5 Minutes With the One Boerum Place Team
One Boerum Place, Awards for Excellence in Market-Rate Housing Development Finalist
Jesse Wark, Partner, Avery Hall
One Boerum Place Photo Credit: Pavel Bendov/ArchExplorer | https://www.pavelbendov.com/
Who has had the greatest influence on your career and what was the best advice he or she gave you?
I have been fortunate enough to work with and learn from a handful of amazing practitioners who have all had a great collective impact on my career. I think, like many people, I have learned an incredible amount both from the advice of mentors as well as closely observing the work of the most dedicated professionals. Very early in my career I was working in architecture and fumbling around a bit trying to figure out how to design and build good buildings. I had a mentor who could see the frustration but continued to push me and hold me to a high standard. He repeatedly emphasized that everything starts with good work and the rest will follow. This advice and ethos is something that has always traveled with me.
As a ULI NY Awards nominee, what makes you most proud of your project?
One Boerum was the convergence of much of what Avery Hall had been working towards since its inception, integrating great design and commercial success all with an eye towards how projects could benefit the community. It has been very rewarding to have the project be so well received by the market and the professional community and I couldn’t be more proud of the Avery Hall team and the collaboration, talent and dedication that it took to design and craft such a great project.
What is your favorite off the beaten path New York location or activity?
As a developer I really enjoy observing and exploring cities and the range of energy and quiet that you can find within them. Some of my favorite spots in NYC are locations that are right in the middle of the city but somehow isolated from your typical experience of New York. One that I often visit is Governor’s Island which feels like such a unique place hiding in plain sight – there’s no discernible borough affiliation, no cars and you get to arrive by ferry. Once there, you see wide open fields, historic abandoned buildings, bustling vendors, glamping and a simultaneous view of Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines!