Developer Fortis Property Group has put up a new website for its redevelopment of the contentious Long Island College Hospital (LICH) campus in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, revealing a new suite of renderings for the luxury neighborhood-in-a-neighborhood.
After Fortis declined to wage a zoning battle in 2016 and decided to build out their as-of-right scheme on the LICH campus, the developers renamed the sprawling site River Par. The contentious project is being split into several parcels among different designers, with five new market-rate residential buildings across River Park, and a renovation and conversion of the landmarked Polhemus Building and nearby townhouses into luxury housing.
With the phase one renovation of the 1897 Beaux Arts Polhemus Building already underway, more details about the five planned towers are slowly coming to light. Information and images of the Romines Architecture PLLC-designed, split-volume 5 River Park were released in January, and now renderings of 1 and 2 River park have been made public.
1 River Park, designed by FXCollaborative, will feature an undulating series of facades across a glassy curtainwall. While the design was supposedly inspired by the interplay of light and waves on the nearby East River, it also bears certain biomorphic qualities. The balconies, some of which will be up to 300 square feet, will directly face the East River. The 15-story tower will hold 48 units ranging in size from studios to three bedrooms.
2 River Park will be River Park’s tallest project at 475 feet tall. Designed by Hill West Architects, the tower will also feature a split-volume massing; one section will be clad in curved glass (to preserve views of the river) and rise to a tapered point, while the rectangular lower section will have vertical stone louvers running up its sides. The masonry section at the building’s base reference a mast, with the billowing glass half on top referencing a sail blowing in the wind. While the exact number of units for 2 River Park hasn’t been made public yet, Fortis is promising “half-an-acre of sky gardens” for residents.
Fortis has released a new master plan rendering as well, which shows how the new towers will slot into the existing neighborhood, as well as the Polhemus Building and Polhemus townhouses. The eight townhouses have also received updated renderings, and BKSK Architects is handling the renovated of the Polhemus tower, whileRomines Architecture is responsible for the townhouses.
Construction on River Park is expected to wrap up in 2020.