Hudson Yards

We’ve been watching Midtown West’s development from a desolate part of New York City to the next thriving residential neighborhood with eager eyes. We get pretty excited each time a new development deal is announced, so imagine our joy when we read that the Brooklyn-based real estate investment company Fortis Property Group recently spent $23.5 million for a development site in Midtown West, which it plans to turn into a residential building.

With dusty construction creating eyesores and heartbroken storeowners on 2nd Avenue, gossip of the MTA’s newest subway line often overshadows other MTA subway projects. But with the city less than 2 years away from completing its 7-line expansion designed to finally pick up stranded Javits Center passengers, a buzz started by concerned commuters has disregarded the Transit Authority's comical budget woes and suggested a left-field extension of their own.

For decades the Far West Side - the space west of Eighth Avenue between 30th and 43rd Streets - has been a stagnant and underdeveloped area inhabited by old factories and parking lots. But over the past few years there’s been a renaissance of development in the area. Manhattan's Far West Side is currently home to 15 residential towers and 12 hotels built since 2005, and there are tentative plans to develop a 51-story office tower in the area, complete with a Coach store. What’s more, New York City is two-thirds of the way done with an L train extension that will bring subway service to 34th St. and 11th Ave., and next year it plans to begin construction on a tree-lined boulevard between 10th and 11th Avenue.  But this booming development might not have happened at all if Mayor Bloomberg's initial plans had been approved. Ladies and gentlemen, New York City would like to present to you its newest business district, Hudson Yards, the inadvertent result of Michael Bloomberg’s failed 2012 Olympics bid.

Would you believe that there’s not a single building designed to host traveling art installations in Manhattan? Well, it’s true, although it might not stay that way for long. A new arts center called the Culture Shed will fill that void; it is a vital part of New York City’s Hudson Yards project. The center is being planned in conjunction with two other major projects: the extension of the High Line from 30th - 34th Street, and the construction of a major office tower directly next door to the Culture Shed. Fundraising is underway for the High Line extension, and the office tower recently found their first tenant in Coach Inc., a major step in the revitalization of what was once a barren part of Manhattan.

At Elegran, we’ve discussed the Hudson Yards megaproject a number of times. Spanning across what is now just a Long Island Rail Road train yard to the west of Penn Station, Hudson Yards would be home to a variety of mixed-use skyscrapers, combining luxury residential, retail, and office space, in essence creating one of Manhattan’s most vibrant neighborhoods. Unfortunately, the development is suffering from an extreme case of bad timing, with little to none of it being built as of now.

In Part 1 of this exclusive Elegran series on the Hudson Yards development, we analyzed the details of Manhattan’s largest real estate and development undertaking. In the 33 acres of re-zoning and re-development that constitute the Hudson Yards, the Department of City Planning expects that up to 12,600 new units of housing will be available, encouraging both current and prospective residents to stay in Manhattan and accommodate new growth in a sustainable and efficient manner. But how will this change the way we view luxury real estate in New York City?

The Hudson Yards, one of the signature development projects in the works for Manhattan, is a vast undertaking, requiring the coordination of a multitude of city organizations. Upon completion, the Hudson Yards’ numerous skyscrapers are expected to contain thousands of residential units, millions of square feet of retail and office space, and copious amounts of waterfront and green space. The Hudson Yards can only be described as massive, covering a 33-square-acre area that was extensively re-zoned in 2005. But what are the Hudson Yards, especially since so little of the project has even hit the groundbreaking phase?