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May­or Bloomberg Announces Ground­break­ing for The Hills

Jul 25, 2013 5:11 pm
[cap­tion id=“attachment_7101” align=“aligncenter” width=“300”]Rendering Courtesy West 8 Ren­der­ing Cour­tesy West 8[/caption] Today, May­or Michael Bloomberg held a press con­fer­ence on Gov­er­nors Island to break ground on The Hills, an excit­ing new phase in the Island’s trans­for­ma­tion. Made pos­si­ble by $36 mil­lion in pri­vate funds, includ­ing a $15 mil­lion dona­tion from Wendy and Eric Schmidt, The Hills are an extra­or­di­nary addi­tion to the 30 acres of new park and pub­lic spaces cur­rent­ly under con­struc­tion. Set to open in 2015, the four hills will cov­er 11 acres of the South Island and range from 28 to 82 feet in height. They will be posi­tioned along­side oth­er new aspects of the park also under con­struc­tion, includ­ing play lawns, gar­dens and forests. This engag­ing topo­graph­ic fea­ture will not only pro­vide New York­ers with a unique envi­ron­men­tal expe­ri­ence, but also pro­duce panoram­ic views of New York Har­bor. Unmatched per­spec­tives of Low­er Man­hat­tan, Brook­lyn, Stat­en Island and the Stat­ue of Lib­er­ty will all be with­in the sight lights formed from this new land­scape. West 8, the firm respon­si­ble for design­ing the trans­for­ma­tion of the Island, bal­anced form and func­tion as pri­or­i­ties in the cre­ation of the Hills. In addi­tion to the aes­thet­ic appeal of the new fea­ture, the raised ele­va­tion will also pro­tect the Island’s veg­e­ta­tion against the threat of ris­ing sea lev­els. The Hills will also be acces­si­ble to vis­i­tors of all ages, with areas to slide, climb, rest, and play. With over $250 mil­lion invest­ed in the trans­for­ma­tion and improve­ment of the Island’s infra­struc­ture, The Hills rep­re­sent Gov­er­nors Island’s mis­sion to offer oppor­tu­ni­ties for New York­ers to inter­act with their inspir­ing sur­round­ings. ​“The con­struc­tion of these incred­i­ble Hills will con­tin­ue the trans­for­ma­tion of Gov­er­nors Island,” said May­or Bloomberg, ​“and will cre­ate a land­mark in New York Har­bor that will be enjoyed for gen­er­a­tions to come.” High-res­o­lu­tion ren­der­ings and ani­ma­tion avail­able for fur­ther information. 

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