Washington Heights Community Projects Win 6 Design Awards This Year

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Three recently-completed Washington Heights projects won six design awards this year the city Department of Design and Construction (DDC) announced.

The three projects — Plaza de Las Americas, the High Bridge and West 215 Street Step Street — were praised by organizations such as the American Council of Engineering Companies and the Construction Management Association of America for balancing elegant designs with community value.

"Well-designed public space is essential to a great city," said Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer in a statement. "It's wonderful that the city's Department of Design and Construction has led these three projects to award-winning status."

All three projects were reconstructions of public spaces that had been neglected or fallen into disrepair.

The Plaza Las Americas project was awarded the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York's "Diamond Award," which judges submissions on complexity, innovation and value to society.

The High Bridge reconstruction project won three design awards. The project restored a bridge linking Washington Heights to the South Bronx, greatly improving Highbridge Park by providing pedestrian and bicycle access between the boroughs.

The West 215th Step Street project involved repairs to a community space originally built in 1915. The project added bike channels to the step street and repaired concrete that had been broken over the years. The project received two awards.

"I commend the DDC on their excellent work on some great uptown infrastructure projects that have helped to liven up our community,” said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez in a statement. "The Plaza Las Americas in particular has turned a shoddy corridor into a marketplace bursting with life, a model for other vendor corridors in the city. The reopening of the High Bridge after decades of disrepair marked a historic moment uptown, increasing our connections in Northern Manhattan to our sister borough of the Bronx. The beautiful architecture and new lighting is a monument to our past, just as it is a bridge to our future."

Photo: Courtesy of DDC