City Picks Group of Developers for MXD Build

BROOKLYN, NY-New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Shaun Donovan have selection the team chosen to design and construct a mixed-use development consisting of community, commercial, and residential spaces located along the Gowanus Canal here. The development team, the Gowanus Green Partnership, is a consortium comprised of the Hudson Companies, Inc., the Bluestone Organization, the Fifth Avenue Committee and Jonathan Rose Companies.

Marked by sustainable design in keeping with PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg’s plan for a greener, greater New York, the development will result in 774 units of mixed-income housing. Roughly 615 apartments will be affordable to low-income and middle-income families, including 120 units of low-income senior housing. The mixed-use development will feature more than 25,000 sf of cultural space, 38,000 sf of ground-floor retail and nearly 100,000 sf of public open space located along the canal. The canal-side park, in addition to landscaped waterfront space for passive and active recreation, will feature arts and educational programming and significant recreational opportunities for the surrounding community. The overall development is part of the Mayor’s historic New Housing Marketplace Plan, a $7.5 billion commitment to create and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing, over 70,000 of which have already been financed.

As GlobeSt.com previously reported, a Request For Proposals was issued by the City in July 2007. According to a prepared statement, of the six proposals submitted, Gowanus Green’s provided the greatest level of affordability, as well as the greatest balance between space dedicated to housing versus that dedicated to open and cultural uses. In addition, architectural partner Rogers Marvel’s focus on sustainable design is sure to qualify many of the development’s buildings for LEED Gold designation while the work of landscape architects West 8 and Starr Whitehouse will help the overall development to qualify for the pioneering LEED Neighborhood Development program.