Markthal Rotterdam: Innovation in the Urban Environment

Markthal Rotterdam is one of the most innovative and exciting mixed-use projects I have come across in a long time.  Developed by Provast and designed by architecture firm MVRVD, Markthal (Market Hall) has housing, offices, an amazing indoor food market and one of the largest parking garages (underground) in Rotterdam - all self-contained in a very unique architectural package.  

For an understanding of the scale and design of the project, here is a video:

The building has been designed as an extruded arch that fronts on one of Rotterdam’s pedestrian plazas.  The “positive” space within the arch contains the offices and apartments/condominiums and the negative space under the arch is the market.

Each end of the arch is capped with glazing that stretches 11 stories of the 12 story structure.  The underside of the arch has been embellished with an enormous mural that covers the entire 36,000 sf surface.

Opened in October of 2014, the 1 million plus square foot structure contains 228 apartments, a supermarket, over 100 fresh produce market stalls as well as food related retail spaces.

(All Images - MVRD)

Here is a time lapse video of the construction.  The engineering was quite a feat and there are better videos about how they built the foundation but they are in Dutch:

Bravo to an very well designed and innovative solution that adds to the urban experience. For more information, check out this article from dezeen Magazine:
MRVDV's Markthall Rotterdam Opens

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.  Could it work in America?

Hudson Yards: Two Year Time Lapse Progress

Here is a two year time lapse of the Hudson Yards project, the $15 billion mega-project in New York City.  See The New Heart of New York: Hudson Yards for a full description. How 'bout them apples!

And here is a conceptual view of how they will enclose the trainyard:


And finally,  here is an inside look at the fist commercial building under construction from the above video.

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. 30^th and W 34^th 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. 

Make No Little Plans: Burnham Place Announced in Washington, DC

(View Looking North)

(View Looking South with Capitol Building in Distance)

(Train Shed Looking Southwest)

(Interior View of Train Shed)

(Train Shed as seen from H Street)

Burnham Place was recently announced in Washington DC as the cornerstone of a Master Plan that includes over $7 billion of investment that will include upgrades to Union Station as well as the development of a new urban neighborhood atop the rail yard leading into the existing transportation center.

(View Looking North on First Street)

Plans call for over 1.5 million sf of office space, over 1,300 residential units, 500 plus hotel rooms as well as 100,000 sf of retail.  In total, the project will include over 3 million square-feet of mixed use development on 14 acres and will join together several adjacent areas of DC that had been severed for years by the 20 rail lines that run to and into the station.

(H Street Plaza)

Akridge is the developer for the project and the design team includes AECOM (rail and transit engineers), Thornton Tomasetti(structural engineer), HOK (lead architect for Amtrak’s Master Plan), and Parsons Binckerhoff (lead engineer for Amtrak’s Master Plan). 

Brickell CitiCentre Breaks Ground

Developer Swire Properties recently celebrated the ground-breaking for Brickell CitiCentre, a massive mixed-use project on 9.1 acres in downtown Miami.  Billed as “the largest private sector venture of its kind in Miami history” in their press release, the project certainly has all the stats to make that statement believable.

The project is a $1.05 billion investment built in two phases; Phase I will be completed in 2015 and include the following elements:

·        520,000 sf of retail on three levels.  Store mix includes mainstream mall stores as well as a department store, luxury goods, as well as restaurant and entertainment venues.

·        A 265 room hotel with 85 serviced apartments for extended stays

·        Two 42 story condominium towers each with 800 units

·        A wellness center

·        Two levels of underground parking for 3,100 vehicles

·        Two 120,000 sf, 8 story office towers

·        Redesign of the Eighth Street Metromover station which will be incorporated into the complex

Phase II will be completed in 2018 and will include a second office tower of approximately 700,000 sf.


The project will be located just west of Brickell Avenue between SW 6th Street and SW 8th Street.

(Image from Biz Journals)

(Project Area for Brickell CitiCentre)

(All Renderings © Arquitectonica)

Designed by Miami based Arquitectonica, the open-air urban mixed-use project is expected to be a catalyst for other development since its announcement last year.  In addition, the project is expected to have a significant long-term economic impact on Miami and Dade county through annual property taxes, permit and impact fees, as well as retail and bed taxes.  For a review of the report authored by the Miami Economic Associates, Inc. in April of 2011, see the Development Impact Study that details the entire estimated $1.0 billion economic impact.

King of Queens: Willets Point Mixed Use Development

(All Images from NYC Economic Development Corporation)

Mayor Bloomberg introduced Willets Point last week – billed as New York City’s next great neighborhood.  Similar to the development around St. Louis’ Busch Stadium dubbed Ballpark Village, Willets Point is an area around Citi Field (Home of the NY Mets) that has been a target for development for several years.  The project is massive and will take nearly 20 years to complete.

(Project Area - Citi Field in Lower Left of Image)

Queens Development Group, a new entity comprised of developers Related Cos. And Sterling Equities will lead the project under and agreement announced with New York CityEconomic Development Corp. 

Ballpark Village Update

(Images from St. Louis Cardinals)

The St. Louis Cardinals have released the final plans for Ballpark Village, the 10 acre site north of Busch Stadium that has been planned since 1999.  

(Busch Stadium with Adjacent Project Area)

The $100 million project is expected to break ground this fall with completion set for spring of 2014.  For more information, images and video regarding Ballpark Village and its original plans see my original post St.Louis’ Ballpark Village Hits a Double. 

For more information about the latest development, see:

Fox Sports Midwest:  Latest Ballpark Village plans target 2014

Greenwich Times:  Cardinals reveal new plan forBallpark Village

Xanadu Becomes the American Dream

(Images above from Triple Five)

(Image showing current state of project via Bing Maps)

Xanadu, the long stalled mega mixed-use development in the Meadowlands has been revived and will start construction in the coming months.  The project was originally envisioned by the now defunct Mills Corp, which ran into financial challenges during the economic collapse.  The property then passed to Colony Capital where they also were challenged with keeping the project afloat.  The project sat dormant for several years until a deal was struck last year with TripleFive, the owner of the Mall of America and the West Edmonton Mall in Canada.

Renamed American Dream as part of Triple Five’s new vision of the property, the complex will be a mix of retail and entertainment with attractions including an indoor ski hill (first in North America) that will also have a professional ski school, extreme snowboarding park and snow 365 days per year.  Other attractions include a glass-domed indoor amusement park, water park with surfing, state-of-the-art movie complex, live music and performing arts theater, 200 foot diameter enclosed capsule observation wheel, indoor skating rink, bowling alley and aquarium, miniature golf course, children’s museum, daycare facilities, and dozens of eating options including international gourmet cuisine.

The project is one of the largest in the country with over 1.7 million sf of retail, 1.1 million sf of attractions and 150,000 sf of restaurants.  Future plans call for the complex to eventually hit 7.5 million sf, which will make it the largest shopping and entertainment complex in the world.  The project, expected to cost over $3.7 billion has projections of 55 million annual visits.

It Takes a Village: Teachers Village

(All Images © Richard Meier and Partners)

We have highlighted mixed-use developments that focus on the Creative Class (Creating a Creative Village for the Creative Class) in Orlando, Florida and a Medical Village (Union Village, $1.5 Billion for Retail Medical Mixed-Use) in Henderson, Nevada.  Not to be outdone – Newark broke ground this month on Teachers Village – a mega mixed-use complex of education facilities, housing, retail, and restaurants.

(Approximate Project Area)

The project will consist of 8 building in all and include three charter schools, a daycare center, 200 plus apartments for teachers, and 70,000 sf of retail and restaurant space.  The $150 million project will encompass 4 blocks of downtown Newark.  Leading the development is RBH Group with design by world renowned architect and New Jersey native RichardMeier and Partners Architects with KSS Architects and Mikeselland Associates.

Mixed-Use Development? How about a Mixed-Use City!

(Images from Bizjournals)

Steinberg Architects, a California based firm with an international office in Shanghai has been awarded an astonishing 75 million sf project in Changsha, China.

Although considered a mixed-use project, that would be a major understatement.  What Steinberg will be creating is nothing short of a city that will transform 7,000 acres into a new home for thousands of homes and businesses along the Xiang River.

As reported by Bizjournals, the project will be known as Changsha Songya Hu, and will consist of:

            ~ 63 million sf of residential

            ~ 5.5 million sf of office space

            ~ 4 million sf of commercial space

            ~ 1 million sf of hotel space

            ~ 1.5 million sf of community space

Other amenities included in the project are a waterfront business district and an entertainment district.

DC Introduces The Yards

(All Images above from The Yards website)

The Capital Riverfront district is a 500 acre area south of the United States Capitol on the Anacostia River that includes the Nationals Park (baseball) and the Washington Navy Yard.  Forty-Two acres of these post industrial parcels will be transformed into a mixed-use waterfront development called The Yards in the coming months and years.

The area The Yards inhabits was formerly known as the Navy Yard Annex as it sits adjacent to the Washington Navy Yard.  It has had many uses since its founding in 1799 including the original port of the U.S. Navy, a wharf where many ships delivered raw materials, light industrial business, as well as playing key roles in the British, Spanish-American, and both World Wars.  The multitude of buildings including warehouses, manufacturing, as well as many other buildings that have historic significance will be renovated for housing, retail, office, and entertainment venues.

2012 Olympics, of Retail Development: Westfield Stratford City is Off to a Fast Start

(All Images Above from Westfield's Website)

Aside from thousands of athletes and visitors, the Olympics bring unprecedented development to the host city. Sports venues, the Olympic Village, infrastructure and transportation improvements are planned years in advance and begin to take shape as the opening day draws near. 

To capitalize on the millions of visitors and the international spotlight the Olympics generate, developers have been equally busy planning and building retail developments to serve those visitors and claim a piece of the economic pie. Visa, in its London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Expenditure and Economic Impact report estimates that the 2012 Olympics could generate in excess of $1 Billion in additional consumer spending and those dollars, pounds, euros, and countless other currencies will be spent lodging, shopping and eating in these strategically placed developments.