Hudson Yards Breaks Ground

The future of New York has broken ground on the largest undeveloped property in Manhattan, Hudson Yards. Once a railroad storage yard, the $15 billion project on Manhattan’s West side is now America’s largest and densest site for real-estate development. Mayor Michael Bloomberg called it one of the largest private developments ever undertaken in the United States. Related Companies, the lucky developer of this gigantic 26-acre site, is responsible for the site’s 13.3 million square feet of upcoming office, residential, and retail space. Development will proceed on top of an $800 million platform covering the railroad tracks.

Hudson Yards’ ceremonial groundbreaking recently took place for the first building to be built on the property, a 48-story office tower scheduled to be completed by 2015. The sister office tower, whose groundbreaking is to come, will be one of the nation’s tallest buildings with a formidable height of 1,300 square feet. Both buildings were designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, Hudson Yards’ master planner.

Apart from the two office skyscrapers, Hudson Yards will house a residential tower with 680 luxury apartments as well as a multi-purpose tower designed by Skidmore’s David Childs. If all goes according to plan, the multi-use tower will be home to an Equinox gym, a sports emporium, an orthopedic hospital, a hotel, several luxury condos, and some office space. 

Further properties will be a “shopping arcade,” which we assume is just a fancy name for a new mall, and “the culture shed,” a large, as-of-yet unexposed space for traveling exhibits and other events. As neither the city nor Related has revealed any information about “the culture shed,” it remains an intriguing mystery; many speculations and renderings have been made, but none of them have been verified by Related. Another planned public area will be “The Public Plaza,” which was revealed by Stephen Ross, the chairman of Related Companies, to be "a modern-day Trevi Fountain… a town square alive with purpose and electricity."

Plans have also been made for the undeveloped space surrounding Hudson Yards. Much like New York’s no. 1 park attraction, “The High Line,” a former railroad spur turned into a mile long aerial greenway extending all the way up to 30th street, Hudson Yards’ border will be renovated into an aerial greenway.

We expect that the development of Hudson Yards will significantly increase the value of current buildings in the area, such as Plus Art, Chelsea Muse, and 555 West 23rd street.