Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP) is a not-for-profit entity that transformed, and now manages, the 85 acres along the waterfront in Brooklyn Heights, known as Brooklyn Bridge Park. Over the years, BBP has developed a sustainable “world-class park” featuring promenades, playgrounds, sports facilities and green lawns.[1] On June 1, 2018, BBP announced plans to build a permanent swimming pool at Squibb Park, above Pier 1. Once permits are approved, “NYS Parks intends to enter into an agreement with BBP for the development, operation, and maintenance of a pool and optional related amenities at Squibb Park.”[2]
The swimming pool will take the place of the popular pop-up pool BBP built at Pier 2 in Brooklyn Heights, which will be taken down in 2018 once its five year contract is up. The new swimming pool is just the beginning for Squibb Park, as the community is hopeful that this will spur greater development in the area. Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen noted that “Brooklyn Bridge Park has been one of the great New York success stories – and the forthcoming addition of a permanent swimming pool means it’s only getting better”.[3] Not only did the pop-up pool benefit over 1,500 members of the community, but it also spurred tourism in the area.
Currently Squibb Park only features a tennis court, but the community is eager to bring in world-class amenities. The NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchel Silver explained that, “[w]hile Squibb Park is an underused facility, it serves as a crucial access point to beautiful Brooklyn Bridge Park, making it an ideal location for a permanent outdoor public pool”[4] and eventually for more luxury facilities.
BBP will be holding community planning sessions during the summer and fall to raise financing for the project. Currently, BBP estimates that the cost of constructing the pool will be around $10 – $15 million. BBP will be funding one-third of the project, while the rest will be raised from public and private partnerships with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. So far, BBP has secured financing from Midtown Equities, Alloy Development with Monadnock Construction, and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners.[5]
The CEO and Founder of Alloy Development, Jared Della Valle, expressed the company’s eagerness to contribute to the evolving development of Brooklyn Bridge Park. “Our contribution toward this new public pool continues our commitment to thoughtful public-private partnerships like Brooklyn Bridge Park, and is a good example of how we love to invest in neighborhoods before, during and after our projects to ensure the long term success of the communities that we work in.”[6]
The construction of the swimming pool is set to be complete by the summer of 2020.
[1] Brooklyn Bridge Park. (June 1, 2018) “Brooklyn Bridge Park Announces Plans to Build a Permanent Pool.” Brooklyn Bridge Park. Available at: https://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/press/brooklyn-bridge-park-announces-plans-to-build-a-permanent-pool. Accessed on June 6, 2018.
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