South Battery Park City Resiliency Project

New York, NY

South Battery Park City Resiliency Project

The civil engineering design for this prominent Lower Manhattan waterfront site incorporates an integrated flood-barrier system to enhance resilience and mitigate flooding from tidal inundation, storm surge, and sea-level rise. The design seamlessly integrates new flood-resistant infrastructure—including flood walls and deployable flood gates—within the world-class Wagner Park. MKA served as the design mediator, coordinating the substantial flood engineering elements that protect the space from a 100-year event with the architectural pavilion and landscape features of the exceptional public realm. The civil design employed a landscape-based stormwater management approach treating “wet side” runoff before returning it to the Hudson River, alongside a “dry side” water collection, treatment, and reuse system that reduces the project’s potable water consumption for irrigation by 50% and for flush water by 62%. Achieving Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines (WEDG) certification for its resilience and public access, the project met and exceeded the rigorous technical standards developed by the Waterfront Alliance.