Fox & Fowle Architects will receive an Award of Merit from the New York State chapter of the American Institute of Architects for its work on the Jamaica Station Area Urban Strategy. This comprehensive area-wide master plan outlines a strategy to redefine downtown Jamaica, Queens, New York as a commercial business center with an airport-related focus and as the "gateway to JFK Airport." The award will be presented Friday, September 14, at the chapter?s 134th annual meeting in Buffalo, New York.




The Jamaica Station master plan, called "Vision for Jamaica Center," was completed in March 2001 on behalf of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation. The plan is comprised of four components: Transportation Plan, Development Plan, Urban Design Plan, and an Implementation Strategy. Together they provide an overall framework for guiding development into the 21st Century. The plan is significant because unlike other airport-related business centers that have developed in suburban areas around major national airports, this is the first time that an existing urban area is being restructured to serve this purpose and to compete with its suburban counterparts.




Mark Strauss, a principal at Fox & Fowle Architects directed the development of the plan, which he began at the firm Jambhekar Strauss prior to its merger with Fox & Fowle Architects in 2000. It sets forth a new vision of Jamaica Center and would use public investment to create a setting for private investment. The report proposes new development on a scale not seen in Jamaica in decades, and which will be implemented in three stages over the next 20 years. Among other features of the report, there are plans for a hotel, a retail complex, office space and parking garages. The strategy also calls for the creation of five major parks and civic spaces, as well as improvements to roads, traffic management and infrastructure.




"This master plan gives weight to the long-held belief that Jamaica has the potential to be an important regional center like Stamford or Newark," said Fox & Fowle's Mark Strauss. "'Vision for Jamaica Center' establishes a framework for realizing that future by protecting and reinforcing residential and commercial neighborhoods while creating a more meaningful identity for the area as a destination unto itself."

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For more information contact:

David Roskin
Quinn & Company
237 West 35th Street
New York
NY 10001
USA

Phone: 212-868-1900 ext. 237
Fax: 212-465-0849
Email: [email protected]