Red Hook could be in for a major transformation if construction and engineering firm AECOM has their way. According to Crain’s New York, the company is set to propose a massive new residential area for the Red Hook waterfront that would be double the size of Battery Park City. The initial plans call for the construction of 45,000 residential units along with multiple new subway connections. In addition to housing, AECOM’s vision includes adding more public parkland to the area as well as installing new resilient infrastructure to protect the low-lying waterfront from storms and rising sea levels.
AECOM’s plan envisions a new bustling Red Hook community with approximately 45,000 apartments, including more than 6,000 affordable housing units, spread over a dozen residential towers built on currently underutilized land. The plan also counts on creating three new subway stations to meet the needs of the community: one at Atlantic Basin, another at the Red Hook Houses, and and extension of the No. 1 train to connect to the F and G subway lines at Fourth Avenue.
Related: New renderings reveal resilient and revitalizing Red Hook waterfront creative complex
“We have to recognize that growth is necessary to create a waterfront that people can use, affordable housing and a mass-transit connection to a neighborhood where one doesn’t exist,” said Chris Ward, a senior vice president at AECOM.
Ward also highlighted the city’s need to prepare for future residents. “As the city expects another million residents in the next decade where will they all live? This is a canvas where we can create tens of thousands of housing units without pushing people further to the periphery of the city.”
Although specific plans for financing the ambitious project are undetermined at this point, the company is proposing using the funds from the sale or leasing of the land, as well as real estate taxes to fund various stages of the project.
According to Crain’s, AECOM is planning to present the Red Hook proposal next week at the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation. If the project gets the green light, it will become the largest residential development project in the city.
Via Crain’s New York
Images via AECOM and Creative Commons
