[NYguy]

http://tribecatrib.com/news/2012/apr...issioners.html

Big Remake of Pier 17 Mall Looks Headed for Landmarks Approval




By Jessica Terrell
Apr. 18

With its sleek glass walls and cobblestone walkways, Howard Hughes Corporation’s design for a modern new Pier 17 mall in the South Street Seaport won praise from members of the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday.

But could a swanky design be enough to attract New Yorkers to a new version of what has, so far, been a commercially disappointing shopping destination for tourists? Of that, commissioners viewing the plans sounded less certain.

“What is being proposed, with respect to the new structure, is more appropriate to the pier than the [current] building,” Commissioner Margery Perlmutter told representatives from Howard Hughes Corp. and their designer, SHoP Architects. “Having said that, I am still very frightened about the idea of a shopping mall in New York City. We don't do shopping malls.”

“It was suggested that the Pier 17 mall has failed because the public got weary of festival marketplaces. Yet this is still a mall. It is still shopping,” Commissioner Frederick Bland said. “Does this work? Do people shop on piers?”

Howard Hughes Corp., which took over the Pier 17 development from General Growth Properties, is banking that the answer will be “yes.”