Gov. Kathy Hochul, other local elected officials and community members celebrated on Monday the groundbreaking of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Lincoln Center West Initiative, which will update nearby Damrosch Park and reimagine the western side of the performing arts campus into a sprawling outdoor space for show lovers to enjoy. 

In addition to the planned theater, the makeover will create more space and accessibility features. Funded by $10 million from the state, officials said the project will deliver expanded green spaces and year-round community amenities. 

Hochul said Amsterdam Avenue will be overhauled in the area, with widened sidewalks, new benches, increased greenery, improved bus waiting areas and enhanced pedestrian access. Plans also include upgrading the New York Public Library’s performing arts entrance and improving circulation between Amsterdam Avenue and the West 65th Street/Broadway subway station.

“By investing in this transformative redevelopment, we’re opening up world-class arts and performance spaces to the surrounding community, creating new opportunities for free programming, and ensuring that the next generation of New Yorkers can experience the power of the arts right in their own neighborhood,” the governor said. 

Diving into the details, the initiative will redevelop the approximately 2.4-acre Damrosch Park, replacing the existing Guggenheim Bandshell with a newly designed permanent outdoor performance venue to be called The Baron Theater. The open-air theatre will be able to host 2,000 people by removing the existing wall along Amsterdam Avenue.

The wall drop will open the campus to the surrounding neighborhood, officials said, creating new entry points, gardens, seating areas and a significant increase in trees. 

State Sen. Jose Serrano (D-Upper West Side/Upper Manhattan) called the groundbreaking “an exciting new chapter” for Lincoln Center’s campus.

As chair of the Senate committee on cultural affairs, tourism, parks and recreation, I am pleased to celebrate the creation of this new outdoor performance venue and expansion of surrounding green spaces, which will welcome more visitors to experience free and accessible programming, allowing everyone to enjoy the vibrant art scene that New York has to offer,” he said.

Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal (D-Upper West Side/Hell’s Kitchen/Clinton) helped secure state funding for the initiative.

“Lincoln Center, one of the crown jewels in my district, will be on its way to becoming physically accessible to the entire West Side community,” Rosenthal said. “Lincoln Center’s years-long commitment to erasing the exclusivity wrought by the Robert Moses era is commendable, and their work in breaking down those barriers, literally and figuratively, will have a transformative impact on our community.”

The state’s part of the funding is part of a broader $335 million capital campaign that was raised through foundations, private donors, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Board of Directors and “public support from the state and city of New York,” officials said. 

Hood Design Studio, WEISS/MANFREDI and Moody Nolan are the firms designing the project. Officials said they took feedback from thousands of community members gathered during the planning process.

What do Upper West Siders think of the plans?

Liz Constantine Vine of the Upper West Side said she is happy the space will be used.

“That area has been underutilized for too long,” she said. 

Many residents in the area told amNewYork they are looking forward to the amenities, but another person said that building such a massive theater “seems a bit more impersonal.”

What remains unanswered is whether the Big Apple Circus will be held at Damrosch Park again this year, given the construction. A spokesperson for Lincoln Center said reps are “in conversation with the circus.” 

The redesign, including the new amphitheater, is scheduled to open in summer 2028.