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

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