MAYOR GIULIANI AND HUD SECRETARY CUOMO BREAK GROUND FOR NEW RETAIL AND TOURIST DESTINATION AT BATTERY PARK CITY'S PIER A
290 FULL-TIME JOBS TO BE CREATED; HUD FINANCING FACILITATES PROJECT
NEW YORK CITY -- Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Andrew M. Cuomo, along with Bernadette Castro, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, announced today the commencement of renovations at Pier A, which will be converted into a tourist destination and retail facility. Pier A, located between Battery Park and Robert F. Wagner Park in Lower Manhattan, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a New York City Landmark.
The Pier A project is another milestone in Mayor Giuliani's efforts to revitalize New York City's waterfront and Lower Manhattan. Development plans for the pier have been in the works for almost ten years and are now moving to construction under the Mayor's leadership. The City owns the pier and will lease it for 49 years to Wings Point Associates Inc./Edison LLC, which has developed a plan to convert Pier A into Manhattan's largest waterfront hub and visitors center. To fund the project, the New York City Industrial Development Agency (IDA) issued $8 million in taxable bonds, which are backed by a HUD loan guarantee. In addition, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation provided a $4.2 million grant, $3.25 million of which will go toward the renovation of Pier A, and the remainder of which will be used for exhibits and administration of the Harbor Park Visitors Center which will be located in the renovated pier.
"Today we are celebrating the transformation of New York City's waterfront. With projects like Pier A we are bringing back the splendor and economic vitality of our famous waterfront. We are creating a beautiful retail center, generating jobs and putting to good economic use City-owned land which has remained inactive for years," said Mayor Giuliani. "Thanks to innovation and cooperation at the City, State and Federal levels, we are revitalizing the City's waterfront for the benefit of all New Yorkers."
Pier A is situated at the gateway to Ellis, Liberty and Governors Islands, which attract more than 4 million visitors each year. The revitalization of the three-story pier, which is the last Victorian piershed in Manhattan, will replace formerly under-utilized and vacant public space with newly rehabilitated retail space. When renovated, Pier A is expected to house a restaurant and catering facility, retail shops, marine operations and the Harbor Park Visitors Center, which is part of the New York State Heritage Areas program. The fully leased facility, which is expected to open to the public in Spring 1999, will create 290 permanent jobs. Construction on Pier A will generate approximately 175 temporary jobs.
"Pier A is a great project," Housing Secretary Cuomo said. "Not only will it delight New Yorkers and thousands of visitors each year, it will create almost 300 permanent jobs and 175 temporary construction jobs. It will bring new vitality and opportunity to the Battery Park area of Lower Manhattan."
"Harbor Park offers visitors and natives alike a view that is quintessential New York: the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. This project, along with that wonderful view, will attract countless visitors, boosting our tourism industry to new heights," Governor Pataki said. "This public-private partnership continues my commitment to help revitalize Lower Manhattan, creating more jobs and more opportunities for New Yorkers."
"While other administrations let many important projects like Pier A linger for years, Mayor Giuliani has made tremendous progress in revitalizing one of the City's greatest assets--our waterfront. The renovation of Pier A and the rehabilitation of the City's waterfront are testaments to the City's ongoing commitment to stimulate business and create jobs in New York City," said Charles Millard, New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) president and IDA chairman. "With retail and visitors' attractions, as well as excellent waterfront access and views, Pier A is likely to attract substantial attention and spending from tourists and residents alike. The project also will return a valuable asset to the City's tax rolls and create hundreds of jobs for New Yorkers."
"It has taken almost nine years to put this project together, but the timing could not be better, " said Carole Taylor, President of Wings Point Associates. "The revitalization of Downtown Manhattan is moving at a rapid pace. More hotels, more restaurants and an increase in residential apartments will all help make downtown a great place to live and work. Pier A will play a prominent role in the new and exciting downtown. If all goes as planned, Pier A will be fully restored to its original splendor and open to the public in spring 1999, and there will be no better place for dancing, dining and celebration."
"City of New York/Parks and Recreation is proud to participate in this cooperation at federal, state and city levels. When completed, Pier A will include the Harbor Park Visitors' Center, an educational and entertainment resource. Each day thousands of visitors will come here to learn more about parks and the New York Harbor, in addition to shopping on the pier and enjoying the area parks." said Henry J. Stern, Commissioner City of New York Parks and Recreation.
Pier A also will provide the critical link in the creation of a continuous, 30-acre public waterfront space, a $50-million project now underway at the southern tip of Manhattan. Pier A is strategically located between one of Manhattan's oldest and one of its newest public parks: Battery Park and Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park, respectively. In addition to these attractions, the waterfront park continuum will include the Battery Park Esplanade, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Admiral Dewey Promenade, Whitehall Ferry Terminal and Pier 11.
At the outset, more than $15 million will be invested through construction contracts to rehabilitate Pier A. In addition to personal and business taxes, the project is expected to generate approximately $2 million per year in direct annual revenues to the City from payroll and sales taxes. Rent payments from the developer, which has a 49-year lease with the City, will provide additional income.
A critical component of financing the pier's rehabilitation, the HUD Section 108 loan enables the City to leverage block grant funds as collateral. In the case of the Pier A project, HUD has backed $8 million in taxable bonds which were issued by the IDA. This is New York City's first Section 108 guarantee.
Additional funding for the $26.85-million project was secured through a grant from the New York State Environmental Quality Bond Act ($3.25 million), developer equity ($8.5 million), Community Development Block Grant funds ($1.6 million), improvements to the restaurant to be made by the tenant ($3 million) and a commercial loan to the developer ($2.5 million). Under the City's Industrial Commercial Incentives Program, the project also will benefit from a 12-year property tax exemption on improvements.
The Pier A renovation represents one of Mayor Giuliani's many efforts to apply EDC's resources to revitalize the New York City waterfront. Other projects currently underway in Manhattan include the reconstruction of Pier 11 and creation of an esplanade and bikeway in the Wall Street area, as well as development of a new bikeway along the East River. Through EDC, the City also has privatized management at the Passenger Ship Terminal and has conditionally designated a developer to rehabilitate Piers 92 and 94 in the Hudson River.
Brooklyn also has benefited from the Administration's focus on waterfront development. The Brooklyn Army Terminal, a 97-acre complex vacated by the military more than 20 years ago, was converted into a state-of-the-art industrial and manufacturing complex on the Brooklyn waterfront and has been 90 percent leased. By contributing two City-owned cranes to Brooklyn's Red Hook Marine Terminal in Brooklyn, the City helped increase capacity by more than 50 percent and helped attract a large international shipping line, Zim-American Israeli Shipping Company. Future Brooklyn waterfront projects include the rehabilitation of the Coffey Street Pier.
New York City also invested $14 million to dredge the berth around Staten Island's Howland Hook Marine Terminal, enabling the terminal to reopen after being unable to service cargo ships for nearly a decade. In response to the interest Howland Hook Marine Terminal has generated from international shippers, EDC will commit an additional $2 million to building a temperature-controlled facility for fruit storage and handling. Also in Staten Island, the North Shore Esplanade opened in August 1996.
Private ferry service has been encouraged by the Giuliani Administration through the rehabilitation of ferry service piers, such as Pier 11 in Manhattan and Pier 4 at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. Currently, approximately a dozen private ferries to Manhattan from New Jersey, Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens provide New Yorkers with a viable commuting alternative. Ferries offer New Yorkers a way to reduce commute time while protecting the environment, making travel to work a generally more pleasant experience and enabling residents and visitors to enjoy the water by boat. In summer 1996, a seasonal ferry operated along the East River to transport fans to baseball games at Yankee Stadium. Plans currently underway for a new Port Authority-operated ferry to LaGuardia Airport include significant improvements at East River ferry sites.
To further secure the potential of the New York City waterfront as an economic generator, Mayor Giuliani will pursue developing the City as a hub port for the Eastern Seaboard. The City also will study creating a rail freight tunnel to link New York City ports to the rest of the nation.
EDC is the City's primary vehicle for economic development services. Using its real estate and financial resources, it helps develop businesses and create jobs throughout the five boroughs.
IDA is a public-benefit corporation contractually administered by EDC and established to encourage business expansion and development.
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