There is about to be a new resident in the Hudson River - a floating park with a performance center. Billionaire media mogul Barry Diller and his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg are going to pay the bill, estimated to be over $130 million.
Diller, the chairman of IAC, and von Furstenberg are working with the Hudson River Park Trust to construct the proposed park, which will make use of Pier 54 at W. 13th Street. It would be a square about the size of two football fields, sitting on stilts between Pier 54 and Pier 56, reports The New York Daily News.
It will be called Pier 55 and will feature a 700-seat amphitheater, designed by Heatherwick Studio, which also did the flaming cauldron for the London Olympics two years ago.
The couple’s family foundation will be completely behind the park, then they will lease it to the park trust for two decades. However, the city and state are still going to pay $35 million for construction.
“I know a good deal when I see one,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters today, reports Businessweek. “If someone offers us a lot of resources to create something we need and with minimal investment by the city, I think that’s great.”
image of Barry Diller courtesy of Walter McBride/INFphoto.com