Park Officials broke ground on the new lakeside skating center and restoration of the revitalization of the surrounding nature.

The Prospect Park Alliance has $54 million of the $70-million needed for the project, which will include two skating rinks and a restoration of the shoreline around the lake.

“The old meets the new as the Prospect Park Lakeside’s historic landscape gets restored with improved access and state of the art, green amenities,” said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe told the crowd (as quoted in the Brooklyn Paper).

The design by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects looks very nice. I’ve always been a fan of those two.

Why? Because Tod Williams was responsible for the redesign of an apartment in the building I grew up in. My friend’s parents hired him to turn their pre-war Upper West Side apartment into a minimalist palace, sort of.

It was very minimal, and very lovely and it was the first time anyone I knew used Metro Shelving for kitchen shelves and even books. This was back in the 1970’s and it was oh so cool then.

So, I’m excited about the new skating rink, the design, and the fact that the Alliance has such a big hunk of the money needed to move forward. The only thing I’m sorry about is that the ice skating rink will be closed for quite a while.

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