Meatpacking District

In August, four months after topping out, Jeanne Gang’s High Line-adjacent tower at 40 Tenth Avenue had its geometric glass installed. Images released by Studio Gang showed the 10-story office building taking shape and showed off its unique glazing system on the lower levels. Now, Aurora Capital Associates and William Gottlieb Real Estate, the project's developers, are offering new renderings of the building itself and its future office spaces for a new view of the “solar carve” that the building has been known for (h/t Curbed).
More new angles, this way

September 14, 2018

See the Meatpacking District’s 20-year metamorphosis from desolate to under-construction

By Hannah Frishberg

6sqft’s series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, Brian Rose shares his past and present Meatpacking streetscapes. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. A native of Virginia's Colonial Williamsburg, photographer Brian Rose moved to New York City in 1977 and captured some of the most fleeting, bankrupted moments of the Meatpacking District in one January of 1985. In 2013, he returned to the neighborhood – impossibly changed – and once again photographed it. He then presented both sets of photos in his 2014 book "Metamorphosis: Meatpacking District 1985 + 2013." Read on for an interview with Rose on old-school NYC, 9/11, and the city's unknowable future.
See the before-and-afters

Places

See new photos of Jeanne Gang’s ‘solar carving’ tower take shape along the High Line

Photo by Timothy Schenck

August 29, 2018

See new photos of Jeanne Gang’s ‘solar carving’ tower take shape along the High Line

Four months after topping out, Jeanne Gang's tower at 40 Tenth Avenue is getting its geometric glass installed. New images released by Studio Gang show the 10-story commercial building taking shape between the High Line and the Hudson River, as well as its unique glazing system on the lower levels (h/t designboom). Formerly dubbed the Solar Carve Tower because of the way the building is "sculpted by the angles of the sun," 40 Tenth Avenue features a curtain wall made of diamond-shaped panels facing downward, with four triangular pieces around it.
See its progress

First look at ODA’s boxy condo coming to busy 14th Street corner

Rendering by ODA Architecture

July 25, 2018

First look at ODA’s boxy condo coming to busy 14th Street corner

First renderings of ODA Architecture's 13-story tower planned for Greenwich Village reveal a Tetris-inspired, boxy design, YIMBY reported on Wednesday. Much like the firm's other projects, the facade of the building, located at 101 West 14th Street, will look like a series of sculpted, stacked boxes. Developer Gemini Rosemont has filed permits to convert the site which currently holds a former bank into condos with ground floor retail. There will be 45 condos total, with 21 of them duplexes.
See the design

July 17, 2018

PHOTOS: Pier 55’s undulating support structure takes shape on the Hudson River

Construction photo via CityRealty; Rendering via Heatherwick Studio Construction has moved along quite nicely at Pier 55, the on-again, off-again public park project funded by billionaire businessman Barry Diller planned for the Hudson River. While there was not much to show when the park broke ground in April, photos recently taken by CityRealty reveal new concrete pylons arranged in various heights. These will act as the wave-shaped floating park's support structure.
See the photos

Details revealed for the Whitney Museum’s upcoming Warhol exhibit

Image: Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” at MoMA, via Brando/Flickr

June 20, 2018

Details revealed for the Whitney Museum’s upcoming Warhol exhibit

“To humanize Warhol and get people to actually look at what he made is not as easy as it might sound.” Donna De Salvo, deputy director and senior curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art had this to say to the New York Times among other newly-released details on what to expect in “Andy Warhol — From A to B and Back Again,” opening on November 12th. The show will be the first Warhol retrospective offered by a United States museum since 1989. De Salvo is referring to the myth of Warhol, in his lifetime and even more so after it.
Find out more

Events & Things To Do

June 12, 2018

New marble-clad interior renderings revealed for Bjarke Ingels’ High Line-facing XI

Renderings via Dbox for HFZ Capital Group Back in April, 6sqft brought you a new batch of renderings showing Bjarke Ingels and developer HFZ Capital's XI (or the Eleventh) at 76 Eleventh Avenue ahead of a May 7 sales launch. The West Chelsea hotel-condo project is notable not only for being Ingels’ first NYC condo project but for its asymmetrical, twisting silhouette. Those renderings showcased the pair of towers and their sky-bridge, along with, for the first time, the central courtyard and an apartment interior. Now, as Curbed learned, we get a preview of the project's interiors, clad in several different flavors of dramatically-veined creamy beige and white statement marble and pale chevron flooring with wood accents–and stunning NYC and river views in every direction.
See more, this way

Construction restarts at Pier 55 offshore park with new walkways in place

Rendering by Pier55 Inc/Heatherwick Studio

April 17, 2018

Construction restarts at Pier 55 offshore park with new walkways in place

After years of drama, during which the project was declared dead, then given new life, construction on the public park anchored in the Hudson River (also known as Pier 55 and Diller Island), is now moving forward as evidenced by a site photo taken by CityRealty this week showing two walkways leading to the pier from Hudson River Park now in place. As 6sqft reported last October, the Pier 55 project spearheaded by media mogul Barry Diller was rebooted with Diller's renewed commitment, complete with the backing of his recent legal foes, former ointment-fly Douglas Durst and Governor Andrew Cuomo.
More pictures this way

Architecture And Design

Jeanne Gang’s High Line ‘Solar Carve’ tower tops out, see new renderings and photos

Renderings © Neoscape for Studio Gang Architects

April 16, 2018

Jeanne Gang’s High Line ‘Solar Carve’ tower tops out, see new renderings and photos

Since 6sqft reported just over a year ago on the beginnings of the building formerly known as the Solar Carve tower by celebrated architect Jeanne Gang at 40 Tenth Avenue, the new High Line-hugging addition has been quietly rising. Now, the 10-story commercial tower has officially topped out, and we've got the construction photos and new renderings to prove it.
Renderings and photos this way

March 22, 2018

Rent Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis’ former Meatpacking love nest for $13.5K/month

Though the couple sold the Meatpacking pad at 66 Ninth Avenue for $3.8 million in 2015 and acquired a stately Clinton Hill mansion, this corner two-bedroom loft in the Porter House condominium is just as lovely at its new rental price of $13,500 a month, as the Post reports. The then-engaged couple (they're married now) sold the home in just five months.
Have another look

March 15, 2018

Banksy returns to NYC after five years with new rat street art

A post shared by Banksy (@banksy) on Mar 15, 2018 at 5:01am PDT Elusive graffiti artist Banksy has graced the streets of New York City once again with a new bewhiskered art offering, this time a rat scurrying inside a clock on the side of a former bank at 101 West 14th Street; the building is slated for demolition in a few months. Banksy posted news of his newest addition via his Instagram account yesterday.
More to come?

Events & Things To Do

January 26, 2018

For $75M, you can have your own mega-mansion in the Meatpacking District

By Emily Nonko

The listing calls this building at 799 Washington Street "one of the last grand historic structures in prime meatpacking district." And it could be yours for a cool $75 million. Turning it into a mega-mansion, however, will require serious work. (Though there's no lack for inspiration when it comes to mega-mansions in New York.) The 23,000-square-foot structure is currently configured as a high-end film studio and commercial space, topped off with a residential penthouse unit. Other suggestions to any deep-pocketed buyer, per the listing, include conversions to a boutique hotel or a multi-unit, live/work building.
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

After funding lawsuit against Pier55 offshore park, Durst joins board of Hudson River Park Trust

Rendering via Pier55, Inc

January 16, 2018

After funding lawsuit against Pier55 offshore park, Durst joins board of Hudson River Park Trust

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer appointed Douglas Durst on Friday to the board of the Hudson River Park Trust, a group he has frequently criticized over their proposed Pier55 project. Durst admitted last year to funding a lawsuit to stop the trust's plan for an off-shore park on the Hudson River. While billionaire businessman Barry Diller, who is funding the $250 million project, halted construction in September, the plan was restored a month later, with pressure and financial help from Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Brewer told Crain's that Durst didn't volunteer, she asked him to join the board. "I think he loves the park," she said.
Find out more

Rare photos of the High Line being demolished in the 1960s tell the story of a changing West Village

Crane with wrecking ball mounted on the trestle. Photo by Peter H. Fritsch (1962). Photo courtesy of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation/Fritsch Family Collection.

October 26, 2017

Rare photos of the High Line being demolished in the 1960s tell the story of a changing West Village

Few structures have had a more far-reaching impact upon the West Village and Chelsea than the High Line. Its construction in 1934, then partial demolition in the early '60s, and final preservation and conversion into a park a decade ago have profoundly shaped the way these neighborhoods have changed over the last 85 years. And while photos of its heyday and those of it today as an internationally recognized public space are plenty, few exist of those interim years. But GVSHP recently acquired some wonderful images of the High Line being demolished in 1962 at Perry Street, donated by the Fritsch Family who lived nearby at 141 Perry Street. The Fritschs’ photos say a lot about how the High Line, and its demolition, changed the West Village. It’s apparent from the images just how much more industrial, and gritty the Far West Village was in those days. But it also shows how the demolition of the High Line left a huge gap in this unpretentious neighborhood, which housed both disappearing industry and a diverse and vital residential community.
See the other photos and learn the whole history

History

Barry Diller’s Pier 55 offshore park plan is back on with backing from Cuomo

Photo: Pier 55, Inc./Heatherwick Studio.

October 26, 2017

Barry Diller’s Pier 55 offshore park plan is back on with backing from Cuomo

In September, 6sqft reported that billionaire IAC Chairman Barry Diller was giving up on the $250 million project that promised to bring a futuristic offshore park and cultural destination to the Hudson River’s dilapidated Pier 54. Since its beginnings in 2014, the seemingly ill-fated project, known as Pier 55 (or sometimes “Diller Park”), was beleaguered by opposing factions–eventually revealed to be funded by prominent New York real estate developer Douglas Durst–that blocked its progress at every turn. Diller, who had imagined the project as a new Manhattan waterfront icon to rival the nearby High Line, had had enough. In a cautiously optimistic turnaround, it was announced Wednesday that the media mogul–now backed by his recent legal foes and Durst in addition to Governor Andrew Cuomo–was renewing his commitment to move ahead with the project, according to Crain's. Diller said in a statement, "I have had countless people tell me how much they were looking forward to having this new pier, and how unfortunate were the circumstances of its cancellation."
So what happened?

Barry Diller pulls the plug on $250M Pier 55 offshore park

Photo: Pier 55, Inc./Heatherwick Studio.

September 14, 2017

Barry Diller pulls the plug on $250M Pier 55 offshore park

Barry Diller, the billionaire chairman of IAC, announced he's killing the $250 million project that promised to bring a futuristic offshore park and cultural site to the Hudson River's dilapidated Pier 54. 6sqft previously covered the unfolding saga of the ill-fated project, known as Pier 55 (or sometimes as "Diller Park"), as opposing factions continually blocked its progress and were eventually revealed to be funded by prominent New York real estate developer Douglas Durst. According to the New York Times, Diller said Wednesday that his commitment to build the undulating pier would be coming to an end—an inglorious one for a bold plan that some, and certainly Diller himself, saw as a new Manhattan waterfront icon to rival the nearby High Line.
Find out more

Pier 55 project files appeal to stop work order; Durst says he backed opposition

Photo via Pier 55 Inc.

May 23, 2017

Pier 55 project files appeal to stop work order; Durst says he backed opposition

6sqft reported in March on the latest developments in the on-again-off-again status of the $200 million Barry Diller-funded offshore park/performing arts center proposed for Pier 55 on the Hudson River; though construction began last November, opponents of the project, led by the City Club of New York, gained a victory in the form of a ruling by Judge Lorna G. Schofield that agreed with group’s claim that the Army Corps of Engineers had not conducted a sufficient environmental review on how the 2.4-acre park would affect fish and wildlife. The judge ordered that work stop at the site and called for a review of alternatives for building along Hudson River Park, a maritime sanctuary. Now, the New York Times reports that the Corps of Engineers, with the project's sponsor, the Hudson River Park Trust, has filed an appeal of the decision.
And what about that Diller-Durst feud

May 12, 2017

The Urban Lens: Travel back to the gritty Meatpacking District of the ’80s and ’90s

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation shares archival images of the gritty Meatpacking District from the 1980s to early 2000s. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. "Few parts of New York City have transformed as dramatically in the last decade or so as the Meatpacking District. Changes in the area are physical as well as spiritual. What was once a deserted ghost town by day, nightlife, sex club, and prostitution hub by night, and bustling workaday center of the Meatpacking industry from early morning to noon is now a glitzy, glamorized center of shopping, dining, tourism, strolling, and arts consumption," says Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. The organization recently released a collection of archival photos of the neighborhood's post-industrial grit, "before the Whitney, before the High Line, before Apple and Diane von Furstenberg, even before Sex and the City discovered the neighborhood." Ahead, 6sqft shares these images, from the 1980s to the mid-2000s, which document the major transformation that's taken place in just the past decade.
See all the photos here

March 31, 2017

Morris Adjmi reveals ‘The Warehouse,’ High Line-adjacent office complex

Morris Adjmi is no stranger to converting and reinterpreting industrial architecture, so it's fitting that Elijah Equities tapped the "contextual king" to redevelopment the Carolina Manufacturing Company's former distribution facility and apparel-manufacturing space at 520 West 20th Street, right next to the High Line in Chelsea (h/t ArchDaily). For the project, known as "The Warehouse," Adjmi will add a three-story, steel-framed addition to the current 65,000-square-foot structure, resulting in 100,000 square feet of office and retail space with more than 18,000 square feet of rooftop and outdoor amenity space.
All the renderings and details ahead

From the Westside Cowboys to the Oreo cookie: 10 Secrets of Chelsea Market

Image courtesy of Chelsea Market

March 30, 2017

From the Westside Cowboys to the Oreo cookie: 10 Secrets of Chelsea Market

Today it seems like there's a new food hall popping up every day, but one of the first incarnations of this trend was at Chelsea Market, when Irwin Cohen and Vandenberg Architects transformed the former Nabisco factory in the 1990s into an office building, television production facility, and food-related retail hub. New York City history buffs likely know that this is where a certain famous cookie was invented, but there are plenty of other fun facts about the location that are much less well known. Therefore, 6sqft has rounded up the top 10 most intriguing secrets of Chelsea Market.
Find out everything here

History

March 24, 2017

Judge once again stops work at Pier 55 over environmental concerns

If you thought the roller coaster that is Pier 55 was over since construction began in November, you may not want to step off the ride just yet. Just yesterday, a federal judge ruled in favor of the City Club of New York, who took legal action against the $200 million Barry Diller-funded offshore park way back in the summer of 2015. As reported by the Times, Judge Lorna G. Schofield agreed with the group's claim that the Army Corps of Engineers had not conducted a sufficient environmental review on how the 2.4-acre park would affect fish and wildlife. She ordered that work stop at the site and called for a review of alternatives for building along Hudson River Park, a maritime sanctuary.
Get the whole legal saga

February 23, 2017

Jeanne Gang reveals sparkly new renderings of High Line-hugging Solar Carve Tower

Renderings © Neoscape for Studio Gang Architects Just yesterday, 6sqft shared the news that Jeanne Gang's first ground-up project in NYC--the Solar Carve Tower at 40 Tenth Avenue--had begun construction along the High Line. Now, the Post shares new renderings of the jewel-like, glassy structure, which is so named for its employment of the firm's strategy that uses the sun's angles to shape a building. Along with these views of its chiseled edges, connection to the park, terraces, and interior spaces, comes word that developers Aurora Capital and William Gottlieb Real Estate have tapped Bruce Mosler of Cushman & Wakefield to begin leasing the 139,000-square-foot, 12-story boutique office building in anticipation of its 2019 opening.
Lots more details and renderings ahead

February 22, 2017

Jeanne Gang’s ‘Solar Carve Tower’ begins its rise on the High Line

For an architect who had yet to break into the NYC scene, Jeanne Gang is now moving full steam ahead. Her firm, Studio Gang, received LPC approvals back in October for their much-hyped, $340 million Museum of Natural History expansion, and now, CityRealty tells us that construction has begun on their razor-edged glass tower along the High Line. Dubbed "Solar Carve Tower" for the firm's strategy that "uses the incident angles of the sun’s ray to form the gem-like shape," the 12-story office building will be Gang's first ground-up project when completed.
Find out more

January 30, 2017

Pier 55 offshore park may be flatter than originally proposed

Despite the fact that the 535 concrete piles that will support the planned undulating base of the Pier 55 offshore park have already been erected, the Hudson River Park Trust is now looking towards a flatter design. The Architect's Newspaper obtained a copy of a permit modification request that the group submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers that reduces the park's overall size slightly from 2.7 to 2.4 acres and replaces many of the hollow pentagonal pots that would have sat on top of the columns with "a flat structural base sandwiches between the piles and the landscaping."
Find out the reason for the major change

Architecture And Design

January 26, 2017

Bjarke Ingels’ ‘bold yet graceful’ High Line towers get new website and flashy signage

When HFZ Capital Group chairman Ziel Feldman needed a bold design for what will be Chelsea's largest development in more than a decade, he knew the very-visible, block-long site wanted nothing short of an architectural icon to house the future 950,000-square-foot mix of parking, retail and office space, a 137-room Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spa and 240 condominium apartments. So it should come as no surprise that Bjarke Ingels' BIG was chosen to design what would be the firm's second Hudson River-front tower (after Via 57 West). Straddling the High Line and offering sunset river views, the two towers penned by the Danish wunderkind sit atop a four-floor base at 76 Eleventh Avenue, rising to 28 and 38 floors, respectively. CityRealty now brings us a collection of new views and a concept development slideshow of the $1.9 billion project recently published by BIG on their website.
See new images from the slideshow and some scintillating site prep

Construction update: Google’s Pier 57 expansion gets glassed

Pier 57 now showing some skin; Photo: CityRealty

January 24, 2017

Construction update: Google’s Pier 57 expansion gets glassed