Prospect Park's Lakeside Center Somewhat Revealed

[Original photos courtesy of A Year in the Park]

We held off on posting about this yesterday because we were hoping to get high quality versions of these images that were presented publicly on Wednesday night. It is not be, however. The Prospect Park Alliance has declined to make quality images available, saying that these are not the final version of the $75 million Lakeside Center that would replace the Wollman Rink and be part of a landscape restoration that will be welcomed by many people. The design is coming from Tod Williams and Billie Tsien. The images here are considered schematics and the final design could differ considerably. Additional public sessions incorporating feedback and offering updated renderings will be held later in the spring. Yet, until then or until there is a change of heart, these images from photos are what the public can see of the ice facility. Earlier this week, Jotham Sederstrom reported in the Daily News that the cost had increase from $50 millon to $75 million. In fact, when Alliance head Tupper Thomas told the Park Slope Civic Council about the center last year, she put the cost at $35-$40 million (including $10 million in landscape restoration work.) These images are from A Year in the Park, which described the facility, as it was shown, like this:

The new building will lie beneath a sloping "green roof" rising from the current picnic area into a tree-studded promenade. Beneath it will be two layers: a sort of mezzanine, and a sheltered hockey rink, with a recreational skating rink laid out in front and connected by an ice pathway. Here, the center looks like a particularly pastoral Ikea.

We ran AYITP's images through Photoshop, tweaked the levels, tried to remove some noise and sharpen them a bit so that everyone can get a rough sense of the current thinking about the Lakeside Center. Unfortunately, they're like looking at a bootleg version of a movie rather than a high definition DVD. There are more images over at At a Year in the Park. The design and project have to be reviewed and approved by a variety of agencies.