Our Sunset Park Activation Plan reimagines the industrial waterfront as a hub for modern manufacturing and public space, fostering community connections. Completed by New York City in 2024, the plan includes comprehensive strategies in urban design and wayfinding to support growth, recreation, and resilience. WXY is now preparing an updated version, set for release in 2025.

Developing the plan required navigating constraints like urban density, environmental resilience, and the need for cohesive identity branding. It needed to address not just space and access, but how the industrial and public realm would connect and grow sustainably over time. 

This meant meeting the evolving demands of contemporary manufacturing, which has shifted from traditional assembly lines to specialized fabrication in industries like fashion, food production, prototyping, and filmmaking.

These smaller businesses want dynamic, efficient, and functional spaces to help foster growth and innovation, while keeping easy access to trucking and storage. They also look for a distinct sense of place with amenities like a robust public realm that employees can use. For WXY, this meant preserving the distinct historical character of the district while providing easy access to the waterfront. 

Multi-disciplinary strategies, including urban design, identity and branding, landscaping, resiliency tactics, and wayfinding, create the foundation for a new spatial and visual identity that merges the district’s rich history with its public-facing future. 

The plan balances industrial activity with public space by implementing a distinct visual system using yellow lines and clear signage to demarcate paths for pedestrians, trucks, and vehicles. This system ensures that industrial operations function smoothly while providing safe, accessible routes for public movement. 

The open spaces, including plazas, parking areas, and building entrances, form the connection between industrial functions and public access to the waterfront. A stepped seating edge, flexible multi-use ramp, and landscape elements create a welcoming environment for both tenants and the community. Comprehensive studies addressed constructability, cost, maintenance, and operations, leading to shovel-ready projects that support both industry and public life. 

Our collaborative strategy for the Sunset Park Activation Plan relied on the expertise of architects, urban planners, engineers, and community voices to create a shared vision for the district’s future. Each phase – from initial brainstorming to detailed design – was shaped by input from diverse stakeholders. 

The Sunset Park Activation Plan builds on our Sunset Park Brownfield Opportunity Area Plan to reshape the waterfront, blending industrial activity with public space to benefit the community and local businesses. The project boosts employment while maintaining environmental goals by enhancing safety, improving the flow of goods, ensuring equitable access, and providing space for sustainable companies. It’s a bold step forward in creating a thriving, inclusive district, with the development of the Brooklyn Army Terminal alone creating space for a community of over one hundred businesses and a network of four thousand employees.