Developing Manhattan's West Side Rail Yards... Take 2

Once again NYC is attempting to create a development plan for Manhattan's Hudson Yards -- the largest building site available in Manhattan. The NYTimes had a story today on the latest updates to the situation, and as of right now it looks like five large developers will be bidding on the rights to build there.

The current plan includes space for residential, retail, and office buildings as well as space for cultural/recreation areas and hotels. One important 'workaround' will be the existing High Line train tracks that some New Yorkers are fighting to keep undeveloped, so that they can be turned into parks and recreation space. The city plans to convert the line into a park from 30th Street to Gansevoort Street but insists that the costs to convert the rest of the line into a park would be too great and would outweigh the benefits -- the current estimate would be an additional $100 million.

This project is big news to anyone living in Manhattan for a couple of reasons. First, developing this area would bring billions of construction dollars to a huge area of midtown's west side and provide much-needed living space in Manhattan. The city is crowded and more apartment space is always needed. One important caveat is that the buildings constructed fill a current need for more low-income or at least 'reasonably affordable' living spaces. Constructing high-rise condos or co-op buildings will be a waste of the land, in my opinion, especially if hotels are developed on the land as well.

Second, brand new parks will be created that will west side residents access to green spaces that they currently lack. For west-siders, there simply aren't many options when it comes to open spaces. Central Park is easily accessible for uptown residents but for those who live below 42nd Street, a park or at the very least some open space in the 30s would be greatly appreciated. I am not included in that group (I live in the upper 70s on the east side) but I do see the need.

Third, developing the west side rail yards goes hand-in-hand with the completion of the 7 Line Extension Project, which will provide a route from 34th Street on the west side (near Penn Station/MSG) all the way to Grand Central Terminal and the east side of Manhattan -- this may be the best part of the project because there is currently no easy route from Penn Station to the east side that doesn't require at least one transfer between buses or subways. It will be a huge benefit to anyone commuting to or from New Jersey to have a direct path from Penn Station to Grand Central, which is what the 7 Line Extension will provide.

I will undoubtedly keep a close eye on the progress of this project.