From The Staten Island Advance:
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
By PHIL HELSEL
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A sweeping new vision for the St. George waterfront that includes four 18-story apartment towers and townhouses where a parking lot now sits was unveiled at a high-powered economic development meeting in Sea View last night.
It will be years before the concept for the residential plan, dubbed the St. George Waterfront project, and a retail counterpart eyed for another nearby, approaches reality -- if ever.
Still, there was plenty of enthusiasm at the Staten Island Economic Development Corp.'s "pre-conference" held last night at the Joan and Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center in Sea View.
"It's like driving toward a mountain; it doesn't seem to get any closer but if you keep driving toward it you'll get there," said R. Randy Lee, SIEDC chairman.
Last night was the first public showing of a development plan for the parking lots straddling the Richmond County Bank Ballpark, which a consultant called typical of the massive investment needed to jump-start the whole area.
On the parking lot to the west of the ballpark, urban planner Tom Jost envisions four 18-story apartment towers lining Richmond Terrace, followed by 12-, 8- and 6-story towers and townhouses, and ending with a redeveloped waterfront park, all above an underground parking garage.
Where the parking lot between the ballpark and the Ferry now lies, the concept calls for a pedestrian-centered shopping and retail area, anchored by an IMAX theater, an urban grocery store like a Whole Foods Market, and restaurants with a waterfront promenade.
"At this point we're still in development; you need to have a plan to show to the city and to get developers interested," said Jost, director of urban planning for the consulting group ARUP. "These two sites are the best economic development sites on Staten Island."
Yesterday was what organizers called "a teaser," and more details on the St. George concept and other development projects are expected to be unveiled at the development corporation's 10th annual SI Conference 2008, slated for the Hilton Garden Inn, Bloomfield, on Tuesday.
The SIEDC also threw its full support behind other business and retail projects already under way all over the Island.
They include:
The Waterfront Commons, a 1.3 million-square-foot, open-air retail and entertainment center to be built on the Tottenville waterfront directly south of the Outerbridge Crossing. Permits are still pending but the developer hopes to have it finished by 2010.
This "vision plan" is an absolute joke. The SIEDC is a political brown nosing organization who has done nothing constructive on this Island for the 55 years I have lived on it. They are the same group that was hot for Nascar and Walmart. They also never have an original thought like this years blatant ripoff "Staten Island 40 under 40" which was blatantly stolen from Crains Forty Under 40, A despicable entity. The only chance for ST. George is a private developer who works with the citys EDC and avoids the SIEDC at all cost.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that you feel that way. I think that things are finally changing. I understand that it has taken a long time but in order for things to happen you need to be positive and have an open mind. You seem so bitter. Please use a real name for your posts because it is hard to believe that you didn't just leave the last four negative posts. They sound like they all came from you.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jerry, why does that matter? I'm a native 48 years old. I've seen it all here, you're a pie in the sky transpant. Positive and an open mind? Do you have any clue how corrupt and conservative every political group is on this Island? No, you don't. Your heads in the cloud. This has nothing to do with being bitter, it's reality.
ReplyDeleteUnless Staten Island has a complete major political change it will always be the Conservative right wing Republican borough that it always has been? The SIEDC? They lobbied for WALMART and NASCAR. They're a political hack group controlled by REPUBLICANS. Guy Molinari is responsible for that group of do nothings who haven't a clue other than kissing the ass of the GOP. Get real and learn the truth. It might shock you.
Jerry, Yes, there's tons of corruption here (and everywhere in NYC for that matter) but this site is not about that. I voice my concerns about these types of matters but I do so in the proper places. For example, I complained about the use of the convent on Fort Place on WNYC's Brian Lehrer show website. I know a lot more than you think. This blog is not the place to air our dirty laundry. This is not a political site. This is a simple blog run by people who happen to think that St. George is a great place to live.
ReplyDelete