Friday, July 22, 2011

Hudson Yards Development Inching Towards Construction

Luxury designer Coach is close to signing a lease on the Hudson Yards development, providing the cornerstone tenant needed to kickstart the massive construction project at Hudson Yards, Crain's New York reported.
 
Coach, which has been negotiating with Hudson Yards developer Related Cos. for several months, might sign on an office space of 600,000 square feet at the property near 10th and 12th avenues between 30th and 33rd streets as soon as next month.
 
The master plan for the entire $15-billion, 12-million-square-foot project includes three office buildings; nine residential towers with 5,000 units; a 750,000-square-foot, glass-encased mall; a school; a cultural center; and 12-acres of open space. The project will take as long as 15 years to complete. The developer has said the project's first office tower could open as early as 2015.
 
Currently, the 26-acre Hudson Yards space, owned by the MTA, is a storage yard. The largest undeveloped space in Manhattan received city approval at the end of 2009 for the Related Cos. to develop it as office towers, apartment buildings, and parks.
 
While the Hudson Yards area remains raw, the opening of the second stretch of the High Line, which now runs all the way up to West 30th Street, makes the site attractive for prospective tenants like Coach. The strip by Hudson Yards' future development has recently drawn more foot traffic since the High Line's extension to 30th Street. The company is currently based in the garment district at 516 W. 34th St., a property the firm owns. The No. 7 subway extension to West 34th Street and Eleventh Avenue, expected to open at the end of 2013, is also expected to help draw interest.
 
Related signed a contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to develop Hudson Yards in spring 2010, but the developer still has to reach a number of economic benchmarks before it can close and sign the 99-year ground lease and begin construction. Some in the community believe that it's unlikely that the area will experience a full resurgence until the Hudson Yards area is developed.”
  
By Meredith Hoffman / DNAinfo.com
July 22, 2011 11:09am