http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/nyregion/michael-samuelian-governors-island.html 2016-09-14 18:39:01 Real Estate Executive to Take the Helm at Governors Island Michael M. Samuelian, a vice president at Related Companies, will become president of the Trust for Governors Island, which directs development there. === With its food festivals and artist-inspired miniature golf, hammocks and bike rentals, Governors Island has become a summertime The cone-shaped island, a former military base in New York Harbor, has 40 acres of new parkland, including the Hills, which are four newly sculpted knolls rising up to 70 feet and offering views of the But on Wednesday, Mr. Samuelian, 44, a vice president at the Related Companies who led the planning and design of the vast While many New Yorkers are familiar with the outsize recreational role the island has come to play in the life of the city, they may not realize that it is also envisioned as a giant economic engine. When the city took control of the island from the state in 2010, it inherited not only huge areas of potential parkland, but also nearly a million square feet of historic buildings and ample acreage for new construction. The city pledged to eventually open the island to the public year round — currently it is open only during the summer — and to create a 24/7 environment with cultural organizations, for-profit companies, educational institutions and hotels. Advocates of open space believe the two visions of Governors Island — as a large playground and a commercial nexus — can easily coexist and are even necessary for the island to thrive. They hailed the selection of Mr. Samuelian, who is an architect and planner. Adrian Benepe, a former city parks commissioner, called Mr. Samuelian “an ideal candidate,” given the mandate for Governors Island, which is “to figure out compatible uses that will also generate substantial revenue” to make the island self-supporting. “He cares about good design and has experience interacting with the public sector,” added Mr. Benepe, the director of city park development at the Trust for Public Land. “He also happens to be a very effective and nice guy.” A Brooklyn native, Mr. Samuelian formerly worked in the Department of City Planning, where he helped redevelop Lower Manhattan after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He is an assistant professor of architecture at Cooper Union, his alma mater, and has a master’s of architecture in urban design from Harvard. Mr. Samuelian said the city would soon move ahead with plans for the historic structures and new commercial space. The existing buildings once housed Army and Coast Guard operations. They range in style from Victorian to Georgian Revival to “the classic New England campus style,” including the handsome brick houses along Colonels’ Row, Mr. Samuelian said. The two sites for new development, at the southern end of the island, can accommodate up to five million square feet of space. The commercial development, he insisted, would not come at the expense of the new parkland. “All of the development needs to enhance the public space,” Mr. Samuelian said. “We have created a fantastic new public park that New Yorkers are just getting to know and love. I want to ensure that nothing we do will have a deleterious effect on what is there.” Currently, about a quarter of the historic buildings are occupied. Tenants include the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, a public high school; the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Arts Center; the One new tenant that has agreed to occupy a cluster of historic buildings is a European day spa, QC Terme, which will have three outdoor pools. What the island will not include are permanent homes. “It’s in the deed restriction not to have full-time residential development, and I think that’s a good thing,” Mr. Samuelian said. “Having institutional, cultural and hospitality uses is a way to make sure the island is truly public.” But, to be successful, those additional tenants will need year-round public access to the island. That, in turn, will require much more frequent ferry service, which is costly. Trust officials will not say when exactly the island would be available to the public 365 days a year. “It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg thing,” Mr. Samuelian said. “You need more ferry service to justify more activity, and you need more activity to justify more ferries. My goal is to be open year-round as soon as possible.” It is also not clear who will oversee all the new development. Mr. Samuelian said the city might choose to name a “master developer” for the future commercial space. Other options for the city include enlisting multiple developers or overseeing construction itself. Mr. Samuelian, who has served on the board of the Friends of Governors Island, is confident that people will see the island as a place of employment as well as recreation. “If you look at how the workplace is changing, it’s almost as much about play as work,” he said, citing He, for one, is looking forward to working on Governors Island. Having run the “It’s beautiful and flat,” he said. “And we have a shower in the office.”