Hudson Yards Will Redefine Manhattan

Greg David says there's a big angle to the story about the Hudson Yards project in New York City that is going unnoticed amidst a dispute between unions and developer The Related Cos.

The bigger story is the way Hudson Yards has—faster than anyone expected—fulfilled the two goals of the government officials who set it in motion: create capacity for the New York economy to expand and revive a moribund waterfront section of Manhattan. Its success can be attributed to more than $600 million in direct public investment and a very lucrative tax break.

The first phase of Hudson Yards, built with more than $18 billion in equity and debt over a storage and maintenance yard for Long Island Rail Road trains, will open to the public next March 14, Related says. The numbers couldn't be more impressive. The developer has leased or sold 7 million square feet of office space to tenants ranging from luxury accessories specialist Tapestry to ad agency BCG to media giant Time Warner to BlackRock, the largest money manager in the world. Some 55,000 thousand people will work there every day.

The article includes a history of the project, from its early days as a cornerstone in the Bloomberg Administration's pitch to bring the Olympics to New York City in 2012 (the games were ultimately played in London) to the big public investments that have set the stage for the success of Hudson Yards.