The Minds Behind a Maritime Revival

  |  January 29, 2015
Photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/quintanomedia/

Photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/quintanomedia/

Kingston has some heavy hitters behind its revitalization plan for the 180 acres of the Rondout Waterfront, and with the help of a hefty grant from the NY Department of State and the following team of design and architecture savants, 2015 is shaping up to be a very good year for this ambitious project.

Here is your introduction to the visionaries who will be giving a new life to this timeless landmark:

Perkins+Will is an architectural firm that incorporates the expertise of interior designers, urban designers, landscape architects, and branded environment experts, adding up to a cast of over 1,000 LEED® Accredited Professionals. As they say, their “transformative designs help students learn better, patients heal faster, business teams perform stronger, and city dwellers have more meaningful daily experiences.”

PW

Nautilus International is a group of professional consultants with cross-disciplinary expertise in urban design, architecture, real estate development, and planning, with a focus on the sustainable development of urban waterfronts. Their core business involves engaging with real estate developments that have the potential to transform cities through waterfront redevelopment, downtown revitalization, and the revival of urban neighborhoods.

BargeonRiver

Nautilus helped the Great Rivers Partnership select eight river basins to focus on in depth over the next five years and then coordinated their Business Plan for 2013-2017 (http://www.nautilus-international.com/grp.html)

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (JLL) provides a broad range of real estate-related services, including market/economic analysis, financial feasibility analysis, highest and best use studies, transit-oriented development, developer solicitation and project marketing, deal structuring, negotiations, transaction closure, portfolio and asset management, project management, portfolio and facilities diagnostic assessment, and public-private partnerships.

Photo source: http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/print-edition/2012/10/19/bptw-small-companies-third-place--.html?page=all

Photo source: http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/print-edition/2012/10/19/bptw-small-companies-third-place–.html?page=all

SCAPE / Landscape Architecture PLLC is a leading-edge landscape architecture and urban design studio based in New York City committed to the innovative, creative design and construction of the joint urban-natural environment. They work across disciplines to merge design expertise with plant ecology, forest ecology, and hydrology, towards a synthetic, sustainable approach to the design and management of the urban landscape.

SCAPE and NYRP founder Bette Midler at the 103rd St. Community Garden in NYC (http://www.scapestudio.com)

SCAPE and NYRP founder Bette Midler at the 103rd St. Community Garden in NYC (http://www.scapestudio.com)

URS Corporation is a fully integrated engineering, construction, and technical services organization with the capabilities to support every stage of the project life cycle. They have recently merged with top ranked engineering design firm AECOM. Based in Los Angeles, AECOM has nearly 100,000 employees serving clients in more than 150 countries around the world.

URS-Supporters

Watts Architecture and Engineering brings environmental expertise including storm water design, storm water pollution prevention planning, assistance with State Environmental Quality Review Act application forms, preliminary site assessments/phase I environmental site screenings, and remedial design.

Watts Architecture & Engineering at a project site in Buffalo (https://www.pinterest.com/wattsarcheng/)

Watts Architecture & Engineering at a project site in Buffalo (https://www.pinterest.com/wattsarcheng/)

With a team like this and the energy that has been building in Kingston to move the city forward, there is no better time than now to invest in this scenic waterfront destination.

About Gregg Swanzey

Gregg Swanzey, a longtime advocate for the Hudson River and the Mid-Hudson Region, first moved to the Rondout neighborhood in Kingston with his family in 1986 fresh off several years as Captain of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. Since then, he has crossed the Atlantic three times, served as Executive Director for a gubernatorially appointed Commission in Massachusetts, and traveled to far-flung places such as St. Petersburg, Russia; Reykjavik, Iceland; and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. After four years in City Hall as Director of Economic Development and Strategic Partnerships for the City of Kingston, he has recently come aboard as Executive Director for the Winnakee Land Trust based in Rhinebeck in Northern Dutchess County. On any given day you might see him out jogging on one of several rail trails that converge in Kingston, kayaking the Hudson over to Rhinecliff, biking Uptown to the Farmer’s Market, climbing to the top of Burger Hill in Winnakee's Drayton Grant Park, or hanging out at home in a classic 1920's Dutch Colonial overlooking the Hudson with his wife, Emma. His two daughters live and work in New York City but are regularly up the River for the weekend.

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