RENOVATION IN THE VILLAGE SEES LIFE

RENOVATION OF COOPER SQUARE AND ASTOR PLACE FINALLY SEES PROGRESS

After nearly five years of planning, delays and construction, the GCS community and the Village as a whole will taste the first fruits of the renovation of Astor Place and Cooper Square.

In 2010, the City announced that it had opened bidding for the large-scale renovation. Soon after, a sixteen million dollar deal from WXY Architecture was chosen, to be complete in 2014 and to include a rebuild of the Alamo Plaza, the Copper Triangle and the Astor Subway Island, as well as the construction of a new urban park called “the Village Plaza.”

Ground broke in early 2013, but a dispute between the City, the Parks Department and the MTA quickly stalled the project. For a year much of Noho remained a barren construction site, with work completed only at sporadic intervals. However, this past spring the project finally saw a spark of life. Now, eight months later, the first phase of the renovation, the new Cooper Triangle, is nearly complete.

The renovated Cooper Triangle will, like its predecessor, be a gated park, meant to both serve the community and memorialize Peter Cooper himself. New benches, sidewalks, lights and wavy planters have all been installed. All that is left is the gate and a few more finishing touches.

Just across from the Cooper Triangle, the new Village Plaza has also seen much progress. The basic outline of the soon-to-be park is visible with most of the concrete poured. Over in Astor Place the story is less bright, as progress on both the Alamo Plaza and Astor Place Subway Island remains stagnant. While the city has not released any official updates on their progress, we can be sure that the work will resume soon.

See renderings of the completed renovation below:

Credit: Curbed

Credit: WXY Architecture

Info Credit to Curbed.com and WXY Architecture