By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — The city is building a $20 million four-story structure adjacent to the High Line to accommodate offices for parks staff as well as public restrooms and, possibly, a café.
The solicitation for bids on this “maintenance and operations facility” at 820 Washington Street began this week and comes as Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration is considering major cuts to the city's Parks Department to help balance the budget.
The building will be located in the northeast corner of a plot at 820 Washington Street. The project’s construction budget is more than $20 million and comes from the parks department's capital budget. This is in addition to the $153 million previously spent on the High Line.
In addition to offices for the Parks Department and Friends of the High Line, the site will house public amenities including an elevator to the park, a security and information booth and first aid facilities. The site will also be used as a transfer point for the landscape waste material that is removed daily from the park.
The High Line runs along Manhattan’s West Side from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues. The elevated park opened in June 2009 and is under the jurisdiction of the Parks Development in partnership with the Friends of the High Line. However, the Economic Development Corporation will oversee the construction process.
The site's design is scheduled to be completed in a year with actual construction beginning in the spring of 2011. The project is slated for completion in the first half of 2013.
