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The Worldwide Leader in Sports will soon have a new studio at the South Street Seaport.
ESPN has agreed to a long-term lease for around 19K SF at Pier 17, owned by The Howard Hughes Corp. The media giant, owned by Disney, will use that square footage, as well as the building's roof deck and exterior, to produce multiple studio shows, news hits, live broadcasts and radio shows beginning in spring 2018.
ESPN reached the agreement with its studio production partner, NEP Group. To commemorate the deal, Pier 17 lit up its glass facade panels in "ESPN red" on Monday night — the first time the entire exterior has been illuminated.
The studio will add another element to Howard Hughes' efforts to turn South Street Seaport from a purely retail-based tourist destination to a more diverse attraction and business location, called the Seaport District. Pier 17, scheduled to be fully completed months after ESPN's studio, will include restaurants from David Chang and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, as well as the 1.5-acre roof deck with a restaurant, outdoor bar and space for events, concerts and ESPN productions.
Completion was originally slated for this year, but was pushed back due to delays in obtaining permits from the Department of City Planning. Plans to dismantle and move the vacant Tin Building, which sits between Pier 17 and FDR Drive, are also on track and will reportedly not affect Pier 17.
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