New York City building codes and cost estimating.