The federal government wants to build a massive system of storm surge gates and seawalls to protect the New York harbor region from flooding and has put forth a much-delayed plan that would remake coastal areas from upper Manhattan down to Jamaica Bay.
The Army Corps estimates construction on the $52 billion project would begin in 2030 and be complete by 2044. The project must be first approved by federal, state and local officials and funded before any of the work can start.
— The City
The New York District, North Atlantic Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a 569-page report outlining a coastal storm risk management feasibility study. According to The City's Samantha Maldonado, a public comment period will be held through January 6th, 2023, as a means to... View full entry
The Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA|LA) has released an open letter to mayoral candidates Rick Caruso and Karen Bass suggesting 10 fixes to zoning requirements and the approval processes that would positively impact citywide efforts to tackle an ongoing housing... View full entry
The effort to engineer new train tunnels across the San Francisco Bay is gaining traction after the planning body responsible for overseeing the massive proposed Link21 infrastructure project unveiled conceptual maps detailing a key segment of the rail network on September 21. The maps offer... View full entry
Following last week’s visit to precision craftspeople XTEN, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series back to New York City this week, where we meet the Design Trust for Public Space. Founded in 1995 to champion and unlock the potential of New York City’s public and shared spaces, the... View full entry
Milwaukee’s $15 million proposal to renovate 150 vacant, city-owned homes is moving forward. On Monday, the Department of City Development (DCD) announced the development teams, a mix of nonprofit and for-profit developers, that will participate in the first round of the Homes MKE initiative. The participants were selected from a request-for-proposals (RFP) process that generated a tremendous response. — Urban Milwaukee
A total of 66 proposals were submitted, an unprecedented number according to the DCD, with 15 developers selected. Milwaukee will sell the houses for as little as $1 and provide an estimated $75,000 development subsidy and grant a $5,000 workforce subsidy. Following the renovations, the properties... View full entry
The Graham Foundation has announced its annual list of organizational grants featuring a total of 36 recipients from around the world whose work furthers institutional goals to support the development and exchange of ideas about architecture and design. This year's class included projects from a... View full entry
New York City is beefing up the effort to prevent a similar tragedy to Hurricane Ida a year removed from the historic storm’s wake of destruction, which left 13 residents dead and hundreds of others permanently displaced. Mayor Eric Adams was on hand yesterday to showcase newly-installed... View full entry
A Dubai-based developer named URB has entered the fray of futuristic community planning in the region after publishing plans for XZero City, a pedestrian-friendly, net-zero carbon community it says will eventually grow to accommodate up to 100,000 people. Billed as a “new paradigm in green urban... View full entry
Toronto residents are expressing their concerns over the Diamond Schmitt-designed plan for a massive new aquatic theme park at Ontario Place they say is “tone-deaf” and exclusionary of their basic needs. Spurred on by the recent release of updated renderings and other details of Therme... View full entry
The ongoing housing crisis in Los Angeles County may soon become the subject of a new dedicated government agency after the California State Assembly voted on Wednesday to approve SB 679. If signed into law, the bill would authorize the county to create an entity called the Los Angeles... View full entry
Even if the office were to go the way of the horse-drawn carriage, the neighborhoods we refer to today as downtowns would endure. Downtowns and the cities they anchor are the most adaptive and resilient of human creations
The rise of remote work today won’t kill off our downtowns, but they will be forced to change once again. And with smart strategies and perseverance on the part of city leaders, real estate developers and the civic community, they can become even better than they were.
— Bloomberg
Writer Richard Florida is back with a new look at the “basic reason” behind his predicted rebound of central business districts, which he claims is an inevitability based on the historic evolution of such areas and recent building trends to convert hotels and office buildings into residential... View full entry
BIG has just released details for a new project called Masterplan Esbjerg Strand in Denmark they say will host a “completely new education platform that will rethink the traditional education system and campus in the country.” The initiative will entail the creation of a 90,500-square-meter... View full entry
Earlier this week, New York Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city has received a $7.25 million federal grant to expand the greenway network across the five boroughs, with a priority on serving historically underserved, lower-income communities. The funding is from the U.S. Department... View full entry
The 2,000-ton final structural piece of Los Angeles International Airport’s new Automated People Mover stations project is in place after the conclusion of its six-month construction phase was announced last week by Balfour Beatty, as part of LINXS Constructors. A total of 127 piles were... View full entry
Formally branded as MetroCenter, the 28-acre district includes the seat of government for Miami-Dade County. When a developer is chosen, they could be given the right to build up to 23.7 million square feet of mixed-use space on 17 acres. The developer could be chosen in 2024, according to the Miami Herald.
The master builder would also get “unlimited height and development intensity” on the land that would be leased long-term to the developers, according to the county.
— Commerical Observer
Reports indicate that the scheme would include up to 8,500 total units, with 2,000 being designated as affordable or workforce housing, according to the RFP. Of the plan’s 11 sites, 9 are earmarked for “vertical development” while the remaining 2 are reserved for parklands. AECOM will serve... View full entry
