New park to be built with private funding on pier along Hudson River

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A new park and open-air performance space is planned for the Hudson River.

It will be called Pier 55, and will be just off West 13th Street.

Pier 55 will look like an inviting island, about 200 feet offshore.

It will have pedestrian walkways, small groves, and a 700 seat amphitheater.

The park will take several years and $130 million to build.

Almost all of the cost will be covered by a gift from the family foundation established by media mogul Barry Diller and fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg.

The chairman of the New York-based media company IAC/Inter-ActiveCorp and the Hudson River Trust are to make the announcement on Monday.

Diller has agreed to provide over $100 million to build the 2.7-acre park through his private foundation.

The city will provide $17 million for the project while the state will offer $18 million for an adjacent esplanade.

The park would be built on an undulating platform jutting about 180-feet into the river. It would include an open-air amphitheater and a plaza that could be used for a variety of performances.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)