High Line Zoning Changes

On June 23, 2005, the City Council approved applications for the West Chelsea/High Line proposal. The adopted actions include Zoning amendments to allow for creation of a new Special West Chelsea District and rezoning portions of the West Chelsea area from M1-5 light manufacturing zoning to allow mixed commercial and residential development. The Council also approved acquisition and site selection of the High Line by the city to facilitate its reuse as a public open space via TDRs.  Transferable development rights are means of transferring property rights such as building heights, floor area ratios, and other physical attributes between owners to allow for development/construction flexibility.

The West Chelsea rezoning proposal contains provisions intended to enhance the proposed High Line open space and to ensure that adjacent developments engage with and relate to the High Line. To encourage preservation of light and air around the High Line, the proposal would allow development rights to be transferred from High Line properties to designated receiving sites within the Special West Chelsea District. New development along Tenth Avenue, adjacent to the High Line, would also be subject to a series of building bulk and use controls to encourage connections to the High Line and the preservation of light, air and views.
Source: West Chelsea Zoning Proposal

High Line Transitions

Source: New York Times Aug 2010

At the foot of the High Line is the Meat-Packing District, an area that has seen its share of transition.  When industrial freight deliveries stopped coming through, the area became during the 1980s "notorious as a postindustrial wasteland, populated by body shops, truck yards, and transvestite prostitutes". (New York Magazine) The High Line winds from the Meat-Packing District up through the Gallery District and West Chelsea, with Phase III planned to reach nearly to Clinton.  Since the High Line development has begun and bolstered by celebrity endorsements, the neighborhoods below are now home to condominiums and luxury rentals as well as restaurants and retail, making the High Line park a destination in its own right. Many view it as an urban green oasis. Others see it as culture-less and a harbinger of displacement.


“The High Line has been a very positive influence to push activities to Washington [St.], which was sort of a back street, but now it’s become very prime,” Mr. Pariser said. (New York Times)

A rendering of the design for the new Downtown Whitney Museum of American Art on Gansevoort St., viewed from the south. The High Line park is at right.
Source: The Villager

Source: Urban Sherp June 2009

Sources:

New York Times "As a Park Runs Above, Deals Stir Below" August 10, 2010
The Villager "Whitney Museum is still on track for 2012 opening"
New York Magazine "The High Line: It Brings Good Things to Life"
Urban Sherp "The High Line Greenspace Opens in NYC" June 17, 2009

High Line: Cost, Revenue & Development

Costs:
The first section of the High Line opened to the public in June 2009, at a total cost of $172 million dollars. More than 300,000 visited within the first six weeks. Though the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation provides security for the High Line and maintains its structures and accessibility, Friends of the High Line (FHL) manage day-to-day operations, which are estimated to cost between $3.5 and $4.5 million annually. A proposal to create a Business Improvement District in the area has been withdrawn.

Revenue:
The High Line is credited with bringing new development to the neighborhood. By the end of 2008, there were already 1.5 million square feet of living spaces, offices, and hotels under construction, with an additional 2.5 million square feet in the planning stages. New York City officials expect High Line Park to bring the City $900 million in revenue over the next 30 years and spur $4 billion in private investment.



Speculation & Development:
Several world renowned architects have designed buildings around the High Line, including Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Robert A. M. Stern, Shigeru Ban, Renzo Piano, and Annabelle Selldorf.  Many condo units have been pre-sold and developers are reporting success in refinancing construction loans. Interest in real estate and attendance at restaurants near the High Line have both significantly increased since the park's opening.

Broker Matt Bergey with CB Richard Ellis said he’s seen commercial rents rise $2 to $3 per square foot over the past year to the $55 to $60 range. Earlier this year, the Starrett-Lehigh — where Martha Stewart and Tommy Hilfiger are based — changed hands for $900 million. (Marritz)

Sources:
PlanNYC.org "High Line Redevelopment" June 14, 2010
Marritz, Ilya WNYC News  "As the High Line Grows, Business Falls in Love with a Public Park" June 07, 2011

Glenwood, readnewyork.com "The High Line New York Section 2 Opens" June 9, 2011

The High Line Preservation & Public Space

The High Line is a city greenway originally constructed in the early 1930s as a safer alternative part of New York's West Side railway. Extending from the Meatpacking District on the Lower West Side to West 34th Street, level with the Empire State Building, the High Line covers 22 blocks.  Since its April 2006 groundbreaking, the innovative re-use project has been showered with praise, spurring visitors and nearby retail and residential development. The design by Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro consists of a long meandering walkway lined with grass, plants, and trees, with seating and multiple entry/exit points.

"New Yorkers always dream of finding open space—it's a fantasy when you live in a studio apartment," [Joshua David, a freelance writer] David said. "We just wanted to fight Giuliani to keep it from being demolished," Hammond said. "But preservation was only the first step, and we began to realize that we could create a new public place."

High Line Rail Raising

The High Line, Manhattan | April 10, 2006

© Copyright New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

Times Square Alliance: Happenings since the BID

The Times Square Alliance, founded in 1992 to make Times Square 'clean, safe, and welcoming."  The non-profit:

• promotes local businesses; encourages economic development and public improvements; 
• co-coordinates numerous major events in Times Square (including the annual New Year's Eve and Broadway on Broadway celebrations);
• manages the Times Square Information Center; 
• and advocates on behalf of its constituents with respect to a host of public policy, planning and quality-of-life issues. 

Development in the Times Square Area (Click for more detail.)

• 6,000 Residential Units Built Since 1990 and 6,500 In Development
• 4,863 Units Recently Developed Residential Buildings
• 7,671 Units Existing Large Residential Buildings

[Author] Selected Times Square Happenings Since BID established

Source: Times Square Alliance

Times Square BIDs

As a thriving retail/tourism corrido, Times Square is surrounded by business improvement districts working collectively to keep the area economically and culturally vibrant.

Source: http://gis.nyc.gov/

Times Square Development

New development slowed as Times Square regained its footing with public safety efforts and revival of entertainment business.  More recently, development has increased again including the Times Building construction and residential condominiums along 8th Ave.

Who Lives in Times Square?

According to the Times Square District Management Association, Inc., the Times Square area is not only home to theaters and retailers, but residents, too, many of whom live in the historic mixed-use buildings.

• 33,360 households 
• 71% under 50 years old 
• Median income of $75, 000 for residents between 25 and 34 years old 
• 70% employed in creative occupations (arts, media, publishing, etc.) 
• 58% college educated

When I think of Times Square, I think of businesses and tourists. Residents of Times Square must ensure their perspective is included with business owners as the area becomes increasingly vital to the municipal economy.

Source:  Times Square Alliance

Times Square

The intersections of Broadway, 42 St., and 7th Ave were formerly known as "Longacre Square" until 1904 when the New York Times raised its headquarters building and catalyzed development.  Theatres, neon lights and the subway transformed Times Square into the American icon it is best known as.  After decline in the 60s and 70s, political pressures and a crackdown on crime led to a resurgence in the area restoring its heritage as a premier entertainment destination.



Broadway and Times Building (One Times Square), New York City app. 1903-1910 Source : Library of Congress Detroit Publishing Company Collection



New York Times Square 1943
Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division 



 Times Square on a rainy day 1943
Source: Library of Congress  Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540

Times Square Panorama 2004

Source: Wikipedia

Fulton Street BID

"Goals are to retain current businesses and improve the atmosphere to make this area of Fulton Street a clean, safe and retail diverse environment that will become a local shopping and civic destination, rather than a thoroughfare."

Top five goals for July 2009 (for FAB, October 2009 start) through June 2010:

1. Sanitation (street cleaning & graffiti removal)
2. Marketing and Promotion (social media, increased merchants association participation, holiday & retail events)
3. Beautification (banners, lighting, street-scaping)
4. Public Safety (staffing)
5. Advocacy for Members (media & civic engagement)

Source: http://faballiance.org/programs-initiatives

Source: http://www.facebook.com/FABFulton

Sources:

Fulton Area Business Alliance

Fulton Area Business Alliance “Annual Report Submission to the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS)” November 5, 2010

Fort Greene / Clinton Hill Rezoning

On July 25, 2007 the City Council adopted Fort Greene / Clinton Hill zoning changes to preserve the area's development scale, limiting the impact of previous zoning without height restrictions that had resulted in inconsistent development. As market demand for housing within Fort Greene and Clinton Hill has increased, a number of out-of-scale, 11- to 13-story tower developments are proposed or have been constructed that are inconsistent with the low-rise, row house neighborhood character. In conjunction with this rezoning, there is a related zoning text amendment to permit the use of the Inclusionary Housing bonus to create incentives for the development and preservation of affordable housing in the R7A districts along Myrtle Avenue, Fulton Street, and Atlantic Avenue. 

This rezoning was supported by the Myrtle Ave BID which "to assist the small businesses located along the avenue and improve the quality of life of the surrounding neighborhoods". 

Under the Inclusionary Housing program, a development providing affordable housing are eligible for a floor area bonus, within contextual height limit and bulk regulations tailored to this area. Affordable units can be provided either on-site or off-site. Off-site affordable units must be located within the same community district or within a half-mile of the bonused development if in a different community district.
Source: NYC Department of Planning

Fort Greene / Clinton Hill Proposed Zoning
Source: NYC Department of Planning

Sources:

Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District

NYC Planning Department

Brooklyn BIDs near Atlantic Yards Development

There are a number of business improvement districts (BIDs) in Brooklyn in close proximity to the Atlantic Yards development site.

Source: http://gis.nyc.gov/