A
consultant team led by WXY Architecture + Urban Design won the New York City
Economic Development Corporation's commission to create a conceptual
master plan for the Sherman Creek Waterfront. The Sherman Creek Waterfront
stretches along the Harlem River between Sherman Creek Inlet near Dyckman
Street to the existing tidal wetland at West 208th Street. WXY is leading the
urban design, architectural, and landscape architectural design work on the
project.
The
project is a major civic opportunity for northern Manhattan and adjacent
neighborhoods in the Bronx, focusing attention on the last undeveloped
waterfront land left in Manhattan. Northern Manhattan's upland is rich in
parks, but access to the waterfront remains limited, particularly along the Harlem River. This stretch, long disconnected from the
upland communities of Inwood and WashingtonHeights by topography and
industrial lands, is rich in unexplored potential.
The plans will improve waterfront access and create a riverside esplanade (the
“Malecón”) to connect five existing waterfront parks at the ends of 202nd to
206th Streets. Further connections to existing and planned greenway
improvements in both upper Manhattan and adjacent areas in the Bronx will reconnect
Sherman Creek to its surroundings, filling a local need and linking to
recreational opportunities city-wide.