City officials joined benefactors and visionaries at the Wollman Rink in Prospect Park to symbolically break ground for the first phase of Lakeside Center, the “most significant landscape restoration project ever undertaken” at the landmark emerald empire.
The 26-acre park will be renovated in keeping with the historic design originally envisioned by Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, and provide a year-round destination for recreation, special events, education programs and visitor amenities in addition to improved access to the park’s natural and historic setting.
The centerpiece of the project will be two new, state-of-the-art ice-skating rinks to replace the current rink built in 1961.
The new building is being designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects LLP. Major landscape restoration of the Park’s lakeshore and areas adjacent to the project will be designed by Prospect Park Alliance landscape architect Christian Zimmerman and the staff of Alliance’s Design and Construction office.
