The Howard Hughes Corporation plans to retain much of the current mall’s structure, but replace its skin. On May 15, 2012, Landmarks issued a binding report approving a revised proposal from the Howard Hughes Corporation and the New York City Economic Development Corporation to redevelop Pier 17 in the South Street Seaport Historic District. In 2008, the site’s former owner, General Growth Properties, proposed demolishing the Pier 17 mall, relocating the nearby Tin Building, and building a 495-foot residential/hotel tower on the edge of the pier that would be just outside the historic district’s boundaries. That proposal faced strong opposition from local elected officials and preservation groups. Landmarks held two meetings on the proposal, but then General Growth declared bankruptcy. Hughes’s more modest proposal would replace the existing Pier 17 mall with a new, similarly sized building that would reuse much of the mall’s underlying structure. Unlike the 2008 proposal, the project would not affect the adjacent Tin Building, former home of the Fulton Fish Market. The new building would house retail space, restaurants, and provide public space.
