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Uncontroversial Coney Steeplechase Plaza Project Stirs Up Muck
April 11, 2008
How much is too much for a plaza around an iconic waterfront Parachute Jump? Some people are complaining that the $4 million the city is spending on planning and designing Coney Island's Steeplechase Plaza is way too much and today's Daily News estimates that it's $42 per square foot design cost "triple the cost for the average city project."
A team of eight firms that includes EDAW and the Rockwell Group is working on the plan for the 2.2 acre site of Steeplechase Plaza. One architect compares the design fee to "pigs at the city's trough" but the Coney Island Development Corp. says it's an investment in a key anchor for the boardwalk and new attraction. The team includes landscape artists, preservation experts, water specialists, entertainment-based developers and a lighting designer to overhaul the 2006 Parachute Jump lighting scheme.
The new plaza, which has been relatively controversy-free for Coney Island will include a pavilion, restaurants, "water display," public space and other features the designers will propose.