A New, Year-Round Facility

The Lakeside Center at Prospect Park will be a year-round destination for recreation, events, and visitor amenities. Architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien have been selected to design this exciting, two-level 36,000-square-foot building. Two new state-of-the-art ice-skating rinks will replace the current, outdated Wollman Rink, built in 1961. In addition to recreational activities, the new facility will have space for educational programming, birthday party rentals, and a café. Lakeside Center will be located on the site of the current Wollman Rink parking lot. Entry to the new building will be free of charge year-round.

The current rink is open for skating less than four months a year. The new rinks will be available for up to five months of skating annually. The two rinks will also be available for warm weather programming. The outdoor rink may include water features like fountains for children to play in. The covered rink may be used for roller-skating, as a place to show movies, and for community events.

In addition to transforming ice skating in Brooklyn, the Lakeside Center project will completely remake the Park's southeastern edge.  Under the guidance of Christian Zimmerman, Vice President of Design & Construction for the Prospect Park Alliance, one thousand linear feet of lake shore will be restored. This massive rehabilitation of the landscape will feature historic ornamentation; habitat restoration; a rebuilt boat dock for our electric boat Independence and pedal boats; and a centrally-located terrace bringing Park visitors close to the edge of the Lake. A picturesque historic reconstruction of Music Island and Olmsted & Vaux’s ornamental wall will replace the current rink slab, enlivening the stately Concert Grove - which is currently cut off from Lake views.

Click below to enlarge these architectural renderings:

  
  
Please note: these are preliminary designs, subject to change.


A Green Building - a Greener Landscape

Site plan - click to enlarge

The Lakeside Center will be gracefully integrated into the Park's historic landscape, restoring the original promise of one of Olmsted & Vaux's loveliest corners. A "green roof" will make the Center nearly invisible from several vantage points, in addition to reducing stormwater runoff and the greenhouse effect. The verdant picnic area to the south of the project site will be expanded, and a new promenade will greatly increase access and safety for cyclists and pedestrians.
                                                                                                                                                     
Skating rinks are notorious for their energy inefficiency, but great thought is going into making the Lakeside Center a good neighbor. A number of innovative features are planned, and we hope to have the bulding achieve Gold standard LEED certification.  A rainwater retention basin built into the southern berm will store water to irrigate the roof planting areas and adjacent landscape; passive ventilation is a primary design element in all public areas of the site; recycled and local materials will be used as much as possible; new trees and shrubs will be primarily native and adaptive species - requiring little irrigation and supporting the local habitat.

Construction on the Lakeside Center is expected to begin in 2009 and be completed by late 2011. There will be skating at the Wollman Rink for the '08-'09 and '09-'10 seasons. So we’ll see you again at the rink in the winter!

The Prospect Park Alliance is holding meetings with the community to get input on the design program for the Lakeside Center. All are welcome to attend.

Upcoming meetings will be listed in this space.

The Lakeside Center project has attracted strong support from dedicated elected officials. Over the past four years, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has allocated $7.5 million for the project; in 2006, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Speaker Christine Quinn fulfilled pledges for $7.5 million. In Washington, Congressman Anthony Weiner and former Congressman Major Owens won $950,000 for the project.

In May, 2008, the Leon Levy Foundation announced a $10 million grant towards rehabilitating the landscape at the lakeshore and near the Lakeside Center.
Leon Levy Foundation  |   Read the press release >

In March 2008, the Independence Community Foundation contributed a $1.5 million challenge grant towards the Lakeside Center.
Independence Community Foundation  |   Read the press release >


Contact Us
If you're interested in the creation of Prospect Park's new Lakeside Center, call (718) 965-8951 or email us.