RFEI deadline extended to get the best for Island.

Officials have extended a deadline for developing Governors Island in an effort to attract the best possible ideas from builders.

Originally due in May, a Request for Expressions of Interest for the development of the Island has been extended to June 20 to allow more developers and potential commercial occupants to participate in the submission process for ideas envisioning the best use of the island.

Issued by the Governors Island Preservation & Education Corporation, which owns and operates most of the island and is overseeing its development, the RFEI will provide an open forum for potential creative uses of the island. The concepts and rough plans generated by the RFEI will be used to inform the guidelines of the forthcoming Request for Proposal, which could be issued as soon as the end of the summer.

"We want to get the best ideas for the use of the land, but we also want them to be in line with marketplace realities," said Secretary of New York State Randy Daniels, who is the chairman of the board for GIPEC. "It's going to be private developers who are putting up their money building the site and so we want to have realistic guidelines that call for something that they can invest in."

Before opening the brainstorming process up to the market, GIPEC--which is administered by a 12-member board consisting of six state and six city representatives--conducted its own analysis of the best uses for the island's grounds that indicated hotels, conference centers, short stay apartments, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, museums and retail shops could all be good fits.

Respondents to the RFEI could offer plans that are markedly different. Said Daniels, "They very well might come up with plans that better utilize the island and that's what this process is about--getting the best ideas."

Located only 800 yards from the southernmost tip of Manhattan, the 172-acre island has been partitioned into two roughly equal halves, a Northern and Southern half. The former is a 92-acre National Historic Landmark District home to many landmarks, including two fortresses constructed in the early 1800s and rows of elegant old mansions, Victorian houses and Admiral's quarters that reveal the island's history as a military installation.

The southern portion, which begins below Liggett Hall, a historic building that spans nearly the width of the island, has less historical value and is the area eligible for redevelopment. Occupied by the Coast Guard from 1966-1995, South Island is populated with dormitories, mess halls, warehouses and repair sheds that will all likely be razed for the island's planned revitalization.

Sold by the Federal Government to the city and state in 2003 for the perfunctory sum of $1, the island has specific restrictions on what kinds of projects can be developed. No permanent housing or condominiums can be constructed and 40 acres of open park space must remain. 20 acres will be dedicated for educational purposes and surrounding the island will be a public esplanade.

In the mid 90s, it was proposed that casinos be constructed on the island.

The Federal Government prohibited such plans when it transferred the island to city and state control.