Newsletters

From time to time the Waterfront Center e-mails newsletters.  The most recent will be posted here.  If you wish to receive these newsletters by e-mail please send your e-mail address to mail@waterfrontcenter.org with a request to be added to the newsletter e-mail list.  To be sure that the newsletter is not blocked by spam filters, add the Waterfront Center e-mail address to your e-mail address book.

A Tribute to Ann Breen

In the River Action Inc. Eddy Magazine

The Waterfront Center 2011 Conference Dinner Venues

    A special feature of Waterfront Center conferences over the past 28 years has been our distinctive dining options for three nights. These evenings allow people to get to renew old friendships and make new ones over a good meal. Usually a combination of value-for-dollar, often a waterfront location and sometimes a little quirkiness.

    In New York’s up-and -coming Lower Manhattan neighborhood, we think we’re outdoing ourselves for this October!

Wednesday October 26th Les Halles $45

Brasserie Les Halles is a typical Parisian brasserie serving fresh and simple dishes of France’s everyday cuisine.

    Brasserie Les Halles is a typical Parisian brasserie serving fresh and simple dishes of France’s everyday cuisine.

    Wednesday night October 26, in advance of the all-day tour of New York Harbor planned by our local committee, we’ll kick off at Brasserie Les Halles at 15 John Street. Renowned for legendary chef/author Anthony Bourdain’s involvement, this little bit of Paris in Manhattan is at once casual and lively. Writes chef and cable food show host Mike Colameco

    “I only wish there were more restaurants in New York that offered reasonably priced, well-executed food with friendly service in a great, convivial dining room.”* 

    He goes on to praise the reliable, inexpensive and consistently satisfying brasserie fare. He calls it one of his favorites for casual French dining. We’ll offer appetizer, a choice of three main courses as well as a dessert. Wine and beer throughout. Tax and tip included. We’ll be in a cozy private dining space upstairs with our own facilities. Setting out from our hotel York Marriott Downtown, it is about a 15-minute walk.

*Mike Colameco’s Food Lover’s Guide to New York – An Insider’s Guide to New York City’s Gastronomic Delights (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2009)

Thursday October 27th Bayards $85*

Whether for an intimate gathering or a gala event, Bayard's guarantees a memorable celebration in an elegant setting.

*Note: All dinner costs include a multi-course meal, wine, tax and gratuity.

    On Thursday night, after the hosted opening reception at the hotel amidst our exhibitors, everyone signing up for this option will be in for a completely different experience, in a building dating to the 1830’s. Bayard’s is housed in a building known as the India House since 1914 (prior to becoming a center for foreign trade it was a major bank, the New York Cotton Exchange and later headquarters for W.R. Grace & Co.). It is at One Hanover Square, hard by Wall Street and is also within walking distance from the hotel. 

    Our elegant dining room operated by Bayard’s Catering is only available to private parties. It is so special that nearly all the New Yorkers to whom we mentioned it had not heard of it! Our third floor Marine Room, like the entire facility, features maritime art. It has a 14-foot ceiling, seashell chandeliers and a maritime molding. The room will be ours alone.

    We’ll offer a starter, choice of main course (vegetarian option available), a dessert and beer or wine throughout. It promises to be a most memorable dining experience in an elegant, historic setting that speaks of another time. 

55 Water Street. The site includes an elevated boardwalk and an illuminated, rectangular glass beacon all overlooking the East River.

    Local committee members will lead those interested in a post-dinner tour of the historic Stone Street – a cobblestone street dating from the early 17thcentury and 55 Water Street with its elevated acre of public public realm punctuated by an iconic lighted cube. Along the way a chance to try local watering holes if so desired.

Friday October 28th Battery Gardens $155*

Battery Gardens - a restaurant with sweeping panoramic views of glorious New York Harbor, including historic Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty.
*Note: All dinner costs include a multi-course meal, wine, tax and gratuity.

    Friday evening after the hosted awards reception we’ll experience yet another special place, at the very tip of Manhattan, the Battery Gardens Restaurant. We can take a 15-minute stroll from the hotel through Battery Park and the top honor award-winning Batter Bosque. We’ll have the second floor dining room to ourselves for our Gala 30th Anniversary Dinner and Fund-Raiser. Our unobstructed views of the harbor will take in the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Staten Island ferry landing next door.

    The cuisine here will be prepared by award-winning chef Ari Nieminen. There will be a starter, choice of two entrees and dessert, with wine and of course champagne toasts.

    We’ll have a fine time toasting not only the 2011 “Excellence on the Waterfront” award winning projects, plans and citizen efforts but also single out New York area award winners from 1987-2011! We’ll keep the program short to allow maximum time for a convivial evening of socializing and networking. It promises to be a dazzling party sited in one of the most spectacular waterfront settings in the world.

    The Gala Dinner is the social highlight of the Urban Waterfront 2011 Conference: “Thirty Years and Counting.”

    Proceeds from the dinner will support creation of an interactive database on the Center’s Web site containing information on all of the award-winning work chosen by interdisciplinary juries since 1987. Included will be photos, descriptions, jury comments and current contact information. The material will be organized to be searchable by a variety of categories, such as type or work, location, year or sponsor.

    An estimated 375 projects, plans, citizen efforts and student work will be included.

The Global Waterfront Center Newsletter

The Waterfront Center Conference Cutoff Deadlines Extended

The Waterfront Center Website Newsletter

The Waterfront Center maintains a website (http://www.waterfrontcenter.org/) which announces future activities and records past ones.  

The Waterfront Center Homepage

 Over the last few years the content of this website has grown steadily.  There is a description of the Waterfront Center and details about its mission, information about consulting services, books and publications, posts of newsletters and links to the Waterfront Center blog and Facebook page.  New this year has been the addition of PowerPoint presentations given at last year’s conference.

The Waterfront Center Conference and Award Pages

            The greatest growth in the webpage content has been in the Conference and Excellence on the Waterfront Awards pages.  The Conference page now contains details of the current year’s conference including the conference brochure, online registration and registration forms, brochures of previous conferences and images from boat tours of previous conferences.  

            The Awards page contains award application forms, judging criteria and details of the past nine years award winners including images of the award winning projects.  The most recent award records include images, jury comments, hyperlinks to award winners websites and links to Google Maps showing the location of projects.  A project called “Gems of the Waterfront 1987 – 2012” is now under way to catalog the all the award winning projects of the past 25 years and post them on this web page in a searchable database that will allow users to find projects of interest.  This page is becoming a major archive of the best of international waterfront planning and design.  

The Waterfront Center Webpage Views August 2010 and August 2011

            The growth of The Waterfront Center webpage is reflected in the growth of visits.  In August 2010 the average number of visits was about 170 per day.  By August 2011 the number of visits had more than doubled to an average of about 380 per day.  The Conference and Awards pages have been the major drivers of this growth.

The Waterfront Center Page Views August 2010 and August 2011

            Page views have almost tripled from an average of 471 per day in August 2010 to 1350 in August 2011.

Location of Waterfront Center Webpage August 2011 Viewers  

         The Waterfront Center is a global organization as the location of webpage viewers shows.  While the majority of viewers are from he United States there are a significant number from the Russian Federation , China , Europe and the United Kingdom .  

The Waterfront Center Webpage August 2011 Downloads  

         The Waterfront Center webpage is not only viewed but there are significant downloads of the conference brochure, the registration and award application forms and the conference PowerPoint presentations.  

         The growth of the Waterfront Center webpage is planned to continue.  Besides the Awards database discussed above more of the PowerPoint presentations will be posted this year, some with sound recordings of the presentation.  The goal is to make this website a major global resource for waterfront planning and design.

September 2011 Newsletter

OCTOBER 5 --  Urban Waterfronts 2011 Cut-off Dates Loom  -- OCTOBER 5

HOTEL

    October 5 - four weeks from Wednesday - is the cut-off date to guarantee the conference rate of $229 for the New York Marriott Downtown. 1-800/266 9432 or 212 385 4900.

    If you are coming to New York for the conference, we urge you to stay at the hotel to take advantage of this stellar rate. The regular rate for our conference dates ranges from $469 to over $500! Act today.  If you encounter any problems, please call and let us know. A block is being held until October 5.

    Our hotel is well situated to visit Battery Park City which is 99% complete. If you have not been to New York for a while you are in for a treat. The Battery itself is a short walk away with its beautiful gardens and the jumping off point for the Staten Island  and the Statue of Liberty ferries. An extensive bike trail is available right across Water Street.  The sleeping  rooms are comfortably spacious by New York standards and there are views of the harbor from a large number of rooms, so ask for one. 

CONFERENCE

 

    October 5 is also the cut-off date to get the early bird registration rates. Save $100 by signing up early. 

    Register on line or print out the form.  Visit: www.waterfrontcenter.org.

August 2011 Newsletter

Waterfront Center 2011 Awards Jury

top row: l-r  Nicole Faghin, AECOM, Seattle; Peter Kuttner, Cambridge Seven, Cambridge, MA and Bradford McKee

bottom row: l-r Jonathan Goldstick, Halcrow, New York, NY and Kent MacIntyre, St. John Waterfront Development

 Jury meets. The 2011 Excellence on the Waterfront jury met at the end of July in Cape May, N.J., selecting seven projects, two plans, a student award and a Clearwater award for citizen activism. The winners will be announced at the Center’s annual conference on Friday, October 28, at 4:30 p.m..

                   Serving on this year’s jury were:

                   • Jonathan Goldstick, senior vice president, Halcrow Inc., New York, N.Y., chairman,

                   • Nicole Faghin, senior associate/planning, AECOM, Seattle, Wash.,

                   • Peter Kuttner, president, Cambridge Seven Associates Inc., Cambridge, Mass.,

                   • Kent MacIntyre, general manager, Saint John Waterfront Development, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada and

                   • Bradford McKee, editor, Landscape Architecture, Washington, D.C.

                   The jury began deliberations at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 29, working through until 6 p.m. Complicating their task was the entry of 12 comprehensive planning documents, all of which had to be carefully read. Two were ultimately selected, one of which was chosen for Top Honor – Plans. The final cuts were made on Saturday morning with seven projects surviving, one of which was selected for Top Honor – Projects. The work covers a wide range of types and geography, including some stunning imagery.

                   A booklet illustrating and describing this year’s Excellence on the Waterfront winners will be available Friday afternoon at the conference. Steve Durrant, principal of Alta Planning & Design, Portland, Ore., does the design and layout. 

Gala Dinner. As of the end of July, a total of 90 seats at the Gala Dinner and Fundraiser had been spoken for, including two tables. AECOM, San Francisco, and the American Institute for Architects Center for Community Design, Washington, D.C., have each reserved a table seating 10.

Battery Gardens Restaurant

                   The dinner/fundraiser will be held in a private room at the Battery Gardens Restaurant at the tip of Manhattan, offering stunning views of New York Harbor. Award-winning cuisine by chef Ari Nieminen will be offered. Proceeds will go toward the planned “Gems of the Waterfront” searchable data base on the Center’s Web site, containing illustrations and descriptions of all award-winning projects, plans, citizens and students selected from 1987 through next year’s awards program.

Ken Greenberg

 Greenberg Speaker. Ken Greenberg, principal of Greenberg Consultants Inc. of Toronto, will be this year’s finale presenter, on Saturday October 29. An architect and urban designer, Ken’s track record covers major plans and projects around the world, including numerous waterfront assignments. Such as a development plan for the Mississippi in St. Paul, Minn., the Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York now under development (see below), the  East River waterfront in Manhattan, Fan Pier in Boston and the riverfronts of Washington, D.C., among others.

                   Ken is also a frequent lecturer and teacher, stressing the importance of a lively and sustainable public realm in our cities. His is a holistic approach to city building that strives for consensus. He has been the Charles Moore Visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of Michigan and has taught Masters studios in urban design at UC Berkeley, Harvard Graduate School of Design, L’Universite de Montreal, University of Pennsylvania and the University of Toronto.

                   He received the Thomas Jefferson Award for public design excellence in 2010 from the American Institute of Architects. He has just published Walking Home: The Life and Lessons of a City Builder (Random House), copies of which will be available at the conference. 

Conference Program. Twenty-seven presenters have been secured for the Center’s four-track, day-and-a-half program. Invitations are out to the remaining seven slots. The range of topics this year includes the Working Waterfront, The Blue Trails Movement, Historic Harbors as Economic Generators and the Role of Art and Artists. There will also be a look back at waterfront redevelopments that reach back 30 years or more, reflecting the conference theme of “THIRTY YEARS AND COUNTING.”         

News of the Waterfront World

 Water Trails. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has named 22 rail-trails to its “Hall of Fame” and – no surprise – many are on waterfronts. Such as the KatyTrail State Park named in 2007. The longest such trail in the country, it runs alongside the Missouri River following the path of Lewis and Clark in the early 1800’s.Then there’s the Burke-Gilman Trail running from Seattle to Bothell, alongside Lake Union, the University of Washington campus before winding up a few blocks from Puget Sound. And the Island Line, selected in 2010, which navigates through woods, bogs, beaches and harbors, Burlington to Colchester,Vermont, 14 miles in all. The signature is a 3.5-mile causeway across Lake Champlain.

Rails to Trails, fall, 2011.

Urban Surgery. Three young dreamers in Mexico City – the oldest is 32 -- are proposing to restore three rivers now paved over that run through the city center. There would be a few car lanes allowed on the edges, but the rivers would be opened up (and cleaned up). The River Piedad (Pity), for instance, has an eight-mile stretch that the three advocates think could be restored for $1 billion. The minister of the environment for Mexico City, Martha Delgado, thinks rescuing rivers is a good idea, but pleads lack of funds. She also doesn’t think the Rio Piedad is a real river anymore and favors working on another river, Rio Magdelana, which is not covered in concrete. There is a rehabilitation plan for it prepared by an economist at the Autonomous University of Mexico, Manuel Perio Cohen. Perhaps the best known instance of “daylighting” a river occurs in Seoul,  South Korea, the Chongaue Canal.

The New York Times, June 1, 2011. 

Park Advances. Two big steps forward were taken recently to push ahead  the partially completed Brooklyn Bridge Park. Planning for the eventual 85-acre public space began in earnest in 2002. In the first week of August, 2011, an agreement was reached to limit the amount of commercial development that was included in the master plan, revenues from which would help maintain the park. Instead of housing at the southern end of the park, there will be new development in nearby Brooklyn Heights. Later in the same week, Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp. issued a request for proposals for a residential-hotel project at Pier One, containing up to 225 hotel rooms and as many as 180 apartment units. This development was termed a “critical element” of the park’s maintenance and operation plans, put at $16 million a year, according to Regina Myer, president of Brooklyn Bridge Park. The park master plan received a Waterfront Center       Honor Award in 2010.

Crain’s New York Business.com, August 4, 2011. 

Unintended Consequences. It was to be the symbol of a revitalized New London, Conn., waterfront. Instead a sculpted whale’s tail fountain has become the subject of major controversy. A homeless person used the fountain to wash clothes; others term it an “$11 million bathroom,”  the number for the entire project, including a plaza, amphitheater and the fountain. It was closed earlier this year while the city sought a decision on whether the fountain was in fact a water park pool, in which case it could have more chlorination and perhaps a fence. The fountain has its supporters; the director of a nearby maritime museum sees it as the “crown jewel” of the plaza and a draw for visitors. It had to be shut within two weeks of opening because of contamination in the recycled water.

The New York Times, June 9, 2011.

July 2011 Newsletter

• 2010, Ballast Point Park, Sydney, Australia.

• 2009, The Confluence Project, Columbia River, Washington State and Oregon.

• 2008, Zhongshan Shipyard Park, Guangdong Province, China

• 2007, Wetland Park, Hong Kong, China and Floating Gardens, Yongning River Park, Taizhou City, China

• 2006, The Battery Bosque, The Battery, New York City and Victoria Dock Bridge, London, UK

 

 Online Conference Registration 

 Online Donation 

 Google Maps location links for 2010 Awards 

May 4, 2011 Newsletter

Photo by Willard Whitson

THIRTY YEARS AND COUNTING

On Sunday May 1 The Waterfront Center celebrated achieving the ripe old age of 30. Incorporated as a not-for-profit educational corporation, papers were notarized on May Day, 1981. We have, as they say, come a long way since then, have traveled the country and globe and like to think we’ve contributed to the appreciation by cities everywhere that their waterfronts constitute vital assets.  

Did somebody say New York City? Where a comprehensive plan for that city’s huge waterfront was recently adopted.  Learn about it during the Center’s harbor tour on Thursday, October 27, offered as an option during our annual conference in New York: Urban Waterfronts 2011 – Thirty Years and Counting. Visit our Web site for details: www.waterfrontcenter.org.  

Trouble in River City

Citizens for an Alternative Alexandria (Va.) Waterfront oppose the city’s $42 million draft plan, two years in the making. Headed by a former city councilman, Andrew MacDonald, the group charges the plan is commerce-heavy and light on park space or museums. The city says the development is needed to provide flood control. The citizens counter that parks can withstand floods. Also opposing the city’s vision are the Old Town Civic Association and Greater Alexandria Preservation Alliance.  The Washington Post, May 1, 2011.

 Build It – Will They Come?

 “They” in this case are cruise ships and ferries. The local port authority is about to open a $21.5-million dock on the Detroit River, between Hart Plaza and the Renaissance Center. Funded in large part by the U.S. Department of Transportation as one of eight projects in the country to promote maritime transportation, it remains to be seen if ferry service between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is feasible. A market study is under way and service possible as early as next year, aimed at an estimated 6,000 cross-river commuters. In the meantime, the Grande Mariner, a 96-passenger cruise boat, will spend a night at the dock on a  July 15-23 cruise from Chicago to Toronto and again at the end of the month.  The port hopes to land the Yorktown next year, a 138-passenger vessel said to be thinking about cruising the Great Lakes. The owner of Great Lakes Cruise in Ann Arbor, Mich., is enthused, looking at the attraction of an international airport and a major chain hotel in the Renaissance Center. The dock will be dedicated next month.

Detroit Free Press, May 3, 2011.

 Data Base Project Launched

 The Center has hundreds of pieces of mail in the works here and abroad, asking for updated information from past award winners. The object is to post information on all award-winning projects, plans, citizen efforts and student work on a searchable data base on the Center’s Web site. Begun with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1987, the Center’s ”Excellence on the Waterfront” awards program has recognized about 350 efforts to date; by the convening of the 25^th awards jury next year, there will be a total of approximately 375 entries. The deadline for entering this year’s awards program is July 1, by which date submittals must be postmarked. The data base project has a budget of $94,000 and donations are being sought.

April 19, 2011 Newsletter

WATERFRONT WORLD

A periodic electronic newsletter of The Waterfront Center containing waterfront news items from around the world. Source given for news items.

CENTER JURY NAMED; ENTRY DEADLINE JULY 1

A five-person interdisciplinary jury has been selected to review entries in The Waterfront Center’s “Excellence on the Waterfront” award program. Entries must be postmarked by July 1. The jury will assemble in Cape May, N.J., on July 28 to 30.

Heading the 2011 jury is Jonathan Goldstick, senior vice president, Halcrow Inc., New York, New York. Joining him will be:

Nicole Faghin, senior associate/planning, AECOM< Seattle, Washington;

Peter Kuttner, president, Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts;

Kent MacIntyre, general manager, Saint John Waterfront Development, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, and

Bradford McKee, editor, Landscape Architecture magazine, Washington, District of Columbia.

The entry form and instructions are on the Center’s Web site: www.waterfrontcenter.org/awards. The requirements are simple: up to 20 images and a two-page narrative. Additional material is welcome. Entries are for substantially built projects in any of nine categories, adopted comprehensive waterfront plans, grassroots citizen work that can be an individual or a non-profit organization, and student planning work.

Winners are announced at the Center’s annual conference, to be held October 27-to-29, 2011, in New York City.

NEWS NOTES

• Brooklyn Bridge Park Opens

Vacant since 1983, the question of what to do with empty piers along Brooklyn’s waterfront has been the center of, shall we say, considerable discussion. Finally in 2002 an agreement between the city and the state set the stage for a significant intervention that puts Brooklynites in touch with the East River at long last. Last spring saw the completion of two components, pier one, a green, grassy park space, and part of pier six. Major controversy arose over the decision to have commercial development on 10 acres (of the 85 total), revenues from which are to help maintain the park. Obstacles to be addressed included major highway noise; berms are part of the solution. Total project cost is $350 million and completion slated for 2015. Planning for the park by landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates received an Honor Award from The Waterfront Center in 2009. The jury had high praise for the strong civic design employed and for what it termed the poetic integration of landscape, water and built elements. The park will be featured on an optional tour Saturday afternoon Oct. 29 during the Center’s annual conference.

Landscape Architecture, January, 2011

• Thinking Big Out West

The plan is to make the Colorado River waterfront in Bullhead City, Arizona, “one of the world’s greatest.” Called “The Wave,” the mixed-use project is the concept of landscape architect Barnabas Kane of Prescott, who acknowledges it is nothing if not ambitious. “It’s going to take more than one developer to pull this thing off,” he is quoted. Envisioned is a mile-long canopy supporting a photovoltaic solar installation providing eight million watts or electricity and cooling temperatures underneath by 10 degrees. Under the canopy would be a convention center, bars and restaurants, office space and housing, plus a sky tram from nearby Laughlin through “The Wave” to the Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport. The area is due south of Las Vegas.

Mohave Daily News, Jan. 19, 2011

• Multi-Modal at the Battery

Construction taking 10 years was completed last fall of a combination transit hub and park at the Battery, the major public attraction at the foot of Manhattan. Adjoining the new Staten Island Ferry Terminal is a new subway station serving the Number One line. The Battery Conservancy lobbied for this location instead of an earlier proposal to put the station amid lawn and mature trees. Travelers using the ferry are greeted by a handsome plaza surrounded by 5,000 square feet of trees, shrubs and gardens. The New Amsterdam Plaza will offer seasonally fresh foods as well as an information booth managed by the Alliance for Downtown New York. The Battery is the location of our Gala Dinner and Fundraiser on Friday, October 28, at Battery Gardens Restaurant. The Battery Bosque landscaped area here received a Top Honor Award from the Center in 2006.

The Battery Conservancy News, fall, 2010

• Trail Extension in Baltimore

It’s called Phase II of the Jones Falls Tail and will involve using portions of Pratt, Calvert and Light Streets in the city. It will use an existing trolley land and portions of sidewalk. Estimated to cost between $5 and $10 million, the multi-use trail will involve 68 pedestrian ramps. Bids were being sought this winter by the Board of Estimates.

Engineering News-Record, Feb. 28, 2011  

April 2011 Newsletter

WATERFRONT WORLD

 Conference Venues Selected

 A special feature of Waterfront Center conferences over the past 28 years has been our distinctive dining options for three nights. These evenings allow people to get to renew old friendships and make new ones over a good meal. Usually a combination of value-for-dollar, often a waterfront location and sometimes a little quirkiness.

In New York’s up-and -coming Lower Manhattan neighborhood, we think we’re outdoing ourselves for this October! 

Brasserie Les Halles is a typical Parisian brasserie serving fresh and simple dishes of France’s everyday cuisine.

Wednesday night October 27, in advance of the all-day tour of New York Harbor planned by our local committee, we’ll kick off at Brasserie Les Halles at 15 John Street. Renowned for legendary chef/author Anthony Bourdain’s involvement, this little bit of Paris in Manhattan is at once casual and lively. Writes chef and cable food show host Mike Colameco

            “I only wish there were more restaurants in New York that offered reasonably priced, well-executed food with friendly service in a great, convivial dining room.”*        

He goes on to praise the reliable, inexpensive and consistently satisfying brasserie fare. He calls it one of his favorites for casual French dining. We’ll offer appetizer, a choice of three main courses as well as a dessert. Wine and beer throughout. Tax and tip included. We’ll be in a cozy private dining space upstairs with our own facilities. Setting out from our hotel York Marriott Downtown, it is about a 15-minute walk.

*Mike Colameco’s Food Lover’s Guide to New York – An Insider’s Guide to New York City’s Gastronomic Delights  (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2009)

 Whether for an intimate gathering or a gala event, Bayard's guarantees a memorable celebration in an elegant setting.

On Thursday night, after the hosted opening reception at the hotel amidst our exhibitors, everyone signing up for this option will be in for a   completely different experience, in a building dating to the 1830’s. Bayard’s is housed in a building known as the India House since 1914 (prior to becoming a center for foreign trade it was a major bank, the New York Cotton Exchange and later headquarters for W.R. Grace & Co.). It is at One Hanover Square, hard by Wall Street and is also within walking distance from the hotel.  

 Our elegant dining room operated by Bayard’s Catering is only available to private parties. It is so special that nearly all the New Yorkers to whom we mentioned it had not heard of it! Our third floor Marine Room, like the entire facility, features maritime art. It has a 14-foot ceiling, seashell chandeliers and a maritime molding. The room will be ours alone.

We’ll offer a starter, choice of main course (vegetarian option available), a dessert and beer or wine throughout. It promises to be a most memorable dining experience in an elegant, historic setting that speaks of another time. 

55 Water Street.  The site includes an elevated boardwalk and an illuminated, rectangular glass beacon all overlooking the East River.  

Local committee members will lead those interested in a post-dinner tour of the historic Stone Street – a cobblestone street dating from the early 17^th century and 55 Water Street with its elevated acre of public public realm punctuated by an iconic lighted cube. Along the way a chance to try local watering holes if so desired. 

 Battery Gardens - a restaurant with sweeping panoramic views of glorious New York Harbor, including historic Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty. 

Friday evening after the hosted awards reception we’ll experience yet another special place, at the very tip of Manhattan, the Battery Gardens Restaurant. We can take a 15-minute stroll from the hotel through Battery Park and the top honor award-winning Batter Bosque. We’ll have the second floor dining room to ourselves for our Gala 30^th Anniversary Dinner and Fund-Raiser. Our unobstructed views of the harbor will take in the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Staten Island ferry landing next door.

The cuisine here will be prepared by award-winning chef Ari Nieminen. There will be a starter, choice of two entrees and dessert, with wine and of course champagne toasts.

We’ll have a fine time toasting not only the 2011 “Excellence on the Waterfront” award winning projects, plans and citizen efforts but also single out New York area award winners from 1987-2011! We’ll keep the program short to allow maximum time for a convivial evening of socializing and networking. It promises to be a dazzling party sited in one of the most spectacular waterfront settings in the world.

The Gala Dinner is the social highlight of the Urban Waterfront 2011 Conference: “Thirty Years and Counting.”

Proceeds from the dinner will support creation of an interactive database on the Center’s Web site containing information on all of the award-winning work chosen by interdisciplinary juries since 1987.  Included will be photos, descriptions, jury comments and current contact information.  The material will be organized to be searchable by a variety of categories, such as type or work, location, year or sponsor.

An estimated 375 projects, plans, citizen efforts and student work will be included.

Pricing information for these special occasions will be included in the conference mailing piece due out in May.

CONFERENCE SET OCT 27-29, 2011

“THIRTY YEARS AND COUNTING” is the theme of this year’s Waterfront Center conference, to be held in New York City in October. This is in recognition of the Center’s 30th anniversary in 2011 as well as the approximate date when the waterfront redevelopment phenomenon took hold in this country and abroad.

 

To reflect the theme, one of the conference’s 12 panels will feature cities whose  waterfront work dates back at least 30 years. Candidates include London and Liverpool UK, Newport, R.I., Oakland, Calif., Seattle, Wash. and St. Louis, Mo. 

 

For over 25 years the Center’s conference has been recognized as the premier international waterfront meeting, bringing together a wide range of practitioners from varied disciplines and geography. In all the Urban Waterfronts 2011 will feature 33 presenters, from cities of all sizes and from a range of geography including overseas. In addition there is to be a keynote feature and a closing presentation. A conference highlight is the first announcement of the winners of the Center’s annual awards program. The 2001 jury chairman is Jonathan Goldstick, senior vice president, Halcrow Inc., New York, N.Y.

 

New this year is availability of a partial registration on Saturday, Oct. 29. This will include a continental breakfast, choice of four simultaneous panels, closing plenary session and an optional choice of an afternoon seminar and tour.

 

All conference sessions and social functions -- two receptions, two breakfasts and the conference luncheon, all included in the regular registration – will be held at the New York Marriott Downtown at 85 West St., near Battery Park City and Wall Street.

 

A pre-conference workshop featuring a sampling of the New York area’s waterfront projects will be conducted all day on Thursday, Oct. 27. Special briefings and on-site tours will be organized by a host local committee, headed by Donna Walcavage, principal/vice president at AECOM and Roland Lewis, president and CEO, Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, both New York City.

 

WATERFRONT AWARDS

DEADLINE: JULY 1, 2011

The Waterfront Center’s annual awards program is a chance for cities, design firms and developers, as well as citizens groups and students, to receive recognition for their waterfront achievements. 

What distinguishes the Center’s awards is that the winners are selected by an interdisciplinary jury. Participants range from public artists to engineers to civic leaders and designers. The 2011 jury will be chaired by Jonathan Goldstick, senior vice president, Halcrow Inc. New York City. 

 

The entry requirements are simple: 20 illustrations and a two-page narrative, with any additional material desired contained in a three-ring binder. Entries must be postmarked by July 1, 2011.

 

Awards are made in four categories: 

 

• projects (must be substantially completed), 

• comprehensive plans, 

• grassroots citizen efforts (called the Clearwater Award), 

• students.

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        Entry form and judging criteria are on the Center’s Web site:  http://www.waterfrontcenter.org/Awards/awards2010 . The winners are first announced at the Center’s annual conference, October 28 in New York City. A handsome four-color booklet will illustrate and describe the 2011 winners. The past six-year’s booklets appear on the Center’s Website and are available for purchase through the Center. 

The awards program was begun in 1987 with a grant from the National Endowment for the arts. With the 2012 program, there will have been 25 years of recognition of top urban waterfront work from around the world, totaling approximately 325 activities. The Center is seeking funding to enable it to put all of the winners on its Web site. Each entry will be illustrated, described and current contact information provided. The work will be accessible by award year, type of project and geography. The winners from 2004 to 2010 are currently on the Web site, with links offered to entrants.

 

The 2011 jury will convene in Cape May, N.J., in late July. 

Post Conference Newsletter 2010

Images from the Baltimore conference boat trip.

In January co-directors Breen and Rigby were taken on a sunny, but very chilly reconnaissance tour of the Harbor by board member, David Benn. Below are some scenes to whet your appetite for November’s meeting. The local committee is pulling together a great local workshop for November 4.

If you have not been to Baltimore recently, you are in for some major surprises! The Inner Harbor East area, a new mixed-use neighborhood that has sprung up in recent years immediately next to the Inner Harbor that dates to the 1970’s, is bursting with vitality.

Inner Harbor East contains residences – the key in our view to dynamic inner city neighborhoods – plus offices, hotels, shops, restaurants and cultural features. With fabulous views of the harbor.

View from the water of Inner Harbor East neighborhood. From left to right:  in the foreground,
new development occurring on the Allied Chemical site,
the Frederick Douglass & Isaac Myers Maritime Park and Museum (an Excellence on the Waterfront honor award winner).
The new Legg Mason office tower and other office and residential development in the background. I.M. Pei’s World Trade Center on the Inner Harbor can be seen on the far left.

    The neighborhood flows into Fells Point, the preserved historic maritime district (which still houses tugboats) and is a short distance from the National Aquarium and the downtown.

View of historic Fells Point shoreline including the City Pier familiar to many from the TV drama Homicide.

    This is the site of our conference hotel, the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront which, as the name suggests, fronts on the harbor and affords great views.

The Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel has a commanding position on the harbor with a public promenade along the water’s edge.
The public works museum is next door, off to left of the hotel.

    Nearby is the Frederick Douglas – Isaac Myers Maritime Museum, a 2007 Honor Award winner that will be a venue for one of our conference events. It combines a handsome new addition with restoration of the oldest remaining industrial warehouse and pier on Baltimore’s waterfront.

Baltimore is justly proud of it’s extensive public access which is handsomely signed along the shoreline.

    You’ll also want to visit projects in the Canton and Locust Point areas.

   

Extensive townhome community along the waterfront in the Canton neighborhood. Lively marina scene even in winter.  Industrial artifact retained as reminder of area’s past and handsome public promenade around a new residential development in Canton.
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              Interpretive signage on Locust Point waterfront.        Street-end public access pier in Locust Point neighborhood.

CITY OF NORTH VANCOUVER – FOOT OF LONSDALE RFQ

The City of North Vancouver is requesting responses to Request for Qualifications for the Foot of Lonsdale – Land Use Plan and Public Open Space Design. The Foot of Lonsdale is a key location within our city, situated at the base of the North Shore mountains where the land meets the water, the Foot of Lonsdale connects the terminus of the City’s main commercial corridor with the North Shore of Burrard Inlet across from Downtown Vancouver. It is envisioned that the Foot of Lonsdale will provide commercial / retail activities, civic amenities, public open space, opportunities for enhanced ecological function and will serve to complement and connect adjacent developments, incorporate an existing tug boat operation and provide public access to the waterfront. The project area includes both land (1.08 acres) and water lots (2.87 acres). The project will be comprised of three main components; a comprehensive overall land use plan, the design for public open space and the development of an implementation plan, with rigorous stakeholder and public consultation throughout.
For more information, please see: http://www.cnv.org/BidNotices

        In which we feature select projects from our archives that date to the early 1980’s. Here we put the spotlight on a very special waterfront building form -- the boathouse.

       
Conibear Shellhouse, Seattle, Washington
Photo: courtesy of Miller/Hull

Hartford Boathouse at night.
photos courtesy of Riverfront Recapture.

View of East Penobscot  Bay from the public pathway on the Center for WoodenBoat's campus

Photo: The Waterfront Center.