Groundbreaking Held At Lakeside at Prospect Park

New York City Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Prospect Park Alliance Chairman Albert H. Garner and New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky today broke ground on Lakeside at Prospect Park. Lakeside will replace the winter-only Wollman Rink with a LEED certified green building and two outdoor skating rinks, which will host ice skating and hockey in the winter and roller skating and water features in the summer. The $70 million, 26-acre project includes the ongoing restoration and enhancement of the original Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux landscape design for the Park. Also in attendance at the groundbreaking were Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, New York State Assembly Members Joan Millman and Jim Brennan, New York Senators Eric Adams and Carl Kruger, New York City Council Members Brad Lander and Steve Levin, Shelby White, Trustee, Leon Levy Foundation, Brooklyn Community Foundation President Marilyn Gelber, Prospect Park Alliance President Tupper Thomas, project architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, and other honored guests.

"The old meets the new as the Prospect Park Lakeside's historic landscape gets restored with improved access and state of the art, green amenities," said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "Opening up the rink to year-round activities and expanding this recreational space will allow even more New Yorkers to enjoy one of our city's most celebrated parks. Thanks to generous support from our elected officials, the Leon Levy Foundation, the Brooklyn Community Foundation, the board of the Prospect Park Alliance and other individual, corporate and foundation supporters, the Lakeside Center will be a feature attraction in this flagship park."

"Today's groundbreaking is great news for the nine million yearly visitors to Prospect Park," said New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky. "Transforming this site into a year-round destination means that visitors will have access to new, affordable recreation options and more green space, and that this New York City treasure will continue to live up to the original vision of Olmsted and Vaux."

The New York firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects have designed a new, 26,000-square-foot building of indoor and outdoor space with two rinks (32,000-square-feet in total skating surface), that will accommodate an estimated 300% increase in year-round site usage. By demolishing the old Wollman Rink (built in 1960), and constructing a new facility on the site of the existing parking lot, five acres will be added to the Lake as well as three adjacent acres of park land. Prospect Park Alliance landscape architect, Christian Zimmerman, FASLA, and the staff of the Alliance's Design and Construction office are responsible for Lakeside landscape design and restoration plans.

"The vision for Lakeside is rooted in the Alliance and its partners' commitment to addressing both the needs of Park users and those of the Park's environment," said Albert H. Garner, Chairman of the Prospect Park Alliance. "The recreation opportunities Lakeside makes possible and the improvement it brings to the Park's natural habitat and landscape, will allow millions of people to enjoy a greater experience of Prospect Park."

Major government support for Lakeside has been received from the Office of Mayor Michael

Bloomberg, New York City Council (Speaker Christine Quinn and Brooklyn Delegation), Brooklyn

Borough President Marty Markowitz, New York State Senator Eric Adams, New York State Assemblywoman Joan Millman, New York State Office of Parks and Historic Preservation/Environmental Protection Fund, and U.S. Representatives Yvette Clarke and Anthony Weiner. In addition, former Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden and former U.S. Representative Major Owens allocated funds for Lakeside prior to leaving office. Generous private funding for Lakeside has been provided by the Leon Levy Foundation, the Brooklyn Community Foundation, the board of the Prospect Park Alliance and other individual, corporate and foundation supporters. The Prospect Park Alliance looks forward to welcoming additional donors to help fund the $70 million project.

Expected completion of the Lakeside Center is winter 2012/2013. For project updates please visit www.prospectpark.org/lakeside.