Ex-Stars Chef Project Selected by City Council
That proposed New Rochelle project that Jeremiah Tower was attached to last month has won out over the competition and been selected by the town’s City Council to restore and operate a gargantuan food hall at the Echo Bay Naval Armory in New Rochelle, New York.
Says Tower, in the press release announcing the victory: “This project represents the culmination of my career and will provide the opportunity to inspire and launch the careers of others.”
A Rendering of the Armory as Envisioned in the Approved Plan
I couldn’t be more excited about this development, and for purely selfish reasons: I’ve never had the chance to experience a Jeremiah Tower project, and look forward to being able to interview the chef right here in New York for my forthcoming book about the chefs of the 1970s and 80s.
There’s not a lot more to report at the moment, but here’s the official press release:
September 20, 2012
For Immediate Release
New Rochelle City Council Approves Good Profit Plan for
Echo Bay Naval Armory
The Armory renovation will save historic structures, create jobs, make the waterfront accessible to the public and establish a center for education and local/regional produce and cuisine.
New Rochelle – September 20, 2012 – Good Profit, the non-profit organization dedicated to public projects in architecture and design, public health and agriculture, announced that is has won approval from the New Rochelle City Council to move ahead with its plan to renovate the Echo Bay Naval Armory. The council approved the plan at a scheduled meeting last night.
New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson said, “Good Profit brings to New Rochelle a compelling and exciting concept with enormous potential to activate our waterfront and energize our entire community. The New Rochelle City Council was greatly impressed by the broad and deep experience of Good Profit’s first-rate development team, and we look forward to working in partnership to achieve this ambitious vision.”
Michael Blakeney, Good Profit’s founder and director said, “We are thrilled to have the enthusiastic support of New Rochelle’s elected officials for the Armory project. I want to thank Mayor Bramson, Jermiah Tower and so many others for making this dream a reality.”
Blakeney continued, “This initiative has the potential to do several important things for New Rochelle: restore some of its wonderful historical and cultural assets and make them accessible to all of the city’s residents; generate construction and food industry jobs; and put New Rochelle on the regional map as a destination city for food and culture.”
Jeremiah Tower, the executive culinary director for the project, said, “The New Rochelle Armory project brings together for the first time all the projects I love: farming culinary ingredients and teaching and cooking what is produced every day; restaurants, performing arts and architecture; public gardens; and restoring historic buildings. This project represents the culmination of my career and will provide the opportunity to inspire and launch the careers of others.”
Good Profit plans to transform the historic Naval Armory into a regional market and food-business incubator inspired by the Essex Street Market, Chelsea Market and Eataly in Manhattan as well as some of the great food halls in Europe. The Armory will become a distribution depot for Hudson Valley agriculture products and a center for culinary education in collaboration with local colleges. To preserve its legacy as the only naval armory in New York, Good Profit will work closely with veterans groups to properly honor its military heritage. Over 300 jobs will be created during the initial construction and food business set-up phases of the project.
The completed Armory project will include restaurants and public spaces for meetings, performances and recreation, making Echo Bay and Long Island Sound more accessible for everyone in New Rochelle. Good Profit will create local jobs as well as establish best practices in green building and sustainable energy. As Echo Bay becomes more accessible, New Rochelle as a whole will become a food destination city for people throughout Westchester, Connecticut and the Metro New York City Area.
About Good Profit
Good Profit is a clearing house for ideas, expertise and funding that work together to promote transformational non-profit projects in architecture and design, public health, and agriculture. We take the best practices from the non-profit and private sectors to achieve outstanding results for the common good. Our board of directors and advisors comprise experts in the fields of law, finance, design, entrepreneurship, sustainability and agriculture. Our network of colleagues and associates allows us to cut through red tape and move with speed and flexibility.
For more information visit our website, www.goodprofitworks.org, or write to us at info@goodprofitworks.com.
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– Andrew
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