Back in September 28 2012, the Brooklyn Bridge Park issued a request for proposals to develop the Empire Stores building for the long-term lease, rehabilitation and operation of commercial and retail development in the historic structures (no condos). Submissions were due in December 2012, and 10 proposals were submitted. They were presented to the committee on March 19, 2013. Final selection to be decided this summer 2013.

The building is located within the Fulton Ferry Historic District and eligible for listing on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Empire Stores was closed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in 2008 after OGS determined that existing building conditions made the building uninhabitable without significant renovations.

The RFP required respondents to submit conceptual plans that demonstrate thoughtful adaptive reuse of the structures, responsiveness to the site design guidelines and a level of design that is on par with the investment made on the part of the public sector.

The full presentation of responses are posted on BrooklynBridgePark.org website. The ten teams presented the following renderings:

(Team 1)

(Team 1)

(Team 2)

(Team 2)

(Team 3)

(Team 3)

(Team 4)

(Team 4)

(Team 5)

(Team 5)

(Team 6)

(Team 6)

(Team 7)

(Team 7)

(Team 8)

(Team 8)

(Team 9)

(Team 9)

(Team 10)

(Team 10)

Which one(s) are your favorite proposals?

Related:
{Brooklyn Bridge Park Issues a Request to Develop Empire Stores, 02Oct2012}
{Empire Stores on Endangered List, 05Dec2008}

Smorgasburg happens every Sunday in Brooklyn Bridge Park on the Dumbo waterfront at the historic Tobacco Warehouse, featuring packaged and prepared foods, purveyors from New York City and across the region, and other food-related vendors (kitchen utensils, housewares, etc.), for a total of 75-80 vendors.

Smorgasburg Dumbo
at Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn Bridge Park (30 Water Street, Brooklyn NY 11201)
Every Sundays 11am-6pm, Starting April 7 through November 24, 2013

(Corner of Water Street and Dock Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 Google Map)

Subway
A/C to High St.
F to York St.
2/3 to Clark St.

Bus
B25 to Water + New Dock St.

Car
From I-278/BQE East, take Exit 28A to Cadman Plaza.
From I-278/BQE West, take Exit 28 to Cadman Plaza.
For GPS, use 30 Water St., Brooklyn, NY 11201

(Photo by Ross Reyes)

Throughout the month of February, in honor of St. Valentines Day, and having the Hurricane Sandy damaged heating system restored, Jane’s Carousel will be offering “2 for 1” rides.

“Two-somes” of any age will ride with just one $2 ticket.

hours: Thursday-Sunday, 11:00a-5:00p. Feb 1-28, 2013

Jane’s Carousel (www.janescarousel.org), Brooklyn Bridge Park
Entrances at Dock & Water St. or Main St. (between Water & Plymouth St.)
Nearest subways: F (York St), A/C (High St), 2/3 (Clark St)
Contact: 718-222-2502

Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP) today released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the adaptive reuse of the historic Empire Stores Warehouses, located in the Empire Fulton Ferry section of the Park. The RFP seeks qualified developers for the long-term lease, rehabilitation and operation of commercial and retail development in the historic structures. Revenue generated by the development of the site will help fund the maintenance and operations of the of the Park. The space will not be turned into condos, according to the proposal.

The Empire Stores are a complex of seven contiguous four- and five-story historic warehouses with an approximately 75,000 sq. ft. footprint and containing approximately 327,000 gross sq. ft. Constructed shortly after the Civil War, the Empire Stores played an integral part in the prosperous shipping activities that once dominated the Fulton Ferry portion of the Brooklyn waterfront.

The warehouses have been vacant for over 50 years and have slowly deteriorated. Since December 2007, the Empire Store buildings in the Brooklyn Bridge Park have been boarded up due to structural issues with deteriorating brick window frames.

According to the press release:

“The re-development of the Empire Stores is part of a larger effort to transform underutilized buildings and piers on 1.3 miles of Brooklyn’s East River Waterfront into an iconic park. The 85-acre Brooklyn Bridge Park project is the most significant park development in Brooklyn in over a century. The park has already proven to be a huge hit, attracting almost 90,000 visitors during an average weekend including 20,000 a month to Jane’s Carousel, located adjacent to the Empire Stores site…

The RFP requires respondents to submit conceptual plans that demonstrate thoughtful adaptive reuse of the structures, responsiveness to the site design guidelines and a level of design that is on par with the investment made on the part of the public sector.”

This site offers a highly visible opportunity to transform a historic waterfront complex into an active retail/commercial location. Developer Shaya Boymelgreen lost his deal to develop the Empire Stores after he let it sit for three years (2002 – 2006) while moving forward with luxury condo projects in other parts of Brooklyn.

Proposals are due on December 10, 2012.

{Empire Stores on Endangered List, 05Dec2008}
{Sidewalk Bridging Being Installed at Empire Stores Warehouse, 08Jan2008}
{Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park Temporarily Closed, 21Dec2007}

Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP) is celebrating the opening of its new administrative offices at 334 Furman Street, with an open house on Thursday, November 17 from 6:30 – 8:00pm. Join BBP to toast the beginning to a beautiful park.

Part of the celebration includes a screening of New York’s Next Great Park, a collaborative effort from BBP and BRIC’s Brooklyn Independent Television. New York’s Next Great Park is a documentary that chronicles the design and construction of the first phases of Brooklyn Bridge Park, offering insights on its sustainability features as well as featuring interviews with some of the key figures in the design, planning and programming of the park. After the open house, BIT will air New York’s Next Great Park on Friday, November 18 at 7pm. Tune in to Cablevision 69, Time Warner 56, Verizon 44, RCN 84 or watch online to see how BBP was built on the shores of Brooklyn.

The first webisode is shown above, titled, Brooklyn’s Next Great Park.

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The high resolution photo, courtesy of Shorpy, from 1903 of Brooklyn Bridge is full of rich detail. The view of Brooklyn from the Manhattan side shows the Brooklyn shore between Navy Yards to Brooklyn Heights. Above is a detailed portion of the photo of what’s now Dumbo. You’ll see some Gair Buildings (one on Washington Street that says “Robert Gair: If it’s made of paper we have it”), the 167 Sands Street building, which was completed in 1902, the Tobacco Warehouse, and the two and three story wood frame buildings where 1 Main Street now sits (built in 1916). Not pictured in the above detail, but is shown in the original photo is the Eagle Warehouse building, Old Fulton Street, and the original Fulton El Terminal (which was demolished, and now is Cadman Plaza) with trolleys crossing the bridge.

For the original full res photo, go to shorpy.com/Brooklyn_Bridge_1903?size=_original. What else do you recognize?

(via @joshderr)

{Dumbo Then and Now, series, DumboNYC}

Jane’s Carousel in the Brooklyn Bridge Park is officially open to the public today. Kids can finally take a $2 ride (it’s free for children under 3 accompanied by an adult) on the restored 1922 carousel.

Previously:
{A Chat With Jane At The Carousel Opening (on Water St), 16Oct2011}

Jane’s Carousel is being installed in Brooklyn Bridge Park in the Jean Nouvel designed Pavilion, and will open to the public September 16, 2011.

Here’s a few photos taken yesterday:

According to the poster under the Brooklyn Bridge, the carousel will be open 11am-7pm (closed Tuesdays), and will be $2 per ride.

Flickr user funkymonk2000 also posted a few nice photos close up:

St. Ann’s Warehouse announced its 2011-12 season lineup, its final season in Dumbo. A court ruling in July ended St. Ann’s chances of moving to a new home at the Tobacco Warehouse in the Brooklyn Bridge Park. The ruling nullified a set of decisions by the federal, state and city governments over the last several years that led to approval of a new home for the St. Ann’s Warehouse at the Tobacco Warehouse. St. Ann’s has to move from its current space after this season to make way for a new residential development, known as Dock Street Dumbo, which is taking its place.

NY Times reports that the 2011-2012 season will begin Oct. 12 with a multimedia musical, “Stop the Virgens,” created by Karen O of the rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, among others, and directed by the playwright Adam Rapp. It runs through Oct. 22.

St. Ann’s Artistic Director Susan Feldman sent an email this summer that vented her disappointment over the collateral damage that resulted after neighborhood and preservation organizations filed the suit to stop the transfer of the Tobacco Warehouse to private hands. At this point, St. Ann’s is still looking for temporary and permanent quarters for its 2012-13 season and beyond. Dumbo area residents can provide support for St. Ann’s by attending their shows or becoming a member. To see current season’s lineup or how to become a member, go to stannswarehouse.org/current_season.php.

(Photo by Josh Derr.)

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Here’s an oldie but goodie from Octupus Pie. Octopus Pie is an ongoing comic series about two women living in Brooklyn, NY – their jobs, social circles, and some problems. In this episode, the dialogue is about the Empire Stores and how Dumbo was named.

“You know why this neighborhood’s called Dumbo, right?”
“It’s an acronym, let’s see…District of Urbania’s Most Blatantly Overpriced, right?”
“Har har.”
“It was cheap in the 1970s. The artists who moved into these run-down factories named it.”
“They thought an ugly name would deter contractors from moving in.”
“Oh please, leave it to bohos to sanitize a scaary place and get mad when the yuppies arrive.”
“They meant well. I can’t blame them, really.”
“After all, Dumbo was always beautiful. It just took a bit of marketing for people to notice.”

And notice they did.