Governors Island

As President of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), a public development entity, JLP+D President James Lima led all planning, development, ferry operations, and property management for the 150+ acre former military facility in New York Harbor. Lima oversaw the creation of the Governors Island Development Framework — working with Urban Strategies — for new public benefit and revenue-generating uses centered around four themes: parks and recreation, arts and culture, education, and conferencing and hotels. He provided strategic direction to a multidisciplinary project team to achieve the overarching objective of creating an attractive, amenity-rich public park, and meeting preservation, cultural arts, and education mandates, securing private and public funding, building broad constituencies, and executing a capital program. Lima co-wrote and provided overall direction to the creation and launch of an ambitious developer solicitation, through a Request for Expressions of Interest issued by GIPEC in 2005.

As President of GIPEC, Lima worked closely with the City University of New York (CUNY) to assess the relationship of the university system’s numerous campuses to Governors Island and the planning, programming, and feasibility of potential opportunities for collaboration and expansion. Additionally, Lima worked closely with the regional director of the National Park Service (NPS) on all matters involving impact on a national landmark district and coordinated with NPS regarding visitor activity at Ellis Island, Liberty Island (home to the Statue of Liberty), and Castle Clinton in Battery Park. Lima conceived of and launched the ambitious and highly successful cultural arts and recreational programs that continue to attract new and repeat visitors to Governors Island. He secured a major funding commitment from the Target Foundation to support the first year of arts programming, including the publication Governors Island: Photographs By Lisa Kereszi & Andrew Moore and its companion photography exhibition in partnership with the Public Art Fund, an outdoor film series, and other cultural arts events on the Island. The research and analysis at Governors Island of viable concession and other revenue generators that actually enhance the overall public park experience has become a core capacity of JLP+D as it advises agencies, conservancies, Friends of groups, and other stewards of public parks of funding opportunities, governance models, and best practices.