SOUTHERN MANHATTAN COASTAL PROTECTION STUDY: EVALUATING THE FEASIBILITY OF A MULTI-PURPOSE LEVEE (MPL) MAY 2014 Project Team This report was prepared for the New York City Economic Development Corporation by: ARCADIS U.S., Inc. AKRF, Inc. 27-01 Queens Plaza North 440 Park Avenue South Suite 800 7th Flood Long Island City, NY 11101 New York, NY 10016 FXFOWLE Architects HR&A Advisors, Inc. 22 West 19th Street 99 Hudson Street New York, NY 10011 3rd Floor New York, NY 10013 Jesse M. Keenan, J.D., LL.M. 800 3rd Avenue, 13th Floor Ocean and Coastal Consultants New York, NY 10022 35 Corporate Drive Trumbull, CT 06611 Sive, Paget & Riesel P.C. 460 Park Avenue WXY Studio New York, NY 10022 224 Centre Street 5th Floor New York, NY 10013 May 2014 Southern Manhattan Coastal Protection Study: Evaluating the Feasibility of an MPL Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................................. 1 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Context .................................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Project Goals ........................................................................................................................................................... 2 2 Resiliency for Southern Manhattan ................................................................................................................................ 3 2.1 Flood Risk ................................................................................................................................................................ 3 2.2 Vulnerabilities ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 2.3 “A Stronger, More Resilient New York” .................................................................................................................. 5 2.4 Multi-Purpose Levees (MPLs) ................................................................................................................................. 6 2.5 Global Precedents ................................................................................................................................................... 7 2.5.1 The Netherlands .............................................................................................................................................. 7 2.5.2 Japan ............................................................................................................................................................... 8 2.5.3 Singapore ........................................................................................................................................................ 8 3 Study Area ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.1 Physical Characteristics ......................................................................................................................................... 11 3.1.1 Topography ................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.1.2 Geology ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 3.1.3 Groundwater ................................................................................................................................................. 13 3.1.4 Bathymetry .................................................................................................................................................... 13 3.2 Neighborhoods and Built Environment ................................................................................................................ 14 3.2.1 Demographics and Real Estate Conditions ................................................................................................... 14 3.2.2 Existing Neighborhood Density and Land Use .............................................................................................. 17 3.3 Transportation ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 3.4 Historical and Cultural Assets ............................................................................................................................... 20 3.4.1 South Street Seaport Historic District ........................................................................................................... 22 3.5 Other Related Programs ....................................................................................................................................... 22 4 Feasibility Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................ 24 4.1 Coastal Protection Options ................................................................................................................................... 24 4.1.1 Upland IFPS ................................................................................................................................................... 24 i May 2014 Southern Manhattan Coastal Protection Study: Evaluating the Feasibility of an MPL 4.1.2 Upland Protection ......................................................................................................................................... 25 4.1.3 250’ Land Reclamation .................................................................................................................................. 27 4.1.4 250’ Land Reclamation-Platform Hybrid ....................................................................................................... 28 4.1.5 250’ Land Reclamation with Secondary Channel .......................................................................................... 30 4.1.6 500’ Land Reclamation .................................................................................................................................. 31 4.2 Principles and Assumptions .................................................................................................................................. 33 4.2.1 Preliminary Urban Design Principles ............................................................................................................. 33 4.2.2 Dimensional and Density Assumptions ......................................................................................................... 33 4.2.3 Transportation Infrastructure ....................................................................................................................... 36 4.2.4 Waterfront Integration ................................................................................................................................. 38 4.2.5 Structural Considerations ............................................................................................................................. 38 4.2.6 Project Phasing .............................................................................................................................................. 40 4.2.7 Financial ........................................................................................................................................................ 42 4.3 Evaluation.............................................................................................................................................................. 45 4.3.1 Financial Evaluation ...................................................................................................................................... 46 4.4 Findings ................................................................................................................................................................. 48 4.4.1 Optimizing the 500’ Land Reclamation Option: Development of the North Park Option ............................ 51 4.5 Additional Considerations ..................................................................................................................................... 58 4.5.1 Hydrodynamic Modeling ............................................................................................................................... 58 4.5.2 Off-site Mitigation ......................................................................................................................................... 63 5 Implementation Process Framework ............................................................................................................................ 65 5.1 Planning and Design .............................................................................................................................................. 65 5.2 Review and Permitting .......................................................................................................................................... 66 5.3 Project Financing Structures ................................................................................................................................