The largest private development in the U.S., the Hudson Yards mega-project is only half-complete, yet it has already transformed the Midtown Manhattan skyline.
Nestled along the Hudson River next to Chelsea, the 28-acre development is a veritable ‘city within a city.’ Upon completion, the $20 billion project will feature over a dozen skyscrapers, more than 5,000 apartments, a public school, retail and dining options, as well as cultural and public space, all connected by a brand new, state-of-the-art subway station.
Developed by Related Companies and Oxford Properties and designed by major architecture firms like KPF and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Hudson Yards is being constructed in two phases. Phase one is almost complete, and it includes the office towers at 10, 30, 50 and 55 Hudson Yards, as well as two residential towers at 15 and 35 Hudson Yards. Phase two is expected to bring additional residential buildings, office towers, and a public school to the area, with delivery scheduled for 2024.
Hudson Yards has attracted investor interest since it first broke ground in 2012. The excellent location, coupled with the large offering of state-of-the-art, ultra-modern office space has drawn companies to the area like a magnet. Major tenants include Coach, Tapestry, L’Oreal, SAP and the Boston Consulting Group at 10 Hudson Yards; Time Warner, Allianz, Wells Fargo, Oxford Properties, Related Companies at 30 Hudson Yards; and BlackRock, Boies, Schiller + Flexner and MarketAxess at 50 Hudson Yards.
The office towers of Hudson Yards are in good company, as construction on the project has led to other developers betting on this section of Midtown. Hudson Yards is conveniently located adjacent to Brookfield Properties’ Manhattan West, Joseph Moinian’s 3 Hudson Boulevard and Tishman Speyer’s The Spiral, which will be anchored by Pfizer.
Hudson Yards offers companies the modern office space that they can’t find in the old buildings of the Plaza District or Fifth Avenue. Large, flexible floorplans bathed in natural light, floor-to-ceiling windows, best-in-class technology: all these features have convinced major companies to relocate their headquarters from Downtown or Midtown to Hudson Yards.
The high demand and the popularity of the project, however, have led office rents in Hudson Yards to rise at a super-fast pace. Asking rents reached an average of $118 per square foot in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to CBRE, well above the average of $76 asked in Downtown Manhattan.
Residents and commuters in the neighborhood have several public transit opportunities at their disposal. The new 34th Street-Hudson Yards subway station serves the 7 line, which is expected to become the busiest single-line in the city. Other transportation options include the PATH Train and commuter rails from Penn Station, the West Side Highway, the Lincoln Tunnel and the ferries along the Hudson River.
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