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Renderings of Gehry's Beekman Tower plazas
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At the foot of Frank Gehry's 75-story Beekman Tower, two rich, green public plazas will bloom.
The plazas' designs were presented to Community Board 1 by developer Forest City Ratner's landscape architects on November 14th. They consist of two long, rectangular spaces on the east and west sides of the building, between Beekman and Spruce Streets.
The 11,903-square-foot "West Plaza" will be the main public area, stretching up to 72 feet wide and featuring benches, trees, flower-covered trellises against the adjacent buildings, and two fountains.
On the east side, between the tower and New York Downtown Hospital, the "William Street Plaza" will dedicate its 3,955 square feet to both the public and the K-through-8 school that will occupy a floor of the tower. A section of that plaza also will be occupied by a driveway connecting to the tower's underground garage.
The plazas will be ADA-compliant, include several different types of lighting, and involve the planting of approximately 120 new trees. Wide pathways will allow pedestrians to walk north-south through each plaza, which will be open 24 hours a day. Tower management will maintain the site and provide security.
Construction of Beekman Tower, located at 8 Spruce Street, began in October 2006, and the building is scheduled to open in 2009.
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