COP Hears Details of City’s Hudson Yards Plan

Table of Contents New York Building Congress Salutes Industry’s Best Nagaraja Outlines Ambitious Timeline for MTA Expansion COP Hears Details of City’s Hudson Yards Plan Boat Tour Focuses on Waterfront Development Opportunities School Officials Tout New Five-Year Capital Plan Larry Silverstein on WTC Redevelopment Progress SUNY/CUNY Capital Programs on Hold

Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff and Jets President L. Jay Cross laid out a bold vision for the future of Manhattan's Far West Side during a New York Building Congress Council of Presidents (COP) Luncheon in October.

Dubbed Hudson Yards, the area encompasses three million square feet of underdeveloped land bounded by the Garment District to the East, Chelsea to the South and Clinton to the North. At present, truck and bus parking, utility storage lots and City service facilities dominate the far West Side.

“This area is absolutely critical to ensure the
economic health of New York City long into the future,” said Deputy Mayor Doctoroff. “We have an opportunity to build, virtually from scratch, a vast
and dynamic district in the heart of the City.”

The Bloomberg administration is proposing $5 billion of public investments as a means of creating a spectacular new community. The plan would lead to the construction of a new multi-use sports, entertainment and convention facility, a one million square foot expansion of the Jacob Javits Convention Center, 12,000 new apartments, three hotels, 28 million square feet of commercial space and considerable parkland.

The multi-use facility could operate as a 75,000 seat stadium and would serve as a home for the New York Jets and as the Olympic Stadium in the event New York City were awarded the 2012 Games. Since it would have a retractable roof and movable seating, it could convert to a facility holding over 100,000 square feet of exhibition space, 20,000 square feet of meeting space and a plenary hall that could seat up to 60,000 people. It would be connected to the Javits Convention Center underground at 34th Street. According to the City's estimates, the initial public investment would reap upwards of $80 billion in new tax revenues for the City over 30 years.

In addition to the funding, the plan will rely on two other critical public sector components – expansion of mass transit, particularly the # 7 line, to accommodate new residents and employees, and a rezoning of the district to allow for the types of mixed uses currently envisioned by the Bloomberg administration.

At present, the City's plan is undergoing an extensive environmental review. The next critical step in the rezoning plan – the Uniform Land Use Review Process – is expected to begin in the spring of 2004. Construction of the #7 train line is slated to start a year later. The opening of the subway, which will link Manhattan’s West Side to most lines in the transit system, is envisioned to coincide with the opening of an expanded Javits Center and the new Jets Stadium in 2009. According to the plan, the first commercial office building is projected to be ready for occupancy in 2010.

Members of the COP, which includes leaders of organizations and associations
throughout the City's building community, praised the Bloomberg administration
for presenting such a bold and forward-looking vision of Manhattan's future. Those assembled also pledged their support as the plan moves through the approvals process.