7.3.2023

Developers Secure $297M To Complete Phase Two Of The Peninsula Affordable Housing Complex In Hunts Point

Gilbane Development Company, Hudson Companies, and MHANY Management have secured $297 million to complete phase two of The Peninsula, a mixed-use, 100-percent affordable housing complex in Hunts Point, The Bronx. The five-building master plan is being designed by WXY Architecture + Urban Design and Body Lawson Associates, Architects & Planners and will be delivered in three phases. The first building, referred to as Peninsula 1B, is located at 720 Tiffany Street and was completed last summer. This first phase delivered 183 deeply affordable housing units, a 14,000-square-foot cultural arts center, a performance theater, a daycare, and a 57,000-square-foot light industrial space that will serve minority- and women-owned businesses and local food entrepreneurs.

The next phase includes two new affordable housing buildings, known as 2A and 2B, and will yield 359 apartments. This phase will also create a 50,000-square-foot plaza, a 155-vehicle parking garage, and a 20,000-square-foot community facility space. The majority of the apartments will be designated for individuals and households at or below 60 percent area media income.

6.20.2023

The Palaver Bench at the Venice Biennale

Public spaces play a crucial role in fosteringcommunication and understanding among diversepopulations. However, the accessibility and inclusivityof these spaces have become contested topics inrecent years. In response, WXY has partnered with scholars and users of public spaces to propose aninnovative initiative for the 2023 Architecture Biennale, set in the Giardini Della Marinaressa park outside the Arsenale. At the heart of this project is the introduction of a conversation bench, known as the “palaver bench,” designed to encourage communication between individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and communities. This seating solution serves as a powerful metaphor for the Architecture Biennale’s mission of promoting inclusion, collaboration, and the democratization of public spaces. In addition to the bench installation, the project willfeature a series of programming and events designed to engage participants in exploring issues and perspectives related to the accessibility, inclusivity, and future potential of public spaces.

6.6.2023

Governor Hochul Announces Over $90 Million in Capital Funding for Arts Organizations Across New York State, Including Storm King

In addition to NYSCA’s support, Empire State Development awarded more than $3 million in funding to Storm King Art Center – a $2 million capital grant and a $1.2 million Market New York grant – at the recommendation of the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council. NYSERDA has also contributed $600,000 to the project, bringing New York State’s total support for the facility to more than $11 million. The grant to Storm King Art Center will enhance the visitor experience through the construction of two new building elements: the Welcome Sequence and the Conservation, Fabrication, and Maintenance Building. The Welcome Sequence will help to simplify visitors’ arrival by doubling parking capacity, removing traffic, and adding new facilities to accommodate guest arrivals and group tours. The Conservation, Fabrication, and Maintenance Building will be Storm King’s first-ever purpose-built space, allowing them to work with artists on fabrication, better care for their collection by conserving important artworks onsite, and provide staff with safe, well-equipped facilities. The new facility will also prioritize sustainability with all-electric buildings and LEED Gold Certification for the Welcome Sequence, reinforcing Storm King’s long history of land preservation and environmental education.

8.19.2022

Storm King Art Center Announces $45 Million Capital Project

Storm King Art Center in Windsor, New York, is embarking on a $45 million capital project that will result in substantial enhancements to its open-air museum facility. The plan calls for a new “Welcome Sequence,” featuring consolidated parking and accessible amenities; the construction of a building dedicated to conservation, fabrication, and maintenance; and the assumption of a holistic approach to landscape stewardship and environmental sustainability. The project is expected to be completed in 2024.

“This ambitious capital project enriches the absolute best things about Storm King while helping chart our path to a more sustainable future,” said Storm King president John P. Stern. “It allows us to advance all areas of our work and mission; to support our growing community of visitors, artists, and staff; and to preserve our extraordinary site and collection for future generations.”

9.16.2021

New Rooftop Pavilion and Urban Farm opens at the Javits Center

Led by the New York Convention Center Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Empire State Development, the state’s chief economic development agency, a Lendlease and Turner joint venture and architectural firms TVS, Moody Nolan, Stantec and WXY architecture + urban design, the four-year expansion project was completed on budget despite the challenges related to COVID-19. With state-of-the art equipment and technology, the expanded Javits Center features 50 percent more front-of-house and back-of-house areas, including new exhibit and meeting room spaces, a separate entrance for special events and a first-in-the-nation truck marshaling facility that will accelerate event operations and reduce area congestion. The design-build project has achieved LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. “This new rooftop is one of the most exciting event spaces in New York City in more than a generation,” said Alan Steel, President and CEO of the New York Convention Center Operating Corporation, which operates the Javits Center. “With stunning skyline views and state-of-the-art technology, the rooftop creates a unique roof-to-table experience for our guests while enabling our staff to push the boundaries of sustainability and further explore how to improve the quality of life for our neighbors – those with wings and those without.”

11.25.2020

Downtown Davenport Partnership presents Downtown Master Plan

"Downtown is everyone’s neighborhood, and the time is now to set a visionary roadmap to build a more sustainable, vibrant and inclusive downtown,” DDP Executive Director Kyle Carter on Davenport 2030: A Resilient City. The Downtown Davenport Partnership commissioned WXY to develop a strategic master plan for its downtown focusing on placemaking, economic development, strategic growth, and talent attraction. Following a decade of significant growth, coupled with notable setbacks, including historic flooding in 2019 and the COVID-19 crisis, Downtown Davenport sought to develop strategies that would build on the city’s strengths, including a growing residential market, robust small business growth, and a thriving arts and entertainment scene. WXY, with its project partners SB Friedman and Sam Schwartz Engineering, developed Davenport 2030: A Resilient City, a ten-year vision for the downtown with a focus on creating stronger connections to surrounding communities, developing talent locally, and gaining quick wins through interim improvements and activations. The master plan was presented to the Davenport City Council in October, and ongoing votes for the final plan will be taken in November/December, including most recently, a city-wide survey for input on the vision’s flood response.

7.24.2019

Peninsula Reaches a Major Milestone

“Today marks a great leap forward towards a revamped and revitalized Hunts Point. With the first residential phase underway, affordable housing in the Peninsula will create new opportunities for the New Yorkers who need it the most,” NYCEDC President James Patchett. The City and development partners MHANY, Gilbane, and the Hudson Companies, officially announced their deal to develop phase one, the first residential phase of the Peninsula, which will include 183 units of affordable housing for low- to extremely low-income New Yorkers, with an additional ten percent of units reserved for formerly homeless individuals. The news follows the Peninsula’s exciting achievement as recipient of the New York City’s Public Design Commission Award for Excellence in Design, an award that showcases eight projects of excellence across the five boroughs. The Peninsula’s first phase is slated to be completed in 2021, with allotted funding of $125.5 million.

9.27.2018

Brooklyn Navy Yard Master Plan

WXY's master plan, presented recently by the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, reveals an ambitious vision of how "The Yard" can accommodate 20,000 new jobs by 2020 and up to 30,000 shortly by 2030. The master plan sets out a strategy for intensifying urban industrial campus that combines five million square feet of vertical manufacturing development with optimized open space networks to improve everyday functionality and to provide meaningful links to surrounding neighborhoods. Renderings of the new vertical manufacturing space were featured in CurbedNY.

9.20.2018

D15: A Community Led Diversity Plan

WXY was commissioned by the New York City Department of Education’s (DOE) to work collaboratively with Brooklyn’s District 15 community to envision a more equitable and integrated school district. The D15 Diversity Plan is the first district-wide community-based planning process aimed at creating diverse, meaningfully integrated middle schools in New York City. The report focuses on policies which promote integration and foster inclusive school communities. The city approval of the plan was covered in WNYC, Wall Street Journal and New York Times.

7.2.2018

Repurposing Kearny Point for the Makers of Today

WXY-designed Kearny Point Building 78 was recently celebrated in the Commerical Observer alongside Hugo Neu CEO Wendy Neu for "bringing the creative office revolution". The transformation of the former shipyard was also featured in the Design Curial, as part of a new wave of former industrial buildings that have found success by honoring the manufacturing heritage of the built space, while repurposing them for the makers of today.

1.13.2018

Cultivating Musical Innovation in the Bronx

WXY was commissioned by Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco ) to design the new Bronx Music Hall. Bronx Music Hall is a 14,000 square foot performing arts venue and exhibition space. The new, permanent home of the Bronx Music Heritage Center will have a flexible performance space with approximately 300 seats, areas for exhibits, rehearsal spaces for music and dance, digital archives, a café, and outdoor performance and public recreation space. The project includes key collaborator Local Projects and is the centerpiece of the Bronx Commons mixed-use development that will include 305 affordable housing units. Read more about it in Curbed NY.

1.10.2018

A Long Island Campground Gets a Bunch of New Modern Cabins

WXY’s prototype cabins for the New York State Parks Department have recently been featured in a number of articles. “Bright and cheery with plenty of natural light” a review in Dwell said, “Embracing the great outdoors, large windows give campers views of nature from every room.” Curbed noted their, “sleek forms, natural materials, and open, light-filled interiors” and The Architect’s Newspaper wrote, “While the usual image of a cabin in the woods is claustrophobic, window-starved and lacking in amenities, WXY’s design is anything but.”