As part of a larger scheme to revitalize the South Street Seaport, a new ice skating rink, developed by the Howard Hughes Corporation and designed by our friends at Rockwell Group, is coming to the roof of the Pier 17 entertainment/leisure complex by our friends at SHoP Architects. The proposed ice rink would be slightly smaller than that at Rockefeller Center and would feature a skate shop and a warming hut. As Pier 17 is part of the South Street Seaport Historic District, the project will only be able to move forward if it is approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Hughes sees the rink as a means of attracting visitors to the Seaport at wintertime, where previously people stayed away in the colder months; a similar strategy having been employed at Rockefeller Center and more recently Bryant Park. The “winter village” will join other Pier 17 projects such as the Heineken Riverdeck waterfront bar designed by our friends at Woods Bagot, as well as restaurants from Jean-Georges Vongerichten, David Chang, and Andrew Carmellini, and a 19,K SqFt ESPN studio.
