The box-like, nearly windowless Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport will undergo a vast overhaul that will turn it into a glass shopping mall, officials said yesterday after reaching a deal with the developers.
The city’s Economic Development Corp. worked out the agreement with Howard Hughes Corp., the Dallas-based developer that leases the seaport, to transform the pier over a three-year period.
The 11-block South Street Seaport district, with its historic buildings and ships in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, is a popular tourist destination.
It’s tied with the Great Wall of China as the world’s 26th most-visited attraction, according to Travel & Leisure magazine.
But since the three-story Pier 17 opened in 1985, it hasn’t been the magnet for shoppers and other city dwellers that officials had expected.
That may change when the pier is turned into retail center — with what officials hope are “destination stores” — along with an open rooftop space that could be used for concerts and other live-entertainment events.
“The re-envisioned Seaport transforms the pier’s iconic waterfront setting into an energetic, highly engaging destination for shopping, dining and entertainment in lower Manhattan,” said David Weinreb, CEO of developer Howard Hughes.
City officials acknowledge the pier is trying to make a major comeback.
“We look forward to a day soon when Pier 17 will once again be viewed as one of the city’s premier destinations — a catalyst for further economic development in the area,” Economic Development Corp. president Seth Pinsky said.
According to the timetable, construction will start next year and is expected to be completed by 2015. The pier’s current 195,000 square feet of leasable space is expected to grow.
No estimate of the plan’s price tag was disclosed.
The redevelopment plan has already been approved by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission with the backing of Community Board 1, which was shown details of the plan at a meeting in March.
It faces votes by the Planning Commission and the City Council.
The Post reported in March that Hughes was working with New York’s Crown Retails Services to attract new tenants and consult on mall management.
The city has been trying to redevelop the Seaport for years.
A previous proposal, that included a new retail complex and a hotel on Pier 17, went belly up when the former operator, General Growth Properties, filed for bankruptcy in 2009.
The new development will get a boost from the city’s massive overhaul of the East River waterfront into a new esplanade that will boost foot traffic, with its walkways, parks and cafes.