Pier A is a 30,000-sf facility containing three floors of usable space. It was originally part of the Battery Park City footprint when the Authority was created in 1969. The pier was later removed from the Battery Park City project area to be developed as a separate entity. It was leased to Wings Point Development Corp. in 1997, but they returned control of the pier back to the City when their plans for redevelopment could not be completed. Though BPCA will develop the pier, NYCEDC will retain ownership of the property.

"For more than two decades, there have been discussions about developing Pier A in a way that benefits from its prime location on New York Harbor and serves the residents of Lower Manhattan, and today we are taking a major step towards making it happen," notes Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a prepared statement. "Given the Battery Park City Authority's record of success developing and maintaining the public property to the north of the pier, I am confident the restoration of this historic, 120-year-old pier will serve as an important part of the renaissance underway today in Lower Manhattan."

Gov. Eliot Spitzer notes that "the redevelopment of this pier is another critical step in the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. The Battery Park City Authority, with its unparalleled record of success developing its property downtown, is the ideal group to complete this project and ensure Pier A recaptures its former glory."