

With all the hubbub over the latest condo projects?Empire Stores and John Street?heading to Brooklyn Bridge Park, it's easy to forget that, oh yeah, some prime waterfront recreational space is getting a made over, too. Just unveiled are 11 brand-new renderings for the currently undeveloped swath of Pier 6, which is the part that juts out into the water. Park execs presented the designs to the Community Board 2 meeting on Monday, according to the Brooklyn Eagle, and let's just say they're pretty impressive. Designed by architects BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group with landscaping by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, expect an open lawn speckled with treed areas for shade, a meadow filled with flowers and, most ambitious of all, a triangular wooden platform that slopes upwards at the very tip of the pier, as if to imply a winged bird in flight. (Sorta akin to this other project we can think of.) The platform, which is supported by steel columns and has a covered seating area below, is a place architects envision will be used for general skyline-gazing as well as events like outdoor movie screenings. The BIG design will max out at 17.5 feet in height, allowing for an elevated view of Lower Manhattan.

So, Pier 6's proposed landscaping alone is estimated to cost $13 to $15 million, funds that the park says it already has in its coffers, the Eagle reports. But the showpiece (and most distinct element) of the design?that innovative curved platform?adds $5 to $7 million to the total tab, and BBP president Regina Myer said at Monday's CB meeting that the extra funding hasn't yet been procured.

CB2 approved of the BIG/Michael Van Valkenburgh vision in a unanimous vote. Next steps? Well, the municipal Public Design Commission also has to sign off on the plans, and it's meeting on September 9. Then BBP can worry about the fundraising. Pier 6 does have two sites earmarked for development near Atlantic Avenue, which will eventually house "two new residential buildings with up to 430 new residential units combined... The Pier 6 sites may also include some ground floor retail and up to 72 parking spaces." So maybe that's where the monies will come from.

It isn't clear when construction will start, let alone when the project will be complete, and the Pier 6 upgrades aren't included on the park's phasing timeline and map. The southernmost parcel of Brooklyn Bridge Park, the pier already includes sand volleyball courts, picnic tables, multiple playground features, and a dog run.

· Priceless On Pier 6: Brooklyn Bridge Park unveils stunning renderings [Brooklyn Eagle]

· All Brooklyn Bridge Park coverage [Curbed]