NYCEDC Announces "Change the Course" – The NYC Waterfront Construction Competition

First Phase of Competitive Process Seeks Innovative, Cost-Saving Proposals for Completing Construction Projects along NYC’s Waterfront

Part of Bloomberg Administration's Efforts to Continue Progress Made in Recent Years to Reactivate the City's Waterfront

New York, NY, September 20, 2012 - New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for “Change the Course” – a new waterfront construction competition that seeks innovative and cost-saving solutions for completing marine construction projects in New York City. While New York City’s waterfront has undergone a significant transformation over the last decade, critical issues, such as deteriorating structures, still exist along the City’s shoreline. This competitive process, which will be broken into two phases, is designed to address these issues and develop new ideas that will allow New York City to continue to build and maintain its waterfront infrastructure in an efficient and cost-effective manner. “Change the Course” is a collaboration with the Hudson River Park Trust and is the next step in the City’s ongoing efforts to reimagine and reactivate the City’s more than 560 miles of waterfront - a chief economic development initiative of the Bloomberg Administration - including transforming the shoreline, creating jobs, building new parks, and cleaning the City’s waterways.

“Under Mayor Bloomberg’s leadership, we are as committed as ever to reclaiming and transforming the City’s hundreds of miles of waterfront,” said NYCEDC President Seth W. Pinsky. “This innovative competition will allow us, in an era of limited resources, to uncover new methodologies and techniques for addressing the challenges associated with our aging infrastructure, thereby ensuring its long-term sustainability.”

This first phase of “Change the Course” will seek expressions of interest in order to identify influences and factors which drive the increasing costs and duration of marine construction in the City (including obsolete technologies, permitting processes, current regulations, environmental issues, outdated science studies, labor issues and efficiencies). Respondents will then provide creative solutions that are cost effective, sustainable and ethically sound. In order to ensure that the responses address existing challenges along New York City’s waterfront, each should address conditions identified in either the following areas along the City’s waterfront:

• Lower Manhattan Waterfront: structures between Fulton Fish Market (at the South Street Seaport) and Pier 35, along the East River in Manhattan; and
• Hudson River Park Pier: The substructure of Pier 40, on the Hudson River, in Manhattan. 

“As the first project of its kind, Hudson River Park has been the testing ground for developing a sustainable, long-term operating structure for waterfront parks,” said Madelyn Wils, President & CEO, Hudson River Park Trust. “We look forward to working together with NYCEDC to find financially sustainable solutions for the unique infrastructure challenges of waterfront parks and reviewing the innovative proposals for Pier 40.”

Following the completion of the phase one RFEI, the City will release a formal Request for Proposals in the coming months - which will be guided in part by the responses received in phase one - and then review the phase two proposals to make selections for awards of First, Second, and Third place. The final winning selections will be eligible for awards of $50,000, $25,000, and $15,000 respectively. Submissions for both the first phase, as well as the forthcoming second phase, will be selected by NYCEDC with the assistance of an advisory committee expected to consist of members from the Hudson River Park Trust, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, local academic institutions, and engineering and construction professionals. Responses will be evaluated on how well they achieve the specific project goals, as well as the quality and plausibility of the proposals, including the degree to which the proposal meets the specific requirements and goals of the competition, the cost savings achieved, and the feasibility of implementation of the cost savings. 

The deadline for submissions for the first phase RFEI is November 16, 2012. The second phase RFP is anticipated to be released later that month, with final awards expected to be announced in early 2013.

“Change the Course” is part of the Bloomberg Administration’s efforts to reactivate the City’s waterfront, which includes the Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy (WAVES), a citywide strategy launched by Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn, which lays out a sustainable blueprint for the City’s more than 500 miles of shoreline. WAVES has two core components: Vision 2020: The New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, released a year ago, which established long-term goals for the next decade and beyond, and the New York City Waterfront Action Agenda, which set forth priority initiatives to be implemented by the end of 2013, many of which are being realized. Together, the initiatives provide a blueprint for the City’s waterfront and waterways, and focus on the following categories: open space and recreation, the working waterfront, housing and economic development, natural habitats, climate change adaptation and waterborne transportation.

About NYCEDC

New York City Economic Development Corporation is the City's primary vehicle for promoting economic growth in each of the five boroughs. NYCEDC's mission is to stimulate growth through expansion and redevelopment programs that encourage investment, generate prosperity and strengthen the City's competitive position. NYCEDC serves as an advocate to the business community by building relationships with companies that allow them to take advantage of New York City's many opportunities. Find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, or visit our blog to learn more about NYCEDC projects and initiatives.