BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Brooklyn Bridge Park is seeking proposals from developers to build 130,000 square feet of affordable housing, plus market-rate residential units, near Pier 6, officials announced Tuesday.
Park officials released a Request for Proposals for the long-term lease, development and operation of two sites at the southern entrance of the park near Atlantic Avenue and Furman Street.
The Pier 6 development will eventually provide 60 percent of the funding needed to operate and maintain the park, which does not receive public funding for operations.
The RFP will require that the development provide approximately 130,000 square feet of permanent affordable housing that “will ensure that the community better reflects the diversity of Brooklyn,” according to a press release.
The development RFP is in line with Mayor Bill de Basio’s recently announced 10-year, $41.4 billion plan to build 80,000 units of affordable housing in the city.
But neighborhood groups have long opposed any form of housing in the park, and residents in areas surrounding Pier 6 recently signed a petition that calls upon de Blasio to stop the development.
The two sites, about 9,900 square feet each, can hold a 31-story building with 290 residential units and a 16-story building with 140 residential units and ground-floor retail, according to officials and reports.
“Not only will the Pier 6 development implement Brooklyn Bridge Park’s financial model and guarantee our ability to operate and maintain the park far into the future, but it provides affordable housing for NYC,” said Regina Myer, president of Brooklyn Bridge Park, in a statement.
Responses to the RFP are due on July 21.