Friday, September 27, 2013

The New Heart of New York: Hudson Yards

(Images above - Related Companies)
They don’t call them mega-projects for nothin’.  Hudson Yards, has recently broke ground on the largest private real estate development in US History. The $15 Billion redevelopment project sits on the west side of Manhattan fronting the Hudson River between W. 30th and W 34th Streets (it is worth note that the Hudson Yards district from which this project is named is a much larger area).  

(Project Master Plan and Boundaries)
(Image of existing MTA rail yard)

The 26 acre parcel (the largest undeveloped piece of property in Manhattan) is currently home to the Metropolitan Transit Authority West Side Yard.  The plan is to develop the air rights over the sprawling rail yard and develop a mixed-use community consisting of 10 high rise towers (office and residential), a 750,000 sf mall, 14 acre park, cultural spaces, a hotel and a school that will eclipse 10 million sf of development. Although on a much more massive scale, this project has many similarities to BurnhamPlace in Washington, DC where air rights are being developed on that project as well. And although the train yard provides opportunities to start from scratch in this urban scenario, this project also has similarities to The Yards in DC as well.  Both have been chronicled in previous posts.