In a several-year effort Quennell Rothschild & Partners, in a joint venture with Mathews-Nielsen, led a team of design professionals and technical experts to create the Concept Plan for the 4.5 mile-long park to be built parallel to Route 9A. After the many years of public debate which surrounded this project, the firm conceived a plan for the park which describes an exciting new vision for 550 acres of Manhattan's West Side. The plan features: – Continuous public access to the water's edge. – Restoration of 13 piers for public recreation. – A broad range of active and passive sports and recreation facilities. – Integration of art and performance spaces. – Public education centers for waterfront history and ecology. – Generation of substantial revenues for self-sustaining operation and maintenance through park-compatible commercial development. We designed and led an extensive public participation program by working closely and effectively with the three Community Boards, their park and land-use subcommittees, the Chelsea Waterside Park Committee, the Hudson River Park Advisory Commiittee (which includes the chairs and committee chairs of each Community Board), several important civic organizations which have been deeply involved in planning the park, and the public at large. In addition, program also includes weekly coordination meetings beween the Route 9A and H.R.P. teams. This aggressive program has proved very successful in building a broad consensus for the Concept Plan and supporting the Route 9A community approval process. The resulting design represents a feasible, broadly supported plan for the park. The Master Plan received a Merit Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects in 1998 and the Award of Excellence from the Waterfront Center in 1996.