The Mixed-Use Development Essex Crossing, which features a vibrant public park designed by West 8 and Beyer Blinder Belle, is the winner of the New York Urban Land Institute’s Excellence in Mixed Use Development Award.

The Park, designed together with Beyer Blinder Belle, delivers a calm, verdant, island within the urban fabric. The park design layers canopy and understory trees, swaths of woodland planting, and vine-covered vertical plantings to create a woodland garden in the city. At the southwest of the site, an interactive playground allows for boundless exploration and play.

Located in the heart of Manhattan’s historic Lower East Side, the nine-site Essex Crossing development is rising on six acres of formerly vacant land, representing one of the City’s most significant urban renewal projects. Phase 1 comprises four sites of the overall 1.9-million-square-foot mixed-use project, located on three different streets – Broome, Clinton, and Delancey. Essex Crossing exemplifies best practices in land use, incorporating a wide array of uses in limited space for residents with a broad range of incomes and ages. Born out of a resident-driven neighborhood planning process, Essex Crossing is the culmination of nearly 50 years of collaboration between the City of New York and the local community.