5 Reasons to Live in Hudson Yards
Featuring one-of-a-kind architecture and state-of-the-art facilities, Hudson Yards attracts New Yorkers and visitors alike.
It’s an ambitious project that connects Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen and Midtown Manhattan. But does it really live up to its promises?
Shops & Restaurants
The slick new neighborhood on Manhattan’s West Side has the feel of an upscale mall, albeit with more impressive chefs and a big fancy hotel (the related Equinox will have rooms for $700 a night). There’s a huge luxury store called Neiman Marcus; the latest in experiential and digitally native retailers; and restaurants that range from elegant temaki to the more casual Fuku.
A few months after Hudson Yards opened with glitzy fanfare on March 15 (the date is a nod to the Ides of March, an inauspicious day in Shakespeare’s history), the complex is starting to find its groove.
In the shops, there’s a new outpost of Pret A Manger — a stall modeled on convenience stores in parts of Asia — and a space for the chef David Chang to showcase his love of Asian flavors and dishes at Kawi. His fried chicken sandwich chain, Fuku, also has a restaurant here with a to-go window called Peach Mart.
The Shed
In this bloated commercial citadel, the Shed stands out as the one public element—a nonprofit cultural center that commissions, develops and presents work across performing arts, visual arts and pop culture. Its gleaming new $475m building, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rockwell Group, can physically transform to support artists’ most ambitious ideas. Its outer shell—known as The McCourt—deployed over the plaza creates a 17,000-square-foot space for large-scale performances, installations and events that seats 1,250 seated or more than 2,000 standing.
When the outer shell is retracted, The Shed’s two level-two galleries are expansive, column-free spaces that can host museum-quality exhibitions and events. The plaza itself features the Shed’s first visual art commission, Lawrence Weiner’s site-specific installation IN FRONT OF ITSELF, fabricated with custom paving stones. The Shed opens to the public on April 5 with a five-night series, Soundtrack of America, celebrating the influence of African American music. Its playful, makeshift profile gives the Shed a distinctly funky vibe that contrasts with the oligarchic behemoth around it.
Residences
Hudson Yards is a neighborhood bursting with energy—a cultural hub forming in real time. It’s also an ideal location for your home or investment.
The city’s taxing authority has increased its allocation to the Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corporation to cover higher-than-expected development costs at the neighborhood on Manhattan’s West Side. The project is expected to add $19 billion annually to New York’s economy, according to city officials.
When the Related Companies began work on Hudson Yards, the 28-acre megaproject it built and marketed as “the next big thing” for Manhattan’s elite West Side, its goal was to create a full-fledged neighborhood, with office towers, luxury retailers, and a mix of high-end apartments.
To do that, Related and its partners needed to rely on a government program aimed at encouraging foreign-born residents to invest in urban areas with high unemployment. And as CityLab reported last year, state authorities aided the effort by gerrymandering a map to qualify the project for the lower-tier designation known as a “targeted employment area.” Its qualifying zone snakes up from the West Side and includes census tracts where public housing projects boost overall unemployment figures.
Public Spaces
The Public Square and Gardens are a public gathering place at the heart of Hudson Yards that serves as a vibrant living room for the West Side. Its commanding centerpiece is Vessel, a monumental interactive design by Heatherwick Studio meant to be climbed and explored. 154 intricately interconnecting flights of stairs take visitors up through the garden, offering a range of perspectives and experiences.
The landscape features native horticulture that responds to seasonal changes, including a colorful array of flowering shrubs and trees, berries, and fruiting perennials that provide habitat for migratory birds. The meadows and gardens are designed for year-round enjoyment, with a variety of shaded outdoor seating.
The complex brings new jobs and economic vitality to the area, a 750-seat public school, and a luxury hotel and fitness center. It also expands Midtown Manhattan by adding more vibrant places to live, work and play. The project is a testament to the power of the public imagination, as well as the value of partnerships between developers and civic organizations.