Moving to Hudson Yards

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Under Construction: Manhattan’s Metropolitan Marvel

A new district is emerging from Manhattan’s West Side. This urban masterpiece, otherwise known as Hudson Yards, sits among some of Manhattan’s most desirable neighborhoods. Neighboring districts include Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown, and Meatpacking.

Being that Shleppers Moving & Storage has been a NYC business for over 30 years, Manhattan’s metropolitan marvels are often regarded as part of our everyday landscape. So, trust us when we say that this New York City “neighborhood” is an industrial wonder to behold.

Appropriately described as “The New Heart of New York”, Hudson Yards is the largest NYC development since Rockefeller Center. From engineers, architects, and designers, to public servants, business leaders and celebrities— the Hudson Yards build-plan called for an assembly of experts in various fields. The State of New York, City of New York, and Metropolitan Transportation Authority began planning this vivacious, mixed-use neighborhood in 2001; with the intent to supplement the expanding Midtown business district and provide jobs and housing for NYC’s ever-increasing population.

History in The Making

Not only is Hudson Yards the largest development in America, this soon-to-be neighborhood is also one of the most complicated megaprojects in the history of New York City.

Construction began in 2012, when two platforms were built to act as a bridge over three rail tunnels, the Gateway Tunnel, and 30 active train tracks (train tracks that remained operational throughout the duration of the build). More information on the build itself as told by Related Companies here.

According to Business Insider, the Hudson Yards complex in its entirety is set for completion in 2024. The district will play host to over 18 million sq. ft. of residential and commercial real estate, including more than 100 shops, an assembly of restaurants, cutting edge office towers, a public-school built for 750 pupils, 14 acres of open space for public enjoyment, and, most importantly for you, roughly 4,000 residences.

Hudson Yards & NYC Affordable Housing

This neighborhood is currently being constructed to cater to the future of Manhattan. That being said, its expensive retail and housing prices were also anticipated to prevent it from being populated by the very demographic it’s meant to serve: cohorts of Millennials and members of Generation Z.

Enter: NYC Affordable Housing. Negotiations between developers and the local community board have resulted affordably priced housing for approximately 400 of the 4,000 residential units. This affordable housing lottery was implemented in order to house some of the young professionals that the Hudson Yards is being built to service.

The Evolution of Hudson Yards

When all is said and done, Hudson Yards— currently an in-process megaproject— will result in a mixed-use metropolitan masterpiece. If you plan to one day call Hudson Yards “home”, then it’s important that you know its story.  From waterfront fortification fill to urban masterpiece, the area has worn many different hats over Manhattan’s 400-year history. Here’s a brief breakdown:

1782: British Head Quarters map illustrates an unknown waterfront buttress on what we know today as West 34^thStreet between 11^th& 12^thAvenues. A map overly of present-day Manhattan exposes just how much of the area is built on fill.

1849: The Hudson River Railroad opens, transporting passengers from as far north as Albany, NY. Trains running next to pedestrian traffic led to recurrent pedestrian deaths, eventually giving the ground-level tracks the moniker, “Death Avenue.”

1930s: Hudson River Railroad’s ground-level tracks are traded in for the cargo-carrying High Line.

Post WWII:The Northeast railroad industry falls due to the convenience of the Interstate Highway System for short-range transfer of goods and people via bus, truck and automobile.

1970: Freight yards owned by Penn Central Transportation Company become mere ghosts of private rail travel when the enterprise claims the largest corporate bankruptcy in US history.

Mid-1970s: Donald Trump uses his father’s relations with New York’s Democratic machine and local investors to purchase Penn Central’s holdings—which included the two 77-acre freight yards, otherwise known as the “West Side Yards.”

1975-1997: One freight yard becomes the location of the Jacob J. Javits Center. Trump eventually sells the remaining yard, and Penn Central’s NYC passenger service is overtaken by government agencies like Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and Metro-North Railroad.

This event set the scene for all future development of the area, described in further detail by Curbed NY here.

Shleppers is Ready When You Are, Hudson

With six years of construction left, Hudson Yards’ housing units should be open for residency by 2024 the latest—and Shleppers Moving & Storage will be ready for the job come move-in day! According to Curbed NY, the majority of the area’s most monstrous buildings will be open by next year. Check out their comprehensive build timeline for more specific status updates and projected openings on Hudson Yard’s most monstrous buildings!