NEW YORK | Redevelopment of the High Line [Archive]

NYguy

Nov 5, 2006, 6:28 PM

Chelsea Now

November 3 — November 9, 2006

Camera kids capture High Line and ’hood

By Lawrence Lerner

Corinne Stonebraker doesn’t usually let her 4-year-old brother, Jonas, play with her toys. But this summer, the budding 7-year-old photographer from Jackson Heights, Queens, was all too happy to let him ride her scooter as she snapped photos of him in various spots near the High Line.

“I thought it was really cool to be a photographer. I took pictures of lots of things,” said Stonebraker, whose parents are ardent supporters of Friends of the High Line, the nonprofit dedicated to converting the railway into a 1.4-mile elevated park. Stonebraker takes art classes in Chelsea, where her parents met at a School of Visual Arts program on 21st St. and where they frequently return; Chelsea remains very much a part of their lives.

Stonebraker was part of a special project run by F.H.L., which teamed up with Fujifilm this summer to give one-time-use cameras to kids who live and play in the High Line neighborhoods of the West Village and Chelsea. The project culminated in an online exhibit at Friends of the High Line’s Web site, along with an exhibit of more than 80 photos in the Concourse Gallery at Chelsea Market, which runs through Nov. 12.

The approximately 100 children from age 3 to 12 who took part came from The Hudson Guild and Chelsea Recreation Center summer camps, as well as from families who have been longtime supporters of F.H.L. More than half reside in the Chelsea Elliot and Fulton Houses, nearby public housing.
“What’s important is to acknowledge everyone in the High Line neighborhoods,” said Meredith Taylor, the special projects manager for F.H.L. who ran the photo project. “To do that well, you need to approach kids with a variety of experiences.”

F.H.L. had a simple goal in mind when it conceived the project: Rather than offer a photo class, it wanted to experiment by putting cameras in the hands of kids and letting them run wild, giving them full control of what to photograph and how.

“We wanted to allow kids to show us the neighborhoods through their eyes, to show us what is important to them, and to show another angle besides the restaurants and boutiques now associated with the area,” said Taylor.

The result was an array of images whose breadth and quality impressed all of the adults involved.

“These kids are taking all kinds of shots — of their families, the neighborhood, where they play,” said Michael Ginsburg, director of marketing and events at Chelsea Market, who helped oversee the exhibit. “The final product is not childish but childlike, which, if you think about it, is what we all strive to be. We do a lot of kids shows, and I think we got really good photos in this one.”

Not surprisingly, being part of the process was as important for the kids as the final outcome. According to Erin Vega, coordinator of the Chelsea Recreation Center Summer Camp, merely being in possession of a camera was enough to make most of the children giddy.

“Kids aren’t usually trusted with cameras. Adults are too worried they’ll break them or push the wrong button and waste film,” she said. “Our kids treated the cameras very well because someone trusted them. They took great care taking pictures because they felt like it was an important thing they were chosen to do. Just holding a camera with their name on it made them smile.”

The photo project was part of F.H.L.’s larger children’s education initiative, which is now in its fifth year and has taken the organization into neighborhood afterschool programs and, as of this year, into High Line-area schools, such as the New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies.

“We teach kids about the history of the High Line, do art projects and build models with them, and talk about the plant life up there,” said Taylor. “We also talk about why it was built in the first place and how the community came together to preserve it as a park.”

By working with children, F.H.L. hopes to cultivate a diverse range of park users now, which Taylor insists will pay off in the long run.

“When the High Line finally opens, we hope it will attract all kinds of people: people who are railroad buffs, people who go to art galleries, kids from the Chelsea and Fulton Houses who bring their parents, our e-mail list supporters, all kinds of folks. By educating people about the High Line now, hopefully all those people will come and use the park.”

Lecom

Nov 6, 2006, 12:34 AM

Those kids get much respect for me, and so does whoever came up with the idea for that project.

NYguy

Nov 6, 2006, 1:13 PM

Those kids get much respect for me, and so does whoever came up with the idea for that project.

It was me, so thanks...:)

Derek

Nov 7, 2006, 6:02 AM

wow thats very impressive!!! but i still think gehrys building is butt ugly!!! but this is indeed a very cool project

NYguy

Nov 8, 2006, 1:09 AM

gothamist.com

Pigeons Are Disturbing High Line Development

October 26, 2006

http://www.gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2006_10_highline2.JPG

High Line photos aren't exactly rare, but, since we happened to be on a nearby roof recently, we took a few.

It looks like we were onto something. According to Katie Lorah, media and project manager for Friends of the High Line, a new construction phase has begun. Deterring birds is one aspect of it: Pigeons are roosting in the beams, damaging concrete and steel and creating "unpleasant" conditions below. To read about the new phase, called "Site Preparation," check out this week's newsletter. http://www.thehighline.org/newsletters/102506.html#story04

http://www.gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2006_10_highline3.JPG

And the mess under the High Line is the footprint for Andre Balazs' new hotel, The Standard, which will jut through the elevated park.

NYguy

Nov 28, 2006, 5:10 PM

NY Times

Whitney’s Expansion Plans Are Shifting South, to the Meatpacking District

http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images/2006/11/28/arts/1128-cul-webWHITNEYmap.gif

Whitney Museum is planning a branch at the High Line park

By CAROL VOGEL
November 28, 2006

A month after the Dia Art Foundation scrapped its plans to open a museum at the entrance to the High Line, the abandoned elevated railway line that the city is transforming into a public park, the Whitney Museum of American Art has signed on to take its place and build a satellite institution of its own downtown.

The Whitney recently reached a conditional agreement on Wednesday night with the city’s Economic Development Corporation to buy the city-owned site, at Gansevoort and Washington streets, officials at the museum said yesterday. Plans call for the new museum to be at least twice the size of the Whitney’s home on Madison Avenue at 75th Street, they said, and to be finished within the next five years.

The deal, which has still to go through a public review process before it is final, puts an end to the Whitney’s plan to for a nine-story addition by the architect Renzo Piano that would connect to the museum’s original 1966 Marcel Breuer building via a series of glass bridges. It will be the third time in 11 years that the museum has commissioned a celebrity architect to design a major expansion to its landmark building, only to pull out.

“This is a more prudent step to take,” Leonard A. Lauder, chairman of the Whitney’s board, said by telephone yesterday. “Yet it is an adventurous step. We think the new site will have a big enough impact so that it will become a destination.”

The museum’s director, Adam D. Weinberg, said the new museum would not only offer more gallery space but would also be less expensive. “We know it will be cheaper per square foot than uptown, but we don’t know what it will cost,” he said. (The uptown expansion was expected to cost more than $200 million.) Mr. Piano has agreed to design the new museum. Although no architectural plans have been drawn up, the future museum is loosely estimated to afford at least 200,000 square feet.

Kate D. Levin, the city’s cultural affairs commissioner, called the agreement “a wonderful moment” but cautioned, “It is a preliminary moment.” If all goes as planned, she said, “it will let a museum grow and flourish” as well as provide an anchor to the city’s High Line project.

In addition to attracting a broader audience, having a site downtown will allow the museum space to build larger galleries without the constraints of building in a historic district. Sweeping galleries are generally needed to show much of the latest art being produced today.

Compared with around 65,000 square feet of gallery space in the uptown Piano addition, the High Line site will have about 100,000 to 150,000 square feet of gallery space, Mr. Weinberg said. The current Breuer building has some 30,000 square feet.

Mr. Lauder said: “The key word here is footprint. We will be able to stage shows horizontally rather than vertically.” Previous uptown expansions jettisoned by the Whitney include a $37 million addition by Michael Graves canceled in 1985 and a $200 million design by Rem Koolhaas scrapped in 2003.

Mr. Piano’s project met with heated opposition from preservationists who objected to the elimination of brownstone facades on Madison Avenue, part of the Upper East Side Historic District. After the Whitney agreed to maintain that facade, the project was approved in July by the city’s Board of Standards.

In addition to a second site the Whitney is also planning to upgrade the Breuer building significantly, with improvements like new, double-glazed windows and a better climate control system, Mr. Lauder said.

“The Breuer building is now 40 years old, and a lot of technology has happened since it was built,” Mr. Lauder said. “It is our iconic building, and we are planning to put a lot of money into it.” While he said it was too early to say just how much “a lot” is, he estimated the cost of refurbishing the building at $20 million to $40 million.

While taking note of the creation of dual-site museums like the Tate in London and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Mr. Weinberg said the Whitney was hoping to invent a model of its own. “We are envisioning both sites will show contemporary and historic art,” he said.

The Whitney will continue to devote itself to American art, he said, but “it will be American art in the broadest sense seen within an international context.” In addition to providing room to spread out, he added, the downtown space will allow the museum to keep adding to its collection.

Mr. Weinberg said the museum intended to strengthen its performing arts, education and film programs, which will all be based downtown.

While Dia had planned to lease the downtown site from the city, the Whitney’s deal calls for buying 820 Washington Street and 555 West Street, abandoned shell structures adjacent to each another. The city will charge the Whitney roughly half the appraised value of the two buildings, said Jan Rothschild, a spokeswoman for the Whitney.

“We like the character and the grittiness of the neighborhood,” Mr. Weinberg said of the meatpacking district. “We want to keep the museum as low as possible.” Plans call for about 15,000 square feet of meat market space as well as offices for the High Line in the complex.

Rather than dwell on the death blow to the Piano addition, Whitney officials sought to portray the move as a homecoming of sorts. The institution, which began in Greenwich Village in 1918 as the Whitney Studio Club, became the Whitney Museum in 1931.

“We’re returning to our roots,” Mr. Weinberg said. “So much of the first half of our collection was made around 14th Street and below, and so many artists whose works we have live within a 20-block radius. We see this as reconnecting with the artists’ community.”

danger_doug

Nov 30, 2006, 5:24 AM

As a kid, I learned to throw a baseball sneaking up on the highline with my dad. I'm so excited about this whole project... One of the most exciting urban projects in the nation... such a spectacular use.

NYguy

Dec 22, 2006, 12:49 AM

One of my favorites also. One more place to explore the city...

Chelsea Now

http://www.chelseanow.com/cn_12/line.gif

Above, a schematic rendering showing what W. 30th St. might look like with the High Line’s northern section redeveloped as a park. The view is looking west. On either side of the High Line, projected new development is shown. Below, an aerial map showing the High Line, with its northern section, in red, wrapping around the M.T.A. rail yards.

http://www.chelseanow.com/cn_12/line2.gif

Northern exposure: High Line faces threat

By Lawrence Lerner
Volume Number 1 Issue Number 12 / December 15 - 21, 2006

If you thought preserving the High Line was a fait accompli, think again.

Last Thursday night, more than 150 people packed into Chelsea Market’s Community Room to hear an hour-long overview of the public planning process that will decide the fate of the elevated railway’s northern end, between 11th and 12th Aves. from 30th to 33rd Sts., where it loops around the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Western Rail Yards.

The presentation was part of a push by Friends of the High Line — the nonprofit organization that helped transform the rail viaduct into an elevated park — to keep the structure intact as the city prepares to develop design guidelines and accept requests for proposals for redevelopment, or R.F.P.’s, for the western yards.

“The process is just starting, and that’s why we’re trying to get out in front of it, so the city and the Hudson Yards Development Corporation can hear from supporters of the High Line that they want this portion saved and intact,” said F.H.L. co-founder Robert Hammond to a roomful of applause.

In November 2004, the city acquired the southern portion of the High Line, between Gansevoort and 30th Sts., from CSX Transportation. In June 2005, the two parties secured approval to include the High Line in the federal Rails-to-Trails program, saving it from the wrecking ball and ensuring its conversion into a unique public space for generations to come. But with the proposed Jets stadium plan recently defeated and the future of the Western Rail Yards in doubt at the time, the city and CSX left the High Line’s northern section out of the deal.

Whether the city plans to acquire that portion of the High Line remains unclear. A statement released by John Gallagher, the mayor’s first deputy press secretary, said only this much: “Transfer of ownership from CSX to the city of the portion of the High Line that runs over the M.T.A.’s rail yards requires the participation and consent of the M.T.A., which to date has not been received. The city and the M.T.A. are currently engaged in a joint planning process for the rail yards. That process, which seeks to balance a variety of important public priorities, will culminate in review by the City Council.”

Gallagher offered no further comment on why the Bloomberg administration is keeping its desire and intent for the High Line north of 30th St. a well-guarded secret.

Meanwhile, this northern section remains vulnerable to alteration or outright demolition, according to Hammond.

“We could see parts of the High Line north of 30th St. taken down, rerouted and put back up, and there are lots of reasons why we think the original structure should remain intact,” he said. “One, we think it’s a slippery slope once you start tearing it down. There’s also no guarantee what you get when it comes back. Do you take off some of the railings and just paste them onto the side of the buildings? To me, that’s not the High Line. That just messes with its integrity.”

In an interview after the presentation, Josh David, F.H.L.’s other co-founder, offered another, equally important reason for the High Line to remain intact.

“The easement needs to be continuous for the portion of the High Line north of 30th St. to be eligible for the federal Rails-to-Trails program,” he said. Achieving that status will enable this northern section to be converted into a public park, as it has been from 30th St. down to Gansevoort St., according to David.

F.H.L. is all too aware that the Hudson Yards redevelopment process is about to pick up steam. During the next six months, Hudson Yards Development Corporation will develop planning and design guidelines for the Western Rail Yards, and will solicit R.F.P.’s for two months thereafter. After the M.TA. evaluates the proposals, a selection committee will choose the winners, who will then subject their plans to the city’s uniform land use review procedure, or ULURP, which includes an environmental impact assessment. The plans then go through a public review process before being kicked back to City Planning for final approval.

According to David, the next three to six months are critical.

“We’re arguing that preservation of the High Line should be in those guidelines not only to ensure its integrity into the future but so developers have it in mind as they submit their R.F.P.’s,” he said. “Let’s not wait until the public review process to ensure the High Line is preserved. Its requirements need time to be considered for it to work successfully in any grand development scheme, and we’ll miss a significant amount of planning time if we tack it on as an afterthought.”

F.H.L. also believes that keeping the northern section of the High Line standing makes good economic sense for New York City. John Alschuler, a real estate and public policy consultant who has worked with F.H.L. in the past, made the organization’s case at Thursday night’s forum.

“In 2002, my firm, HR&A, did an economic feasibility study to convince the city to save the High Line. The city has invested $100 million in the structure, and we projected the city will reap more than $250 million in incremental additional tax revenue over the next 20 years due to increased land values around the High Line,” he said. “That’s a good investment, and it means the city has more money to put into public services. Therefore, it only makes sense for the city to get the High Line’s full value by connecting it together with the northern end.”

Alschuler insisted that the High Line is also helping land owners, such as the M.T.A., by making its land more valuable to the tune of $75 million to $100 million, money it can put into the subway, Metro North and the Long Island Railroad.

“The High Line is a win-win-win. It’s good for the city and, therefore, the community, as well as the open-space park system and land owners,” he said. “It is a rare example when everyone’s interests come together nicely.”

The northern end of the High Line is also special for a number of other reasons, according to Alschuler, David and Hammond.

They stress that the old rail viaduct occupies a critical location, a place where a number of other open public spaces come together in the network stipulated by the Hudson Yards rezoning plan — including Hudson River Park and the park area slated to run midblock between 34th and 41st Sts. The High Line, they add, will also connect major civic facilities, such as the redeveloped Javits Center and the new Moynihan Station, while knitting together the West Chelsea and Hudson Yards districts.

Finally, the Hudson Yards portion of the old railway comprises 31 percent of the entire High Line, a fact few people are aware of, said David.

“And from an urban design perspective, its length and incredible views of the Hudson River make it unique,” David said of the High Line’s sweeping section around the rail yards. “The fact that the High Line is elevated makes its views unparalleled.”

And for David and his colleagues, preserving the High Line as a historical marker is also crucial, especially as it relates to New York City’s past urban-planning fiascoes.

“The High Line is irreplaceable,” he stressed. “Once the Hudson Yards is redeveloped, there will be no trace of its 100-year history except for the High Line. That means the High Line has the potential to function as important historical context for the newly developed area.

“Amid all this, it’s important to remember we have a sad analogy only a few blocks away in the 1965 demolished Penn Station,” David continued. “That is a glaring example of poor urban planning that I hope we don’t repeat here.”

Tex1899

Dec 23, 2006, 12:23 AM

NYguy

Dec 23, 2006, 1:33 PM

What a great project. If I understand it correctly, the rail line actually runs through existing buildings, right? Can you imagine living in a building, getting in the elevator, and going not to the bottom floor, but to the 2nd or 3rd and being able to go outside and jog?

Indianapolis has the Monon. It's an old rail line that was converted into a hike/bike path. It's always packed, property values along the Monon have increased, and developers are clamoring to build near it.

This project is pretty similar. There will be more built up around the high line as well.

View east down 31st ST

http://www.thehighline.org/images/gallery/current/90.jpg

http://www.thehighline.org/images/gallery/current/220.jpg

More high line (older pics)...

http://www.thehighline.org/images/gallery/current/170.jpg

http://www.thehighline.org/images/gallery/current/180.jpg

http://www.thehighline.org/images/gallery/current/190.jpg

http://www.thehighline.org/images/gallery/current/250.jpg

http://www.thehighline.org/images/gallery/current/440.jpg

http://www.thehighline.org/images/gallery/current/20.jpg

NYguy

Dec 25, 2006, 12:08 PM

NY Times

On the High Line, Solitude Is Pretty Crowded

http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/24/arts/24ouro600.1.jpg

Rendering by Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Courtesy the City of New York. Like moths to a flame, developers are being drawn to the yet-unbuilt High Line elevated garden.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/20/arts/24ouro450.2.jpg

Polshek Partnership’s project for a Standard Hotel.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/20/arts/24ouro450.3.jpg

A preliminary design for the garden, with one of its public stairways; above far right, Neil Denari’s cantilevered apartment house design.

By NICOLAI OUROUSSOFF
December 24, 2006

WE New Yorkers have a morbid fascination with pinpointing the death of a neighborhood scene. You wonder, for example, exactly when the seeds were planted for SoHo’s grim destiny as an open-air mall. Was it 1971, when Leo Castelli opened his downtown gallery? The advent of Dean & Deluca’s overpriced cheeses? Victoria’s Secret underwear displays?

But the artists who bemoaned SoHo’s gradual reinvention as a tourist mecca in the 1980s would have been dumbstruck by the pace of gentrification wrought by the High Line, an abandoned stretch of elevated railway tracks that will be transformed into a garden walkway from the meatpacking district to Chelsea.

Even before local activists picked the project’s design team, Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, two years ago, developers had begun circling the site like vultures. Today, the High Line risks being devoured by a string of developments, including a dozen or more luxury towers, a new branch of the Whitney Museum of American Art and a Standard Hotel. Already the area is a mix of the fashionable and the tacky, with tourists tottering from boutiques to nightclubs across its cobblestone streets, even as they recoil from the occasional whiff of raw meat.

Not all of these are run-of-the-mill development projects: they include potential designs by renowned talents including Renzo Piano and the Polshek Partnership. And even more promising, a few younger, relatively unknown talents like Neil Denari and Work Architecture are getting the opportunity to design major projects.

But the frenzied activity surrounding the High Line shows how radically the development climate in Manhattan has accelerated. No longer content to allow gentrification to proceed at its own tentative pace, developers now view even the humblest civic undertaking as a potential gold mine. City planners who once had to coax developers to build in rundown neighborhoods are groping for strategies to keep them at bay. Pretty much everyone who has walked the length of the weed-choked High Line agrees that its magic arises largely from its isolation. Carving its way through the urban fabric two to three stories above ground, it is framed mostly by the backs of buildings and billboards, with occasional views opening out to the Hudson or across Manhattan.

The battle to preserve that ambience is being waged street corner by street corner, foot by foot. Last summer the city announced its final zoning regulations for the area, a document that is reassuring for its meticulousness. The guidelines require setbacks to protect some major view corridors; at other points, buildings are allowed to shoot straight up to maintain the sense of compression that is part of the High Line’s charm. The core of several blocks, meanwhile, will remain zoned for manufacturing in the hope of maintaining some of the area’s character.

In rare cases, the Department of City Planning has negotiated directly with developers and their architects on a particularly difficult site. In a design by Mr. Denari for a residential tower, city officials allowed him to cantilever his building several feet over the High Line to compensate for his site’s tiny footprint. In the rather dazzling result, the proposed tower gracefully bulges out over the elevated garden, a vertical tear appearing at its center as if the building were straining to squeeze into its allotted space. Views from the apartments would open up and down the length of the High Line. From below, the building would swell out over the garden walkway, adding a sense of vertigo.

But as long as they conform to the new zoning codes, the city will have little control over the form and appearance of most of the designs. And so far, few projects have risen to the standard of Mr. Denari’s. Even more crucial, perhaps, is the question of access. As Richard Scofidio, one of the architects of the High Line, put it: “We don’t want hotels putting wicker chairs and tables all over the garden. We want it to feel that it belongs to everybody.”

Striving to maintain that feel, the city has wisely limited the number of entry points. It will create four public stairways between Gansevoort and 20th Streets in the first phase.

Thankfully, the city has also limited the width of connections to the High Line from adjoining buildings to a maximum of five and a half feet. That way, any entry point from a specific building would function more as a bridge than an extension of the High Line.

With guidelines in place, it will now be up to the Parks Department to determine which of the new buildings will get direct access to the garden. Already, many of the residential developers have sought permission to build lobbies that would open onto the High Line. This would undo the spirit of the project, giving residents of a few luxury towers a connection to the site that others would not share. They should use the public stairs like the rest of us.

So far, there is no reason to doubt that the city will try to do the right thing. The partnership between city planners and High Line advocates has been one of the most sincere efforts in recent memory to protect the public interest from an onslaught of commercialization. And the Parks Department is working in partnership with Friends of the High Line, the nonprofit group that conceived the idea.

But no planner can reverse the social and economic changes that are reconfiguring the city’s identity. And the question next year will be what happens on the ground, as the neighborhood fills up with the usual cellphone stores, health clubs and Starbucks. What kind of sanctuary will the High Line be? Are we simply deluding ourselves into believing we can slow the pace of the inevitable?

Lecom

Dec 25, 2006, 7:58 PM

NYguy

Dec 26, 2006, 2:15 PM

I think that private lobbies opening onto the High Line should be allowed, provided that every such project includes an additional easily accessible public entry point. Such lobbies would bring vibrancy to the High Line, and allow for more sought-after projects, which would bring more development and developers to the area.

That's the sort of thing they are trying to prevent:

Like moths to a flame, developers are being drawn to the yet-unbuilt High Line elevated garden.......the frenzied activity surrounding the High Line shows how radically the development climate in Manhattan has accelerated. No longer content to allow gentrification to proceed at its own tentative pace, developers now view even the humblest civic undertaking as a potential gold mine. City planners who once had to coax developers to build in rundown neighborhoods are groping for strategies to keep them at bay.

The developers are going to be there regardless, its "unexplored" territory. Having private lobbies there sort of defeats the purpose and feel of what they are trying to create with the park. You can get private lobbies anywhere else in Manhattan or the rest of the city. I agree with the article:

They should use the public stairs like the rest of us.....Thankfully, the city has also limited the width of connections to the High Line from adjoining buildings to a maximum of five and a half feet. That way, any entry point from a specific building would function more as a bridge than an extension of the High Line.

All good points. That way the High Line remains apart from everything else, its own space. I can hardly wait until it opens.

SLC Projects

Dec 27, 2006, 5:02 AM

An idea of what the completed project could look like...
http://www.thehighline.org/design/preliminarydesign.html

http://www.thehighline.org/img/mpfinalists/fieldop/b5_lg.jpg
http://www.thehighline.org/img/mpfinalists/fieldop/dd5_lg.jpg
http://www.thehighline.org/img/mpfinalists/fieldop/dd4_lg.jpg
http://www.thehighline.org/img/mpfinalists/fieldop/dd6_lg.jpg

Lools like a cool looking project. I like how it's all outdoors or at least a outdoor feel. :yes:

NYguy

Dec 27, 2006, 12:57 PM

Lools like a cool looking project. I like how it's all outdoors or at least a outdoor feel. :yes:

Pretty much all outdoors, with a few indoor developments underneath. In that sense, its similar to what's planned for the FDR in Downtown Manhattan.

NYguy

Jan 10, 2007, 1:36 PM

NY Times

On the High Line, Solitude Is Pretty Crowded

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/20/arts/24ouro450.2.jpg

Polshek Partnership’s project for a Standard Hotel.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/20/arts/24ouro450.3.jpg

A preliminary design for the garden, with one of its public stairways; above far right, Neil Denari’s cantilevered apartment house design.

Posted on curbed.com

High Line Spinoff Update #1: Standard Hotel

http://www.curbed.com/2007_01_standardimgs.jpg

This is here is the first evidence of André Balasz's marvelous Meatpacking ambition, his High Line-straddling Standard Hotel. Photos taken from Washington Street and the parking lot on the western side of the construction site; it's certainly one of the—er, odder—early construction scenes we've ever seen. Then again, the building design by Polshek Partnership seems to be an odd beast itself. To be honest, we're still not entirely sure what this thing is going to look like; the version of the design that made the rounds again in December is straight ahead. Be mildly afraid.

http://www.curbed.com/2007_01_standardhighline.jpg

trvlr70

Jan 10, 2007, 2:28 PM

This is a spectacular neo-urban project. I give kudos to NYC residents and preservationists who worked so hard to get this going. I can't wait to witness the progress.

It's both unique and cool.

ComandanteCero

Jan 13, 2007, 6:09 AM

High Line redevelopment = :cheers:

Standard Hotel = :no:

architect1

Jan 14, 2007, 3:32 AM

Wow some amazing photos and amazing Projectrs. That be cool if they did that with Toronto's Donvally. but its in use and well it don't look like anything is going to change.

Riise

Jan 17, 2007, 6:46 AM

This is one of the best as well as most interesting projects I've seen in a while. I'm a little disappointed that I haven't, yet, visited the Promenade Plantée. Now that I know about I'll be sure to check it out the next time I'm in Paris.

Zephyr

Jan 23, 2007, 2:50 PM

Thanks for the photos and updates NYguy! I look forward to visiting this next time I am in NYC.

kenratboy

Jan 26, 2007, 6:04 AM

Its projects like these that make a city special. Hope everything works out well!

NYguy

Feb 2, 2007, 8:23 PM

Posted on curbed.com

High Line Update: People Smiling, Paint Drying

http://www.curbed.com/2007_2_highline.jpg

When the latest Friends of the High Line update came through with an announcement that we could "have our portrait taken as part of the High Line Portrait Project," we got pretty geeked. Finally, us commoners could get up on those rails and see what all the fuss is about—and take home a souvenir! But something didn't seem right about those photos. The elderly and dogs risking twisted ankles to get up there? Sure enough, upon closer inspection, you can actually get your portrait taken in front of a High Line backdrop. Ah well.

As far as a real High Line update (sorry, that photo thing really did bum us out), the email also included that as well. While the campaign to save the West Side Rail Yards portion of the High Line goes on, construction continues on the so-called Section 1. Sandblasting, painting and structural repairs are in full gear, and this prep work is expected to be complete in the summer. Then comes some landscape work and the building of more access points. Then comes our secret keg party that you'll all totally be invited to.

:banana:

NYguy

Feb 10, 2007, 2:02 PM

Interior Design

New York’s High Line Is on the Up and Up
Events will be held this month supporting the project.

by Staff
Interior Design · February 9, 2007

New York’s Diller, Scofidio + Renfro-designed High Line park project is steadily moving forward on schedule. Currently, the 1.5 mile-long track, an abandoned railway that runs from the Meatpacking District through West Chelsea to the Hudson Yards, is still in its site preparation phase. Approximately half of the park’s Section 1 has been sandblasted and painted with a primer coat. A final coat has already been applied to the section of the trail between 17th and 18th Streets, providing a glimpse as to how the completed project will appear.

Additional prep work includes repairs such as removing concrete from the bases of columns and replacing rusted rivets. Other ongoing work involves installing a new underside drainage system and sloped pieces of metal to deter birds from roosting. Site prep work is expected to be completed this summer; construction of the new park landscape and access points will follow.

The High Line was acquired by New York City in November 2005; groundbreaking on the project began last March. The first section is expected to open to the public in 2008. Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s design for the High Line includes a series of gardens in the form of pits, plains, bridges, mounds, ramps, and flyovers.

One snafu in the plan: The advisory group Friends of the High Line (FHL) has not yet secured the portion of the rail at the West Side Rail Yards from demolition. This section of the High Line represents 31 percent of the total park and is a “critical link” in the open space network connecting Hudson River Park and the neighborhoods of the West Side, according to FHL.

Upcoming High Line Events

A new FHL project will create and publicly exhibit portraits of the park’s supporters. Using a backdrop, photographer Tom Kletecka will photograph supporters; a select number of portraits will then be displayed around the High Line neighborhoods, mounted to the construction fencing. Portraits will also be archived online. Photographs will be taken on February 9 from 12pm-6pm at the FHL office (430 West 14th Street, Suite 304), February 22 from 12pm-6pm at the Public corridor at Chelsea Market (75 Ninth Avenue), and March 31 from 12pm-3pm at the Hudson Guild's Dan Carpenter Room (441 West 26th Street, 2nd floor). Participants should RSVP by email to rsvp@thehighline.org.

On February 25 at 1pm, supporters of FHL can join in a tour of The Armory Show, the International Fair of New Art devoted exclusively to contemporary pieces. The ninth annual exhibition, to be held at Pier 94, will feature 148 international galleries. Participants must pay a $10 entry fee to the show (a $10 savings) and should RSVP by email to rsvp@thehighline.org.

NYguy

Feb 13, 2007, 1:22 PM

http://fagats.blogspot.com/2007/02/with-diane-von-furstenberg-involved-you.html

February 12, 2007

With Diane Von Furstenberg Involved, You Already Knew This Thing Was Going To Be Pretty Special...

Our former (Bigmouth's current) girl roommate was nice enough to bring us on a v. special VIP tour of the High Line yesterday. For those of you who never noticed, the High Line is that elevated rail line in Chelsea that you looked at when you used to wait on line at the Roxy that will soon be a fabulous public space in the sky, lined by sleek buildings by way famous architects. We trekked on said rail line from 34th street and 11th all the way to Gansevoort street, and got a pretty amazing view of both the City and the incredibly H-O-T co-founder of Friends of the High Line. (Call us!)

Also, any doubts that this park is going to be the gayest thing since the Christopher Street piers were put to rest yesterday, as it became clear that we have already staked our claim. Behold:

http://bp2.blogger.com/_-o0Sgg8QJms/RdCIqSV3RgI/AAAAAAAAAEI/M2GdWf3VbzY/s1600/coop%2B1.jpeg

Yes, that is an Anderson Cooper billboard ATTACHED to the High Line.

http://bp0.blogger.com/_-o0Sgg8QJms/RdCJ1yV3RjI/AAAAAAAAAEg/yjV-etpBvz8/s1600/Christmas%2Btree.jpeg

Gay.

NYguy

Mar 5, 2007, 8:05 PM

The Villager
February 28 - March 6, 2007

‘Park in sky’ really taking off, to open next year

By Joshua David

You can see a lot of activity up on the High Line these days, especially as you walk near Section 1, between Gansevoort and W. 20th Sts., projected to open to the public in 2008. The most visible work is the sandblasting and priming of the steel structure, which takes place in sealed containment units.

About 60 percent of the site preparation, which also includes concrete and steel repair and an overhaul of the underside drainage system, has been completed. Contractors will begin building the park landscape, including walkways, plantings, access points and lighting, this summer.

In addition, construction will soon begin on Section 2 (20th to 30th Sts.). As with Section 1, this will start with a process in which soil, plant matter, gravel ballast, concrete and steel equipment will be removed from the rail bed. The steel railroad tracks will be lifted, tagged and stored, allowing for their integration into the High Line landscape.

Many people deserve credit for the tremendous momentum behind the High Line’s transformation, beginning with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his administration, specifically Adrian Benepe, the Parks Department commissioner, and Amanda Burden, the City Planning Commission chairperson. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton and Representative Jerrold Nadler have also provided visionary leadership and brought much-needed public funding. All the members of High Line design, contractor and city teams have devoted thousands of hours of hard work to help build this great new public park.

Friends of the High Line continues its evolution from an advocacy group to a conservancy. Presently, F.H.L. is raising crucial funding for the construction of Section 2. In coming months, we will continue fundraising to bring private support to capital construction costs and maintenance and operations of the park for when it opens. We’re also planning a full schedule of public programs and events. For more information about our programs and to receive regular construction updates, please visit www.thehighline.org and sign up to receive our e-mail newsletter.

David is co-founder, Friends of the High Line.

Lecom

Mar 5, 2007, 8:16 PM

Great to see things moving along.

I also noticed that quite a few construction projects right by the High Line are progressing well.

NYguy

Mar 28, 2007, 1:12 PM

Observer

High Line Park Spurs Remaking Of Formerly Grotty Chelsea

http://www.observer.com/data/articleimages/photoimages/040207_article_koblin.jpg

By John Koblin

The mission of the High Line, the future park that will rest on an elevated train platform slicing across 22 Manhattan blocks, is to slow down. The park’s designers want the experience of it to be meditative, a break from hustling urban life.

But just beyond its limits—which stretch only as wide as the skinny platform, at 30 to 60 feet—there is a frenzied contrast. Up and down the High Line’s mile-and-a-half stretch, dozens of sites are readying for construction.

At least 27 projects—mostly luxury condos and hotels—are in various stages of development: Some are being constructed, others have just broken ground, and a few are in the design stages. And many more are expected.

All of the projects will have an intimate relationship with the park: Some buildings will have private access points that lead to walkways into the park; three will actually have the High Line tucked inside the buildings; many will loom over the park, with high-end retailers serving as a backdrop; and all will be capitalizing on a rare chance to develop directly next to—or, in some cases, within—Manhattan’s newest public park.

“I think it’s remarkable,” said Andre Balazs, whose two developments both have the High Line running through them. “It’s like having a building in Central Park.”

Many of the planned buildings include a ridiculously well-muscled list of architects: Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Renzo Piano and Annabelle Selldorf, just to name a few. The formerly hardscrabble part of West Chelsea, already on its way out, will soon be no more.

“Every parking lot and every derelict building in that neighborhood will be redeveloped,” said Ron Solarz, a broker at Eastern Consolidated, which is representing at least three sites in the area. “It will be all hotels, condos, rentals and restaurants with super-high-level users.”

But what will it mean when it’s all added up? The architects, the developers and, ultimately, the new dwellers have the chance to influence something so routine, yet so hard to achieve in New York: reorienting the identity of a neighborhood.

And who exactly are these people clamoring to move into the new West Chelsea?

ON MARCH 22, A NEW LUXURY CONDO named the Chelsea Modern, located on 18th Street off 10th Avenue, held a launch party. Prices for each of the 47 condos starts at $1 million. The party’s high-wattage attendees included Ivanka Trump, Spanish supermodel Eugenia Silva, and socialites Emma Snowdon Jones and Tracy Stern.

Matthew Betmaleck, a 39-year-old who owns his own fashion-photography company, spent $1.25 million on his unit in the building. He said the building’s proximity to the High Line is why he bought in.

“It’s Manhattan, so outdoor space is at a prime,” he said, wearing glasses with a Club Monaco scarf wrapped around his blazer. “If you live on the Upper East Side or the Upper West Side, Central Park is at your front door. Right now, I live on Bank and Washington, so I go to the West Side Highway all the time for rides or to walk my dog, and I think it’ll be the same thing at the High Line. It’ll be a destination, and people will come and check it out and say, ‘Wow! What’s that? I wanna see it.’ But I think ultimately the people who live here will be the people who use it.”

Greg Casto, a 26-year-old working in public relations, hopes to move into one of these shiny new condos when he can afford it. That’s because West Chelsea defines what Chelsea means to him already.

“Chelsea is becoming a very focused, very smart community,” he said. “That’s what you’re seeing here—not only in living arrangements, but in shops and restaurants, too. Everything that is around Chelsea is becoming very sexy and very sophisticated. And that’s the key message everyone is bringing to Chelsea: smart and sexy.”

He said he’s lived in New York for nine months.

The High Line streaks from Gansevoort Street in the meatpacking district to 34th Street. The entire train platform, which is made out of a very 1930’s combo of steel and reinforced concrete, will become a park, except for the portion between 30th and 34th streets that’s shaped like a sideways J—the city is still figuring out what to do with that section.

The park is scheduled to open in the summer of 2008, with a projected cost of $165 million. The city has raised $85 million, the federal government has given $22 million, and private funding has raised more than $17 million. The Friends of the High Line, the nonprofit arm that has pushed this project forward, has launched a campaign to raise an additional $40 million.

“I’m very excited about the project,” Congressman Jerry Nadler told The Observer. He took a tour of the High Line in 2005 with Senator Hillary Clinton and City Councilwoman (now Speaker) Christine Quinn to boost support for its redesign. “It certainly says something about the power of the West Side.”

The park, designed by Field Operations and Diller, Scofidio & Renfro, is unique in that it will be open around the same time as the dozens of luxury developments skirting it.

IT'S THIS LUXURY, WHICH LITERALLY OVERSHADOWS a park birthed through hefty public support, that raises the question: Will the High Line become a stylized playground for the rich only?

The Friends of the High Line loudly say no.

“We care passionately about this being a place for all people in the neighborhood and all New Yorkers,” said Joshua David, who co-founded Friends of the High Line in 1999. “And if there are some expensive buildings in the High Line neighborhood, then that’s true of neighborhoods throughout Manhattan. But this remains an incredibly diverse neighborhood, and we’re committed to its diversity.”

At the least, the people who move into these condos will have a comfy lifestyle. Mr. Balazs’ 14th Street High Line Building, for instance, will actually include the High Line, even though the Parks Department will still manage the part that’s inside. Mr. Balazs described the 15-story property as a “private club” that will be for “members only,” who will buy into the building and rent out rooms as a hotel.

According to one source, the High Line Building may also ask the city for a private entrance from the building that leads to a passage to the park—in essence, a direct passage from the building to the park itself. Connection to the park, said developer Charles Bendit, will be a main selling point for all landlords who can get access to it.

“It’s like living two houses off Central Park, and you have access to the park right around the corner,” he said. “You will have the same benefit here.”

Several more developers are expected to make a request for this sort of private entrance once their buildings come closer to completion, the source said.

The one building that has made the request is the Caledonia, which is owned by Mr. Bendit’s Taconic Investment Partners and mega-developer the Related Companies. The tower’s approximately 185 luxury condos are sold out, Mr. Bendit said. The building has already signed Equinox, which will have a second-floor view that will overlook the High Line.

Mr. Bendit said he expects other developers to follow suit—to bring in high-end retailers to overlook the High Line from their second- or third-story windows. Even if there aren’t direct connections to the stores themselves, if a person strolling in the park has a wandering eye for the Bed Bath & Beyond right next-door, then he can shuffle down the High Line’s stairs and buy that shower curtain he always wanted at a moment’s notice.

Naturally, the marketing machines are already moving with a swift pace. High Line 519, a condo being constructed on 23rd Street, markets its units as a “fusion of contemporary architecture, European opulence and raw Chelsea charm.”

But what exactly is “raw Chelsea charm”? Does it recall the authenticity of Chelsea and the meatpacking district in the 1970’s and 1980’s, when S&M and gay leather bars like the Eagle, the Mineshaft and the Lure pervaded the area? Or is it the gritty urban setting that’s currently in its last throes?

Whatever the appeal, it’s now being smoothed over with that burnished architecture. The New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff recently called Mr. Gehry’s development, between 18th and 19th streets near the High Line, a strong—if safe—project and lavishly praised a stairwell in the building, saying it might be the city’s best.

Indeed, it’s projects like Mr. Gehry’s that make for few, if any, detractors of the re-imagined West Chelsea. Even classic naysayers for most projects, like Florent Morellet, the owner of the meatpacking mainstay diner Florent, approve of it.

“I believe the change is positive,” he said. “You have to live with change. When I took over the restaurant, there were people who moved in the neighborhood in the 1970’s, and people said, ‘That’s it. It’s gentrification; it’s over.’ Then more moved in during the 80’s, and they thought it was the end, and the same in the 90’s. Every month, someone says to me the neighborhood is finished.”

So with a new element about to wind its way through the area, there’s naturally one thing to do: plan a big party. Even though the High Line is more than a year away from opening, tickets are on sale on March 30 for the official H&M-sponsored High Line Festival to help raise additional funds for Friends of the High Line. The party will be in May, though it won’t take place on the High Line, since it’s still illegal to enter it. But that’s beside the point.

For a project and an area that places such a premium on famous luminaries like Mr. Gehry and Mr. Nouvel, this event fits the bill. The famous gay party planner, Josh Wood, and Broadway producer David Binder are organizing it. David Bowie will curate the festival. High-profile artists like Laurie Anderson and Arcade Fire are among those that will perform.

Of course, the H&M-sponsored event, which will also get some sponsorship help from Garnier, Jet Blue and Grolsch, looks a lot like the High Line and all the developments around it—a little edgy, but something that is definitely established.

Mark Wellborn contributed reporting to this story.

Goody

Mar 28, 2007, 8:59 PM

dude this nuts.. why havent I heard of it?

NYguy

Mar 28, 2007, 9:02 PM

dude this nuts.. why havent I heard of it?

Most people in New York probably haven't heard of it. But, I'm guessing once it opens, that will change in a hurry.

John F

Mar 29, 2007, 10:15 PM

I've talked to my parents and aunt about this. These people grew up and around New York (Queens actually) and didn't even know what the High Line was.

Jularc

Mar 29, 2007, 10:29 PM

I've talked to my parents and aunt about this. These people grew up and around New York (Queens actually) and didn't even know what the High Line was.

Yeah New York City is so big that people in one area don't really know too much of another area and find themselves surprice when they see something new and different.

John F

Mar 29, 2007, 10:58 PM

Well, the High Line in general is old. It's redevelopment is new. But I get your point.

NYguy

Apr 5, 2007, 12:30 PM

Check out this old proposal and other older images of the High Line from:
nyc-architecture.com

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CHE/highline1.jpg__http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CHE/highline2.jpg

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CHE/highline5.jpg

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CHE/HIGHLINE-Westbeth.jpg__http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CHE/history_photo3.jpg

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CHE/Pict0004b.jpg

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CHE/high44uo.jpg

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CHE/highline288iu.jpg

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CHE/Pict0040b.jpg

Busy Bee

Apr 6, 2007, 2:28 AM

Is the pitched-roof building in the third photo still standing?

NYguy

Apr 6, 2007, 12:10 PM

Is the pitched-roof building in the third photo still standing?

I don't think that particular one is, but there are other, similar buildings...

NYguy

Apr 24, 2007, 7:12 PM

posted on curbed.com

Astride the High Line, Big Ups for Balazs

http://www.curbed.com/2007_04_rig.jpg

Gulf Coast oil rig—or High Line hotel development? The latter, of course. Above, captured by photoblogger Will Femia, is the rising glory that is André Balazs' High Line-straddling Standard Hotel. As we said when we last updated construction on this thing, back in January, no one seems quite to know exactly what this place is going to look like (click through for one plausible rendering). So be it—in André we trust, forever and ever, amen.

http://www.curbed.com/2007_01_standardhighline.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/atestofwill/469423983/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/atestofwill/469423983/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/atestofwill/469407648/in/photostream/

NYguy

Apr 30, 2007, 9:32 PM

Very lengthy 8-page article in New York magazine...
http://nymag.com/news/features/31273/

Some quotes:

The High Line: It Brings Good Things to Life
The abandoned railroad that made a park ... that made a neighborhood ... that made a brand.

By Adam Sternbergh

http://nymag.com/news/features/highline070507_1_560.jpg
Illustration by Andy Friedman

Someday, around a year from now, one of your friends is going to say to you, “Let’s go to the High Line.”

Now, this person might be talking about the High Line park, the well-publicized ribbon of greenery that’s being constructed on an abandoned elevated rail line in far west Chelsea, running north from Gansevoort all the way to 34th Street.

Or your friend might be referring to the High Line neighborhood: the new skyline of glittering retail spaces and restaurants and condos, designed by brand-name architects like Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel and Robert A.M. Stern, with names like the High Line Building and High Line 519 and HL23.

Or your friend might mean the High Line Terrace and Lounge in the new condo tower at 245 Tenth, which promises prospective residents views over the High Line, along with “polished cervaiole marble floors.”

Or maybe your friend wants to go to the Highline Thai restaurant on Washington Street, or the High Line Ballroom, a recently opened concert venue, which, starting May 9, will be part of the High Line Festival, an event curated by David Bowie and showcasing such snazzy right-now artists as Ricky Gervais and Arcade Fire. Granted, a few of these events will be barely within yodeling distance of the High Line—you know, the railroad—but no matter: Two of the festival’s producers, Josh Wood and David Binder, chose the name less for a proximity to the High Line than for their philosophical alignment with the park. “The High Line is very much about aesthetics and design,” says Binder. “We’re trying to be as well.”

“Everyone in New York City has been so supportive of the High Line,” says Wood. “It’s probably the one public-works project that no one has anything bad to say about.”

Given all this activity, it’s probable that, like most New Yorkers, you’ve already heard of the High Line. It’s also probable that, like most New Yorkers, you’re only vaguely aware of what exactly it’s going to be. Maybe the last time you thought about it was in 2003, when Friends of the High Line—the nonprofit group that’s been fighting doggedly to save it for the past eight years—held an open design competition for creative suggestions as to its ultimate fate. The results were exhibited at Grand Central Terminal, and submissions ranged from a permanent nature preserve to a roller coaster. One of the winning entries was a 22-block-long elevated swimming pool.

So here’s an update.

First, the short version: The High Line is a brand-new park. In the sky.

Now, the longer, slightly more complicated version: The High Line is, according to its converts (and they are legion), the happily-ever-after at the end of an urban fairy tale. It’s a “flying carpet,” “our generation’s Central Park,” something akin to “Alice in Wonderland ... through the keyhole and you’re in a magical place.” It’s also the end-product of a perfect confluence of powerful forces: radical dreaming, dogged optimism, neighborhood anxiety, design mania, real-estate opportunism, money, celebrity, and power. In other words, it’s a 1.45-mile, 6.7-square-acre, 30-foot-high symbol of exactly what it means to be living in New York right now.

But first, let’s start with the park.

If New York were in the practice of erecting statues to living people, you could make a good case that Joshua David and Robert Hammond should be cast in bronze tomorrow. You can almost picture their monument, too—perhaps the two of them smiling, arm in arm, hard hats on their heads—which you could unveil next spring at the projected opening of the High Line park. Or, instead, you could place that statue in the lobby of Craftsteak, the cavernous, warmly lit restaurant at the corner of Tenth Avenue and 15th Street, where I met Hammond and David for dinner on a recent rainy April night.

Walking along 15th toward Craftsteak, you’ll find as good a tour of the new Manhattan, pressed up shoulder to shoulder with the old one, as you’re likely to find. In one block I passed an auto-repair shop (“Foreign and Domestic”), the display windows of Jeffrey department store, a car wash right under the High Line, and a jam-packed opening at Milk Gallery, where well-dressed art-world attendees were lit up sporadically by the pop of flashbulbs. On Tenth, Escalades and limos sat idling with their blinkers on, outside Morimoto, or Del Posto, or Craftsteak, the massive restaurants drawing diners to their tastefully humble façades. As it happens (and this story has a lot of “as it happens” moments), Hammond, who is a part-time painter, has three of his works hanging in Craftsteak, and a huge painting by Stephen Hannock of the High Line, as seen from a nearby rooftop, is displayed in the restaurant’s main dining room. “We took him up on the building to help him get that vantage point,” says Hammond. “And we used an old photo taken from the same place in the thirties as a reference. It’s amazing that, besides the Gehry building”—which is visible in the painting as a skeletal shell full of lights, mid-construction—“how little in the neighborhood has changed.”

NYguy

Apr 30, 2007, 9:40 PM

More quotes..(from page 2of 8)
http://nymag.com/news/features/31273/

http://nymag.com/news/features/highline070507_2_560.jpg

The tower proposed for 200 Eleventh Avenue will enable residents to take their cars up an elevator and park right next to where they live, just like in the suburbs.
Rendering: Hayes Davidson

Together, the pair is unfailingly gracious and quick to deflect praise. They refuse to even really acknowledge what is essentially their victory lap. They share a bemused ambivalence toward all the profiteers now benefiting from the High Line’s prestige. Early on, they looked into trademarking the name “High Line,” but found they couldn’t, any more than you could trademark “Central Park.” Besides, they say, eight years ago, an overabundance of enthusiasm for the idea of the High Line was the least of their problems. David recalls an early City Council meeting they attended, along with socialite Amanda Burden, where their pie-eyed plan was so roundly ridiculed that, he says, “You really did feel like you were getting pissed on.” Then Burden rose to speak. “She rallied the most incredible response about how great it is that there are still dreamers in New York,” says David.

“Since when is dreamers a dirty word?” says Hammond.

____________________________________

quotes, page 3

Nearly everyone involved in the Save the High Line effort—from Gifford Miller to Amanda Burden to Edward Norton to Diane Von Furstenberg—will tell you about their hallelujah moment. The idea of a park on a railbed in the sky can be a little hard to get your head around, especially if your only vantage point is looking up from street level at its rusted, pigeon-shit-scarred underbelly. “But the moment Robert got me up there, I fell in love with it,” says Miller. “You’re in the clouds, as it were—on the level of the Jetsons.”

I first truly understood this phenomenon when I ducked through a hobbit-size door in the backside of a Tenth Avenue warehouse—and stepped directly out onto the High Line, between 25th and 26th Streets. Here, the railbed stretches off in both directions, resembling a lush, weedy boulevard unspooling over the city streets. I was accompanied at the time by Douglas Oliver, who owns the Williams Warehouse, along with a silent partner. A trim man in his early sixties, with curly, salt-and-pepper hair, Oliver was wearing a collarless black peacoat and a black-and-white ascot. Currently, his warehouse is used to store sets for soap operas; as we walked among the stashed sofas and upended, ornate lamps, he shouted to his superintendent, “Hey, Felix, where’s my favorite coffin?”

Then we all stooped through the door he punched in his back wall three years ago, and boom, there we were, on the High Line—a moment that felt like stepping through the back of the wardrobe, out into Narnia.

The High Line has always been closed to the public, so from the beginning, Hammond and David understood that—fancy brochures and professionally produced videos aside—they had to find a way to bottle and sell this hallelujah moment. A friend recommended they contact the photographer Joel Sternfeld, who had shot ruins in Rome. They invited him up for a visit. Sternfeld remembers his own High Line epiphany. “Suddenly, it’s green! It’s a railroad! It’s rural! Where am I?” he says. As he stood out on the railbed, mouth agape, Hammond whispered to him, “Joel, we need the money shot.”

As it happens, Edward Norton, the actor, whose grandfather was a visionary developer who helped save Boston’s Faneuil Hall, read Gopnik’s paean, and decided he should lend his name and support to the Friends of the High Line effort. He phoned them up and, later, became a public face for the group, appearing on Charlie Rose and speaking at events. “He’d say, ‘Look, there are a lot of people who want your money,’ ” Hammond recalls. “ ‘There are a lot of causes out there doing more important things—saving lives or educating kids.’ Then he summed it up in a way I always liked: ‘This is about optimism. This is about New York reinventing itself.’ ”

NYguy

Apr 30, 2007, 9:49 PM

More quotes, (page 4)
http://nymag.com/news/features/31273/

In fact, even before the city announced, in June 2005, that it had approved the rezoning plan that would preserve the High Line and allow for new construction projects all along its length, savvy real-estate speculators had grasped the potential of a “High Line” neighborhood.

The developer Alf Naman, who’d been circling the area since the mid-nineties, bought up about a half-dozen properties. “I saw what happened in Tribeca,” he says, “and I didn’t want to miss out here.” He’s now developing three properties, including a hotel that will look out directly on the High Line and a condo tower by architect Jean Nouvel at 100 Eleventh Avenue, with a bistro-style restaurant on the main floor. (Danny Meyer is rumored to be the eventual tenant.)

André Balazs, the hotel impresario, who was also an early donor to Friends of the High Line, purchased two plots of land on either side of the track, near 14th Street, where he’s building a Standard Hotel. “We started construction before it was even clear who owned the High Line,” he says—a gamble that he says now is “looking brilliant.” His hotel will literally straddle the High Line, and in his ideal vision, Balazs will offer his guests direct access through a stairway from the hotel to the park—though the details of who can or can’t build entrances to the High Line, and what exactly those entrances might look like, and whether you can put patio chairs or café tables out on the High Line grounds, are all still being hashed out with the city. But Balazs is confident he’ll get his staircase. “This is going to happen,” he says.

Farther north, the architects Della Valle Bernheimer are building two new projects, one on 459 West 18th and one at 245 Tenth Avenue, and Jared Della Valle is still looking for other opportunities. “But there’s been a frenzy in the neighborhood,” he says, “to the point that properties are trading at a rate that doesn’t make any sense.” Some mid-block parcels are still coming on the market, as leases run out or reluctant sellers are swayed by the arrival of the money truck. “But the majority of the A locations”—meaning ones right on the High Line—“have already traded hands.” He mentions the one crown jewel that’s still available—a huge lot at 18th and Tenth Avenue, right next to Gehry’s building. “We put an offer on that,” he says, “but we dropped out when prices went through the roof.” Prices in the neighborhood have gone up 30 percent in the last year, and are now among the highest in the city, with some lots going for over $500 a developable square foot. I ask Della Valle how those numbers compare with other Manhattan neighborhoods. He pauses. “There’s not much out there. You’re talking Central Park West.” For developers, investing at those prices, he says, is “like Russian roulette, except there are four bullets in the gun instead of one.”

____________________________________

quotes (page 5)

The second irony is that, despite all the good vibes and upbeat statements from politicians at every level of the food chain, the stretch of the High Line that runs from 30th to 34th Street, fully 30 percent of its total length, is still in danger of demolition. Its fate is more or less in the hands of the MTA, which owns the Hudson Rail Yards. The MTA wants to sell its land for maximum profit and, by all indications, is not planning to make preservation of the High Line a condition of the sale.

The last irony is that the rest of the High Line—the one that Sternfeld photographed, the one that sparks that reliable hallelujah moment in the hearts of one goggle-eyed visitor after another—isn’t being saved at all. In fact, it was doomed from the start. Hammond and David knew that, in order to rally initial support, they had to convince people that the High Line was worth preserving in the first place, and they did so with Sternfeld’s bucolic images of an untouched pasture in the sky. But now the High Line, by necessity, is being stripped to its foundations. The Friends of the High Line spent a long time trying to figure out if that original park could be preserved, but it just wasn’t feasible. “That landscape existed because nobody could go up there,” says David. “And to get people to go up there, you have to do something different.” The architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, who are designing the new park along with landscape architects Field Operations, initially submitted a plan using “flyovers”—basically, plankways that would sit over the existing High Line flora—but discovered there was too much industrial contamination on the site. “To let people go up there,” says Ric Scofidio, “we had to strip it.”

So when the new park opens next year, it will offer visitors a very different, essentially artificial experience. The park will ideally evoke the feel of the old, untouched High Line, which is now preserved only in Sternfeld’s loving photographs. Many of the same plants are being planted, some of the old rail track will be reused, and a concrete pathway will gently nudge visitors toward a similarly meandering experience as they travel from one end to the other.

As for the new buildings around the High Line, that’s out of Scofidio’s hands. “Right now, a lot of the buildings along the High Line have blank walls, because there’s been no reason to open to the High Line,” he says. “If those blank walls suddenly become filled with balconies and windows, that’s going to change the atmosphere. But that’s going to happen. You can’t avoid it.” Hammond and David are more upbeat about the flourishing neighborhood. They react to concerns about all the radical changes with only a slight hint of weary defensiveness—like two researchers who’ve spent ten years trying to crossbreed a unicorn, and now they have to endure complaints about all the hot-dog stands popping up around the unicorn’s stable. “It’s very important for me to understand everything that’s happening here in the context of this much broader movement happening all over the city,” says David. “It’s just happening in a slightly different way here, because of the High Line.”

I asked Sternfeld if, having spent a year documenting the High Line in his own private park, he now felt mournful about its passing. He said, “Yes, no question about it. I feel really sad. It was beautiful. It was perfect. It was authentic. I wish everyone could have the experience that I had. But you can’t have 14 million people on a ruin.”

Since the High Line that you’ll walk on a year from now isn’t going to feel like the High Line you couldn’t walk on a year ago, let me try to lay out for you what your future hallelujah moment might feel like.

At the south end, near the meatpacking district, the Standard Hotel, with its maybe-or-maybe-not staircase, will rise, bowlegged, with its trademark upside-down signage, eighteen stories above the park. There will be a satellite branch of the Whitney museum nearby. From the street, you can ascend the stairs to the High Line park and head north along a pathway of interlocking concrete planks. You can probably even bring a dog—as it stands, pets will be allowed on the High Line, but not bikes. (“The Hudson River Park is a fast park,” says Scofidio. “We envision this as a slow park.”)

In early designs for the park, slim and stylish visitors are illustrated wandering idly through the sculpted grounds, among such oddball imagined details as a cantilevered grandstand on which people are seated watching 2001: A Space Odyssey. (Those elements—the grandstand, a proposed “water feature” that would have featured an urban beach—have since been discarded.) And as you walk, from time to time you’ll stand above an intersection, where you can enjoy a unique, unbroken vista from one side of Manhattan to the other; basically, the view you might get if you could stand in the middle of the road, not get run over, and be 30 feet tall.

NYguy

Apr 30, 2007, 10:00 PM

More quotes (page 6)
http://nymag.com/news/features/31273/

As for the rest of the view, you can expect a veritable Disneyland of starchitecture, with ten new buildings currently rising and roughly fifteen more in development—some with access right to the High Line, some simply hugging its edge; some scaled humbly to the surrounding historical blocks, some potentially as high as 40 stories, and some that are new buildings built on top of existing buildings, like crumpled crystal top hats.

One of the new towers, at 200 Eleventh Avenue, will offer “en suite parking” to tenants (basically, an elevator that will take your car from street level and park it directly outside your apartment), pending community-board approval; Madonna’s rumored to be sniffing around. Another planned tower will tilt over the High Line, stooping slightly at its midsection like a butler ushering you through a door. And all of these buildings, as you pass them, will feature walls of condos and lounges and restaurants with windows full of people looking down from their sparkling new towers at the High Line, and you.

________________________________

quotes (page 7)

As it happens, the High Line arrives at the exact moment when the legacy of Robert Moses—the imperious former New York City parks commissioner who had his own visions for the city—is being rehabilitated, or at least exhumed. Three separate museums this year mounted exhibits asking visitors to revisit his grandly imagined, and subsequently vilified, plans to remake New York into an expressway-laden megaplex, efficiently absorbing the daily swarms of auto-bound commuters. The most notorious of these schemes is the one that never got built: The Cross-Manhattan Expressway, an elevated highway that would have wiped out much of Soho and torn through the heart of Greenwich Village. Jane Jacobs, the feisty, elfin champion of small-scale urbanism, opposed, and eventually defeated, Moses, and her theories on lively neighborhoods with bustling sidewalks, with dry cleaners and diners and greengrocers, have been entrenched as conventional wisdom ever since.

Whatever you think of Moses’s legacy, there’s one thing Moses and the High Line have in common. We can look back now and see Moses’s work as an artifact of its time; a result, right or wrong, of his idea of the city, of what New York could, and should, become. The High Line, too—by which I mean the park, the neighborhood, the festival, the ballroom, the lounge—will one day look to us like a monument to the time we live in now. A time of great optimism for the city’s future. A time of essentially unfettered growth. A time when a rusted railbed could beget a park, and a park could beget a millionaire’s wonderland. And a time when the city was, for many, never safer, never more prosperous, and never more likely to evoke an unshakable suspicion: that more and more, New York has become like a gorgeous antique that someone bought, refurbished, and restored, then offered back to you at a price you couldn’t possibly afford.

NYguy

May 10, 2007, 11:58 AM

http://www.observer.com/2007/save-high-line-0

Save The High Line?
Plans May Doom Northernmost Blocks of Future Park

http://www.observer.com/files/imagecache/article/files/westerrailyards.jpg
Photo: Courtesy of Hudson Yards Development Corporation
Looking west over the railyards.

by Matthew Schuerman
May 9, 2007

State and city officials said Tuesday night that they would try to save the three northernmost blocks of the High Line when they choose private developers for the western rail yards, but they made no promises.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the six blocks worth of rail yards in the West 30s, will be asking bidders to submit two plans: one in which the sections of elevated track along 30th Street and 12th Avenue would be preserved and the other in which they would be removed, according to city officials. The M.T.A. would determine whether the lost profit from maintaining the train track would be worth it.

“The M.T.A. and the city support retaining the High Line,” William Wheeler, the M.T.A.’s director of special project development and planning, told the more than 150 residents who packed an auditorium rented for the unveiling of the West Side rail yard plans. “But what the M.T.A. has to do is understand the assessment of risk and reward from the developers to understand how it impacts or doesn’t or benefits or doesn’t the returns we are going to get from the properties.”

Mr. Wheeler received a healthy applause, and speakers from Friends of the High Line, a nonprofit organization that has successfully campaigned to turn the southernmost 19 blocks of the unused track into a park, thanked the M.T.A. for its support. But officials said that preserving the High Line would likely add to the developers’ cost because it would require them to have to work around it. If the track was torn down, however, it would be replaced by a narrow raised park just like the High Line in order to open up 30th Street.

Affordable housing was the other major issue that arose during the meeting, which gave the public its first public glimpse of the city’s plans for the former Jets football stadium site. Regina Myer, a senior vice president at the Hudson Yards Development Corporation, the city agency overseeing the project, said that developers would devote “up to 20 percent” of the rental units they built for low-income families, and that two other publicly owned sites on the West Side, which would accommodate hundreds of additional affordable apartments, were “under very very serious consideration for affordable housing.”

About half of the 21 community members who spoke afterward complained that the affordable-housing commitment was not great enough, because it would only come out to be one-fifth of rental housing while condominiums would likely be entirely market-rate.

“We just want to live in our city,” said Marisa Redanty, the president of the Manhattan Plaza Tenants Association.

But city officials said afterward that it would be better to put affordable housing on other sites because it will cost so much for developers to build a platform over the rail yards. They also did not want to detract from the proceeds that the M.T.A. would earn from the sale of the development rights.

The two halves of the rail yards—the eastern half was rezoned two years ago—will accommodate between 2,400 and 5,800 new apartments, according to the proposed zoning, and between 6 million and 9.4 million square feet of office space. Officials said they had not figured out the limit to the height of the office towers, but they spoke freely about towers that are between 40 and 60 stories tall.

The buildings would likely be placed on the northern and southern edges of the rail yards because an Amtrak tunnel goes through the center.

NYguy

Jun 8, 2007, 10:53 PM

http://chelseanow.com/cn_37/gehrybuildingoffers.html

Gehry building offers cutting-edge stage for HL talk

http://chelseanow.com/cn_37/ric.gif

Ric Scofidio talked about the High Line while standing in front of a screen with projections of the park project last Thursday at the IAC Building on W. 18th St.

By Albert Amateau

Ric Scofidio and Liz Diller, the unconventional founders of the Scofidio Diller + Renfro team transforming the High Line — a 1.5-mile elevated railroad — into a park, spoke last week to a rapt audience gathered in a building designed by another unconventional architect.

The venue for the May 24 Friends of the High Line program was the imposing ground-floor space of the Frank Gehry-designed, angular, glass-enclosed Interactive Corp (IAC) building on W. 18th St. and the West Side Highway, which was completed earlier this year a scant block west of the elevated railroad.

“I was concerned about what it would be like to talk from this stage — or platform — in front of this incredible screen. I found it quite enjoyable,” Scofidio said in response to a question at the end of the program.

The luminous wall that serves as a presentation screen stretches more than 50 feet so that the same image can be shown side by side almost directly in front of every one in an audience seated on chairs no more that 10 rows deep.

The High Line forum was one of the first public events in the building that serves as headquarters for Interactive Corp., which comprises about 60 interactive brands, including Ticketmaster, Citysearch, Evite, Match.com and RealEstate.com.

“It’s actually a pretty good building,” said Diller, who said she passes it frequently on the West Side Highway.

The forum audience got a detailed look at the Scofidio Diller partners’ glass intensive design for the recently completed Boston Museum of Art, which cantilevers over the water of Boston Harbor. The partners also showed the development of their design for the reconstruction and enlargement of Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, currently under construction, which also has a prominent cantilever.

But they also presented some projects and installations not usually associated with architects — “to show you the perversity of our thinking,” Diller said.

They showed a glass ashtray that looked like it had a chimney and a weird dress made with strange material. Then there was their Whitney Museum exhibition of men’s shirts folded and ironed in bizarre configurations.

For an exposition in Switzerland in 2002, they devised a structure of pipes above the surface of a lake with 35,000 nozzles that created an amazing mist.

“Their buildings department wanted us to install a sprinkler system to conform to regulations and we had to show them that this was the world’s largest sprinkler system,” Diller said.

The partners are interested in “breaking down the notion that nature and nurture are opposite,” Diller said. “For us, the space is not the main concern, it’s what happens inside if it.” It was an observation especially apt for the High Line project.

“What is amazing about the High Line is being able to see the city in incredibly different ways from 30 feet in the air,” Scofidio said. He recalled the public competition in 2003 that elicited far-out suggestions, including a mile-long swimming pool.

The design team, which also includes Field Operations, the landscape firm headed by James Corner; the Dutch garden designer Piet Ouldorff; and Olafur Eliasson, a designer in Berlin, strongly feels that the High Line Park is a companion to the Hudson River Park to the west, Scofidio said. The High Line is conceived as a slow park, strictly for pedestrians, with Hudson River Park a fast park that accommodates bicycles and skates.

The challenge was to keep the viaduct’s wild look — which evolved as weeds and grasses covered it since the last boxcar of frozen turkeys rolled down the rails in 1980 — and at the same time allow people to enjoy a unique experience.

The solution was a series of concrete planks that can be added or removed at various locations to allow people to walk among planted areas. The boundary between planks and planted areas would never be hard edged and benches would grow out of planks that slope up to seating level. At places where people tend to gather, planks could be added.

Most access locations are to have stairs and ramps, while a few would include elevators. All access would be public; any access from a private development adjacent to the High Line is required to end at a public access point.

Construction of the first segment of High Line Park between Gansevoort and 20th Sts. is on schedule for a 2008 public opening, said Robert Hammond, co-founder of Friends of the High Line. The second phase, between 20th and 30th Sts., is expected to open in 2009.

But one-third of the line — between 29th and 34th Sts., where the line loops around the rail yards between 10th and 12th Aves. — is still threatened, Hammond acknowledged.

“The M.T.A. originally wanted to tear that part down,” Hammond said. “But they decided to allow developers to come in with proposals [to develop on platforms over the yards] that would tear it down and proposals that would keep it as it is,” Hammond said.

“We chose [Scofidio Diller + Renfro] because they like crazy ideas and are really able to solve problems and turn crazy ideas into economic realities,” said Hammond.

NYguy

Jun 18, 2007, 10:17 PM

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070618006188&newsLang=en

Fujifilm Joins Friends of the High Line, Launches High Line Portrait Project
Hundreds of photographs will be displayed in unique outdoor galleries to raise awareness of High Line park, projected to open in 2008.

http://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?mgid=98981&vid=4

High Line Portrait Project outdoor gallery as seen at 10th Avenue & 18th Street. The project is supported by Fujifilm.

June 18, 2007

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the High Line park takes shape above the streets of New York City, construction fencing in the neighborhood will feature improvised outdoor art galleries covered with photographs of High Line supporters from the local community and beyond, Friends of the High Line (FHL) announced today. The group will also launch a Web site featuring the portraits, www.thehighline.org/portraits.

Dubbed “The High Line Portrait Project” and made possible with a $50,000 donation from Fujifilm, the photographs capture the spirit of the inventive new park that is being built atop the High Line elevated rail structure, which runs through the Manhattan neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen.

Fujifilm’s contribution to FHL will help support community outreach efforts, including the Portrait Project, in the final year before the Park’s opening. The first section of the Park (Gansevoort to 20th Street) is slated to open to the public in the summer of 2008.

“Set atop an out-of-use freight rail trestle, the High Line will be a park like no other. It shows the creativity and innovation that makes New York City great,” said Robert Hammond, Co-Founder of FHL, a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the preservation and reuse of the High Line. “What started as a few people's dream turned into a community project, gained worldwide support and is finally becoming a reality. The High Line shows what can happen when we dream big.”

What's Your Dream? The High Line Portrait Project

The Portrait Project is driven by the enthusiasm and dedication of the Friends of the High Line, with support from Fujifilm and noted event and fashion photographer Tom Kletecka (whose client list includes designer Marc Jacobs, Travel + Leisure magazine and Cartier). Kletecka volunteered his time to photograph High Line supporters in front of a backdrop of the High Line as photographed by Joel Sternfeld, whose images of the High Line were instrumental in bringing public attention to the project in 2000. Each participant at the photo events received a commemorative copy of his or her portrait to take home, courtesy of Fujifilm’s digital printing technology.

The portraits will be displayed in several locations surrounding the High Line during the summer of 2007. The High Line is proof that the most far-fetched imaginings can come true, and each person who is photographed for the Portrait Project was asked, "What’s your dream?" after their picture was taken. Their answers will appear with their photos on the Portrait Project web site, www.thehighline.org/portraits. The images will also be compiled in a commemorative publication.

"The High Line Portrait Project is a unique way to showcase the dynamic group of supporters who have guided the project from dream to reality," said Adrian Benepe, Commissioner, New York City Parks & Recreation. "The High Line itself is a work of art and there is no better way to celebrate its supporters than through this exciting exhibition."

In the summer of 2006, the High Line and Fujifilm collaborated on another photography project. Two hundred children who live in the local community received Fujifilm QuickSnap one-time-use cameras and were asked to take pictures of things they thought were important and interesting. The photos were then exhibited along the concourse gallery of Manhattan's Chelsea Market. Originally the National Biscuit Company and a stop on the High Line, Chelsea Market is now home to small shops that sell gourmet food. You can see these images at: http://www.thehighline.org/gallery/cameraproject.

“The need to find, protect or create greenways, particularly in such a unique, visual way is so important as part of a global effort to maintain a balance with the environment,” said Camilla Jenkins, Vice President, Corporate Communications, FUJIFILM. “The ideals and project fit perfectly with Fujifilm's global commitment to preservation, conservation and community cultural efforts. This effort has succeeded tremendously already and we hope this project will remind other companies and individuals that there continues to be a great need for community support for the High Line now and into the future.”

NYguy

Aug 28, 2007, 3:30 PM

Posted on curbed.com

High Line Construction Chronicles: Standard Anything But

Tuesday, August 28, 2007, by Queens Crap

http://curbed.com/straddle.jpg

Hotelier Andreé Balasz' Standard Hotel that's rising astride the High Line in the Meatpacking District will be anything but standard—even when compared to some of Manhattan's latest daring architectural excursions. It'd been a few months since Curbed stopped by to check it out, but come Andrew Fine, who reveals how the project is taking shape (above). Eventually, it will look like this:

http://curbed.com/2007_01_standardhighline.jpg

Or at least, that's what we think it will look like; Balasz has never released final renderings of the building, but what's taking shape sure looks a lot like this rendering. Andrew Fine summed it up: "One word, wow!" And that just about sums it up for me, too.

More pics...
http://afinecompany.blogspot.com/2007/08/high-over-highline-balazs-standard.html

NYguy

Aug 29, 2007, 10:03 PM

More from curbed.com

More Standard Porn: The High Line's Perpetual Lap Dance
Wednesday, August 29, 2007, by Joey

Friends: Today is Hotel Day at Curbed HQ, meaning that over the course of our whirlwind Wednesday adventure, you will be reading several items regarding ... hotels. Blame it on our transient nature. Hope you enjoy!

http://curbed.com/2007_8_standardanglea.jpg

Following yesterday's photo update of Andre Balazs' Standard Hotel in the Upper MePa, a Curbed reader sends along a couple more shots of the High Line-straddling hotspot-to-be. There's something a little terrifying about the way the Standard just dangles up there, waiting to collapse on the heads of all those taking in a nice Sunday afternoon with a little stroll on the High Line (those who will be allowed to, anyway). Maybe that's just our batophobia. Another thing that could be just us is the Standard Hotel look-alike that immediately popped into our heads after having a glance at yesterday's picture.

http://curbed.com/2007_8_standardwars.jpg

At left, the Standard Hotel. At right, the Star Wars AT-AT All-Terrain Walker. Separated at birth?

John F

Sep 20, 2007, 11:22 PM

LOL at the Emperial Walker comparison! I was just thinking over and over again that the building is horrid and yet here we go -- the best comparison out there

NYguy

Oct 8, 2007, 8:01 PM

LOL at the Emperial Walker comparison! I was just thinking over and over again that the building is horrid and yet here we go -- the best comparison out there

I think it will be an interesting focal point on the walk. The views of the high linefrom the hotel itself will be great.

NYguy

Oct 8, 2007, 8:05 PM

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/08/taking-a-sneak-peek-at-the-high-line/

Taking a Sneak Peek at the High Line

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/10/08/nyregion/08highline.large.jpg

Touring the High Line.

By Jennifer 8. Lee
October 8, 2007

As part of the voyeuristic Open House New York over the weekend, the public was allowed for the first time to (legally) walk along a section of the High Line, 1.5-mile derelict strip of elevated train tracks along the West Side of Manhattan that has become an urban architectural Cinderella story, starting with demolition and ending (as many New York stories do) with glitzy brand-name real estate development.

City Room tagged along with 700 other people in half-hour tours to walk through the lush, weedy overgrowth along the northern segment of the High Line, from West 30th to West 34th Streets. That section, which has not been turned over to the city, is still owned by the CSX railroad corporation and its future remains in flux.

The southern section of the High Line, from Gansevoort Street to West 20th, is currently under development and is scheduled to open as a park for the public next year. (Those parts of the High Line currently look as charming as an expressway on-ramp.)

Impressions: First you had to sign two disclaimers, including one that warned about poisonous plants. There is also a lot of toxic stuff there, from a construction era when environmental consciousness was not particularly high. The crumbling wooden ties are soaked in creosote and the handrails along the side were originally covered with lead paint.

That said, the long stretch of rambunctious weeds, Manhattan skyline and crumbling industrial past is even more stunning in person than it is in pictures.
The renovation involves removing everything (plant life, iron rails, wooden ties) to repair the damaged concrete underneath the High Line.

In an effort to preserve the native horticulture, seeds from the wild plants along the High Line were taken last fall and stored in the Greenbelt Native Plant Center on Staten Island, a sort of Noah’s Ark for the plant kingdom, to be replanted later. Or as City Room saw it, it’s sort of like freezing embryos.

NYguy

Oct 23, 2007, 10:08 PM

http://gothamist.com/2007/10/22/highline_update.php

Highline Update: Now with Cool Benches

http://gothamist.com/attachments/jake/2007_10_highlinebench.jpg

October 22, 2007

Wow-- things are really changing fast up on the Highline. Since we last visited a couple of weeks ago, new benches have been installed, and holes seem to have been cut for new stairwells leading down to the street. The entire platform bed south of 30th Street has been cleared of brush and coated with a new layer of concrete, giving the rail-bed an eerie surface-of-the-moon look. The buildings along the line have also grown-- especially the new Standard Hotel near 12th Street.

More photos...
http://gothamist.com/2007/10/22/highline_update.php

NYguy

Oct 30, 2007, 7:24 PM

http://curbed.com/archives/2007/10/30/getting_glassed_the_standard_soho_mews.php#more

Getting Glassed: The Standard, Soho Mews

http://curbed.com/uploads/2007_10_StandardSohoMews.jpg

Tuesday, October 30, 2007, by Joey

In certain circles, Andre Balazs' Standard Hotel on the High Line is the most important building to ever be constructed in Manhattan. To others, architect Charles Gwathmey's stately and refined Soho Mews is a breath of fresh air in the condo scene. Today, both sides can get excited and exist in harmony, because the two anticipated buildings are getting their glass on. Hooray!

http://curbed.com/uploads/2007_10_standard2.jpg

NYguy

Nov 2, 2007, 10:28 PM

curbed.com

http://curbed.com/uploads/2007_11_standard.jpg

[The Standard cometh; photo via Danny L./Curbed Photo Pool]

NYguy

Dec 6, 2007, 11:18 PM

http://chelseanow.com/cn_62/preservingthehigh.html

Preserving the High Line’s northern section

http://chelseanow.com/cn_62/gukkub.gif
Robert Hammond, co-founder of Friends of the High Line

By Lawrence Lerner
November 30 - December 6, 2007

In 1999, Robert Hammond and Josh David founded Friends of the High Line (FHL), a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and reuse of the High Line, a 1.5-mile-long historic elevated rail structure that runs through Chelsea and other neighborhoods on the West Side of Manhattan. The pair, bolstered by widespread support, managed to get the city onboard and in 2005 save the southern section of the High Line, between Gansevoort and 30th Sts., which is currently being transformed into a park in two phases, due to open in September 2008 and 2009, respectively.

But with the proposed Jets stadium plan recently defeated and the future of the Western Rail Yards in doubt in 2005, the city and High Line owner CSX Transportation left the High Line’s northern section—which loops around the Hudson Rail Yards between 10th and 12th Avenues from 30th to 33rd Streets—out of the deal and vulnerable to demolition by developers, the city and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which owns the rail yards. Now that developers, bids for the yards have been made public, we sat down with Hammond to get his thoughts on the prospects for this northern section of the High Line.

From the beginning, you had an uphill battle to save the High Line from demolition. What’s been FHL’s approach?
Yeah, I thought we had only a slight chance at first. But we never wanted to be a group that had to throw itself in front of a bulldozer. We felt that if it came to that, you’ve already lost. All along, we wanted to make arguments beyond just, ‘Save it.’ We wanted the High Line to make sense from both economic and urban planning standpoint—and come up with an alternative use for the rail line—not let it be just about preservation, because ultimately, we see this as a great resource and an opportunity, this mile and a half of elevated Manhattan.

Who were your allies in the fight to save the southern section, and now as you attempt to preserve the northern section?
The core base is our supporters, along with the city, the City Council and elected officials like Christine Quinn, Scott Stinger, Tom Duane, Jerry Nadler, Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton. And the state and MTA have come around. The Bloomberg administration has been a big supporter, which has been key. We probably wouldn’t be having this conversation if the city wasn’t behind this.

Who in the Bloomberg administration has been key?
[Deputy Mayor Daniel] Doctoroff has said he wants to keep the High Line. But there was concern at first, since this came about in the wake of 9/11, and the Bloomberg didn’t have enough money to pay for the parks the city had. Dan didn’t want to see pretty pictures; he wanted hard numbers back in 2002. That’s when we did our first economic feasibility study to show it made planning and economic sense for the city. Dan got more and more excited when he saw the economic potential for the High Line.

Tell us more about that study, since it has a bearing on your arguments for preserving the northern section now amid the recently released Hudson Yards bids.
We did a study that said that over a 20-year period, the city would get more tax revenue than it would cost to rebuild it, even though the city wouldn’t be required to pay for all of the construction. John looked that the natural increment in value that will happen in the neighborhood, assuming it’s rezoned and real estate values go up, and he looked at how much the city would reap from that. Then he factored in the addition of the High Line and found three areas of benefit: It creates more light and air for properties adjacent to it; when you’re close to parks and open space, your property values go up between 10 and 14 percent over nearby properties; and third, it made good urban planning sense, because the High Line makes for a better neighborhood, and I think it’s encouraged developers to use interesting architects nearby.

What specifically have you found regarding real estate values and benefits to the city?
We also talked to consultants who said the way to create real value is to create a marketable district, like the Gramercy Park neighborhood. Apartments listed in that area fetch a premium. Likewise, we’ve seen listings for “High Line apartments” that have no view of the High Line but are close enough to reap that benefit. Last year’s Lonely Planet travel guide has five references to the High Line, and it’s not even open. It becomes a destination, something people want to work and live near and visit. In 2002, we estimated it would bring incremental tax revenue of nearly $200 million. John updated that study, and the conservative figure is now over $400 million. Dan [Doctoroff] did a study that said the High Line has already created $950 million in real estate value. That can only bode well for the northern section of the High Line and Hudson Yards.

Now, you’ve made a strong economic argument. What about the High Line from an urban planning standpoint?
The High Line is not a wheat field in Kansas. To me, the power of the High Line is that it’s in the city. There are a million miles of train tracks in this country with wildflowers growing on them. But it’s only on the High Line that you can see the Empire State Building and meander through a corridor of buildings that are in constant flux, with new buildings next to old ones. It will not be a static experience. And it’s not a park with a key; it’s a public park for people of all income levels.

Trace the main arguments for demolition of the northern section of the High Line.
The MTA was concerned that preserving the High Line was going to add complexity to the Hudson Yards development and make it cost more, and they needed to get maximum return on the land, which is public. We argued to the MTA that it would add some complexity and cost more, but not of the magnitude they were predicting, where it would really impact the project. So, we did another study to show why it made economic sense.

The main issues fall under three categories: construction feasibility and related cost, real estate values and retail/parking potential, and urban planning/historic preservation.

With construction, MTA and developers argued that you couldn’t get machines necessary to build the pilings for the rail yards platform underneath the High Line, but we showed that you certainly can. And they could also use the High Line itself as a staging area for cranes and other machinery—that is, both above and below it.

How about retail and parking?
Well, the MTA also argued that they could tear down the High Line and rebuild something better, since it would be easier for developers to construct the platform and buildings, and that way you could get two floors of retail space underneath the new structure, instead of one, and make it easier to build around it because it would require fewer columns than the High Line has. Our argument is that underneath the High Line makes for a much more interesting retail space, lending itself to high-end boutiques. Sure, it makes it much more difficult to put big-box stores underneath because of all the columns, but there is lots of space in the Hudson Yards development for big-box, and the developers proposals show that.

The MTA also wanted to put parking under the High Line and said you couldn’t do that because of its deep pilings underneath the columns. We estimated that you’d lose about 20 percent of the parking spots by preserving the High Line, since a new structure would require shorter pilings, leaving more space for parking. But you could still put in below-grade parking with the High Line in place, and you could do two levels of parking just inside the 30th St. side of the High Line, where there’s 160 feet between the High Line and the rail Yards. We also think that to tear down the High Line for parking would be, well, a big mistake.

And urban planning?
That 160-feet buffer I referred to means that the High Line creates an important set-back along 30th Street. Remember, developers are going to want to build out where they can to make their money back. If you tore town the High Line and built right up to 30th Street, you’d create avenue-like density on a side street, which, from an urban planning perspective, would be disastrous.

Along the same lines, the MTA also argued that because the rail yards platform running along 12th Avenue would be higher than the High Line, it would be difficult to connect the two and would be better for the platform to go right up to the road. We argued that the High Line would actually act as a soft-edge buffer to the road and be much more visually appealing and decrease density by creating another set-back, and you’d have two viewing platforms from which to look out onto the Hudson River. And it would be easy to mediate the two with ramps. Ultimately most of the developers agreed with us—and it shows in their plans. Furthermore, along 12th Avenue side, you could connect the High Line with Hudson River Park by creating walking causeways over the road. All the plans showed this, too, since the city always wanted that as well. Then there’s the connection a contiguous High line makes with the other neighborhoods it runs through. All of this makes good urban planning sense.

What’s your historic preservation argument?
It’s pretty simple: We’re going to have over 12 million square feet of new development in Hudson Yards. Let’s keep something that’s actually original. This is a rail yard; don’t we want evidence of the rails there? The High Line is a reminder of the history there. Finally, the last thing we want to do is let the High Line go the way of the old Penn Station. We have a chance to get it right this time, and we should capture that opportunity.

Are there any big outstanding issues you’d like to see resolved in the Hudson Yards bidding process?
Right now, MTA has no plans to divulge any of their financials behind the bids. So, we don’t know the difference between the bids that include the High Line and those that don’t for each developer, which may sway the MTA’s decision. Also, we would want to know the thinking behind the numbers. You can ascribe a cost to a plan, but we want to look through those numbers to make sure they’re right and are using accurate information on the High Line.

We’ve seen this movie before, when we were saving the southern portion: People made many specious arguments, some involving numbers. And people tend to believe developers more than us, thinking we’re dreamers trying to save the High Line, even though we’ve proven we’re more than that. So, we’d like complete transparency.

How do you size up the new Hudson Yards proposals just unveiled?
The good news is that the MTA and state have said they support saving the High Line, and I think most of the developers see the High Line as an asset, as reflected in their proposals and their conversations with us. But just because they show it in their plans doesn’t mean they’ll preserve the High Line. There’s no requirement in the RFP for that, so we want the MTA to mandate this.

Extell, Related and Brookfield’s proposals kept the High Line in its entirety. The first two build right up to it and connect to it; Brookfield leaves some space and lets the High Line stand apart. I think it’s interesting that Extell and Brookfield didn’t conform to the RFP’s zoning guidelines. Every developer and architect has told us that the RFP was a bad example of urban planning, in general, to try and work under. The open space stipulated by the RFP would create a dark wind tunnel. Hopefully, MTA will be open to those proposals that deviated from their plan.

The Durst plan calls for demolition of the High Line all along 12th Avenue and the spur over 10th Avenue; all they keep is part of the line running along 30th Street. Tishman-Speyer keeps all of it except the spur; I hope they’ll reconsider that. Brookfield is the only one that doesn’t have buildings spanning over the High Line at 12th Ave and 30th Street. It’s a plan that allows sun into the open space. And Extell’s designer, Steven Holl, has a real sensitivity for the High Line: His office has overlooked the High Line for 20 years.

Which proposal does FHL like the most?
We’re going to do a study of all five proposals and how they interact with the High Line. I also want to hear the upcoming architect presentations [at Cooper Union on Dec. 3] before commenting on that. The point that we want to make is that a lot of these innovative ideas can be incorporated into whoever’s plan is chosen. We don’t want to pick a favorite developer. We want to work with whoever is chosen and encourage them and the MTA to pick the best ideas from all the projects. And remember, the selection is not the end of the process; it’s the beginning, since this will all go under public review. And none of the developers wants to cut us out of the conversation. They want to work with us, so that’s good news as well.

Will you be relieved when the fight if finally over and FHL can shift full-time into conservancy mode? What will you do with yourselves?
Yeah, part of me will miss the battle. But then we’ll have to concentrate on the real thing: maintaining the High Line and keeping it safe. That’s why we’ve started a membership program—to help fund ongoing maintenance and operations—just like Central Park Conservancy. It’s a less dramatic battle but equally important, since no park that isn’t maintained and kept safe with Park Enforcement Police will thrive.

What portion of maintenance and security will FHL pay?
Central Park Conservancy pays 70 percent of the costs for that park. We’re going to have to pay our fair share as well. So, we’ll need to keep raising money for a long time to come.

NYguy

Dec 12, 2007, 10:54 PM

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=119155&page=3

Jay-Z Gets $66M Site for Five-Star Hotel

http://www.globest.com/newspics/nyc_511w21st2.jpg

By Natalie Dolce
December 12, 2007

Entertainment mogul Jay-Z has earmarked a Chelsea development site as the location for J Hotel, an upscale five-star 150,000-sf luxury hotel. The hotel will be the flagship for his new hospitality brand, which he intends to roll out in select cities following this New York City debut.

J Hotel, in the heart of the gallery district between 10th and 11th avenues at 510 W. 22nd St., also known as 511 W. 21st St., will be a prominent new addition to the burgeoning High Line neighborhood, according to Eastern Consolidated, who exclusively represented the seller. An Eastern Consolidated spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com that they cannot disclose the identify of the seller at this time; however, they did note that the seller is a private locally based investor who has owned the property for a long time.

Eastern Consolidated director David Johnson, with executive directors Ronald Solarz and Eric Anton, represented the seller of the prime block-thru site, and also procured the buyers. The site was purchased by Jay-Z partners Charles Blaichman of CB Developers and Abram Shnay, along with son Scott Shnay, of SK Development Group in two separate transactions, namely the acquisition of the base site for $51 million, followed by the acquisition of the air rights for $15.4 million, totaling $66.4 million.

“West 22nd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenue is arguably the heart and soul of the West Chelsea High Line district and is a perfect location for an upscale life style-oriented five-star hotel,” notes Solarz. According to Johnson, “we were able to obtain a benchmark price for M-zoned land in the High Line district.”

Currently the site is occupied by a five-story 88,000-sf warehouse and parking facility net leased to Time Warner Cable Inc., which will vacate. Joseph Hershkowitz of Frenkel, Hershkowitz & Shafran represented the seller, and the buyers were represented by Larry Drath of Holman & Drath LLP.

Swede

Dec 12, 2007, 11:14 PM

Seems Jay-Z got a taste for the development buisness from his involment in the Nets/AtlanticYards. Don't think I've seen a transition like that before: rapper->developer.

NYguy

Dec 13, 2007, 6:09 AM

Seems Jay-Z got a taste for the development buisness from his involment in the Nets/AtlanticYards. Don't think I've seen a transition like that before: rapper->developer.

He seems serious about it, which is wise. Music careers don't last forever.

NYguy

Dec 13, 2007, 6:13 AM

Construction from a few months ago.
Photos by -Monica- (http://flickr.com/photos/thesmileinn/)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1059/532373061_95ad401a24_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1025/532373067_96176d7d7f_b.jpg

NYguy

Dec 13, 2007, 7:12 AM

More construction by Michael Surtees (http://flickr.com/photos/michaelsurtees/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2049/2095679485_7d1d1dd008_b.jpg

The northern spur - currently part of the west side railyard bids...

Photo from jennacar (http://flickr.com/photos/jennacar/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2284/1507909052_4a85f3b34d_o.jpg

NYguy

Dec 13, 2007, 7:13 AM

Just a small sampling of the photos from High Line (http://flickr.com/photos/highline/)

1.
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NYC2ATX

Dec 15, 2007, 3:27 PM

NYguy

Dec 19, 2007, 11:01 PM

Goodness gracious! :eek: I had no idea that the high line project (which I admire greatly, and am absolutely thrilled about) was so far along, as was I unaware of the incredibly awesome Standard's progress. I am so excited for the high line's opening next year. It'll be really incredible. I can just see it now. :eeekk:

For such an amazing project, it's one of New York's best kept secrets.

http://curbed.com/archives/2007/12/19/high_line_construction_chronicles_step_into_the_standard.php#more

High Line Construction Chronicles: Step into the Standard

http://curbed.com/uploads/2007_12_standard2.jpg

December 19, 2007
by Joey

Starting next fall, Andre Balazs' upside-down hotel/social hub will have thousands of tourists, park-lovers and curious onlookers streaming under it on a daily basis. In early November, Curbed Photo Pool contributor NYCviaRachel got an early peek at what those people will see. Behold, the Standard Hotel, as seen from the High Line!

Both still works in progress, but enough to get the pulse racing. Actually, the whole set of photos from the High Line tour is really cool, especially the shots of all the graffiti and assorted weirdness along the elevated path. Important Standard Hotel fact: as of now, Andre Balazs has not worked it out with the city to have an entrance to the park from the hotel. Repeat: no High Line entrance for the Standard Hotel. Andre, cut the necessary checks and get this sorted out, mmk?

http://curbed.com/uploads/2007_12_standard1.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nycviarachel/sets/72157603485998832/

NYguy

Jan 2, 2008, 12:31 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/nyregion/02highline.html?ref=nyregion

In Winds of Winter, Midair Park Takes Shape

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/photo/2008/01/02/0102-HIGHLINE/21182517.JPG

The project threads its way through 10 other developments, including a new tunnel through what will be the Standard Hotel at Washington and Little West 12th Streets.

By GLENN COLLINS
January 2, 2008

The sleek, computer-driven architectural previews of New York’s first midair park, the High Line, depict pedestrians navigating a public promenade that is on track to be celebrated next fall. Like space-age schematics, they offer a futuristic refuge: a pristine ribbon of green providing exquisite views of Manhattan.

But the High Line has been something quite different, a flaking, rusting industrial ruin that needed to be transformed to match the digital renderings. And someone has been doing all that work. So right now the High Line is one hairy construction site.

The defunct elevated railway — which stretches from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street on the Far West Side — is a secret world these days, barred to the meatpacking district crowds that mob the new Apple Store and swarm to a high-end shopping festival in a once-scruffy quarter that real estate advertisements now call “the prestigious High Line District.”

Fifty hard hats in safety orange — including ironworkers, carpenters, painters and garden-variety laborers — perform a fast-tracked logistical ballet 30 feet up on the line, as steel and concrete are delivered just in time to be grappled into place.

Bridges freeze before roadways, of course, and thus it is on the High Line, which shimmers with icicles at times while vibrating with hard winds from the Hudson. Safety railings sing in the gales, and it is not uncommon for snow and sleet to blow upward, swirling in updrafts shaped by the patchwork of low-rise buildings underneath.

Not unlike the hardy wildflowers, shrubs and even apple trees that adapted to the lost world of the track bed, workers have already embraced the onset of winter.

“The cold is great — bring it on,” said John Forbes, 43, an ironworker. “We really don’t mind cold. It’s heat that’s the killer.” He referred to the summer’s labor on the unshaded railway radiating hotly from its 8-inch-thick concrete slab.

Of course, high wind — as on a recent afternoon punctuated with chilly gusts of 40 miles an hour — forces managers to shut down the construction cranes. A freeze curtails the concrete pours and painting forays, while ice and snow divert topside workers to their shovels before they can scurry to tasks on the line’s dry undersurface.

The project that has been promoted as the new Central Park for downtown is, currently, a mile-long obstacle course. The rail bed threads its way not only through High Line construction but also 10 other developments, including a new tunnel through the Standard Hotel at Washington and Little West 12th Streets.

“It’s very, very tight up here,” said Mike Balbo, 27, back on the High Line. He was behind the wheel of a 9-ton payloader ferrying job debris. “Just fitting this on the road is hard.”

Bob Marriott, general superintendent for Kiska Construction Corporation, the general contractor, said, “We’ve been trying to complete our repairs and our painting without massively disrupting the businesses and tenants below.”

Save for a parcel near Gansevoort Street, the city owns none of the real estate underneath the High Line aside from streets and sidewalks. “You do not want to drop things from on high,” said Gerard Zimmermann, 40, a chief inspector for Kiska.

The roadbed’s elevation is nothing, of course, to workers accustomed to dancing on high steel. “For me this is pretty easy,” said Mr. Zimmermann, who has walked atop the George Washington and Verrazano-Narrows Bridges.

Nevertheless, the airborne landscape poses safety issues and other, more personal constraints. For example, since sanitation contractors do not deign to scale 30-foot heights, the workers must descend from the line “because companies will only clean portable bathrooms downstairs on the street level,” said Garrett Scalza, 30, who was supervising a group of carpenters near Gansevoort Street.

And since the High Line extends through residential areas, “We can’t make noise early or late, or work on the weekends,” Mr. Zimmermann said.

Given their total exposure, High Line workers are especially vulnerable from on high. “It’s pretty safe up here except when there’s construction above us,” said Sathar Ansari, 32, a site safety manager. “Other contractors, by accident, have dropped plywood and other debris, but luckily no one was hurt.”

Despite extreme heat and fierce cold, so far workers have experienced only minor injuries, save for one carpenter who tripped and fell three feet and lost five days of work.

Near Gansevoort Street, laborers are already installing the concrete planking surface destined to be a walkway for visitors. Cast in Quebec and weighing 600 to 800 pounds, the planks — some 7,600 of them — are hefted by forklifts “and then we muscle them into place with crowbars,” said Emilio Arostegui, 40, who leads a labor crew. They are jigsaw puzzle pieces of a structural system of pedestrian promenades that extend like concrete fingers into the planting beds that will restore the park greenery using 6,300 cubic yards of soil.

Workers up on the line are laboring to complete the first, $71 million phase of the $170 million High Line construction, a section from Gansevoort Street up to 20th Street.

“Next fall’s opening is breathing down our neck,” said Peter Mullan, director of planning for Friends of the High Line, a nonprofit group that helped block attempts to demolish the viaduct and helped design its renovation.

The structure is owned by the city south of 30th Street under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Friends of the High Line. The city’s Economic Development Corporation is overseeing construction on the site along with the mayor’s office and the Department of City Planning.

The remainder of the city-owned roadbed is scheduled to become a park by 2009. Another half-mile section rings the railyards north of 30th Street and 12th Avenue, and five bidders are competing to develop the property; only three want to preserve that part of the High Line.

“There has never been another project like it, there is no model, and it involves a tangle of jurisdictions,” said Daniel L. Doctoroff, the deputy mayor for economic development. He said he designated the High Line the first project in his new Office of Capital Project Development to spearhead construction “on an extremely accelerated schedule requiring precise coordination among multiple city agencies.”

He added, “It is on budget and essentially on time.”

Enemies of the High Line once claimed that the corridor, built from 1928 to 1934, was disintegrating in a rain of concrete. But despite its appearance, engineers have found it to be mostly well preserved and massively strong, “built to support locomotives, designed for 10 times the load it will carry as a park,” said Michael Bradley, the High Line’s project planning administrator for the parks department.

Already, workers have ripped out the High Line’s original roadbed down to the concrete slab, removing gravel, tracks, ties, soil and the urban wilderness of vegetation that had seeded itself there. This was mandatory, Mr. Mullan said, since toxic chemical contaminants had leaked from the freight trains, the last of which bowled through with a load of frozen turkeys in 1980.

Flaking old lead paint on the structure has been sandblasted down to the steel and is being covered with 18,000 gallons of paint. And workers are conserving the rail line’s Art Decoish configurations of bolted steel plates that have been termed “industrial folk art.”

“We are changing out steel beams, preparing the structure to carry a park instead of freight trains,” said Tom Ryan, 41, an ironworker who leads a restoration crew. “There are a million rivets on the High Line, and I’ve only replaced 10,000,” he said, deadpan.

The original freight rails — which had been temporarily relocated to the northerly reaches of the trestle — are now being reinstalled to the south as design elements only. Workers have just put in the first rail junction, called a frog “because that’s what a frog looks like after it’s been run over by a locomotive,” Mr. Ryan said.

By their industrious presence, the workers have relocated the pigeons that once found their earthly paradise at the underside of the trestle, producing decades of D’oh! dry cleaning moments for unlucky pedestrians.

“Pigeons know to stay away from people in hard hats,” said Mike Forbes, 35, an on-site construction draftsman.

Mr. Zimmermann added, “I think they headed to the nearest park.”

Since acidic pigeon waste corrodes the steelwork, laborers have been installing permanent, harmless anti-pigeon shields — angled plates welded atop girders — as well as strategically stretched flexible steel wires to deter birds’ happy landings.

“The thing is, the pigeons keep coming back,” said Mr. Marriott, adding that birds have already made modifications to the High Line not envisioned by the designers, Field Operations and Diller Scofidio & Renfro of Manhattan. “They’ve created new nests in the temporary pigeon netting that was installed” as a prelude to the permanent pigeon shields, he said.

On the line, there is a perpetual incongruity between the grit above and the glitz below. As winds scoured the High Line tunnel through the Chelsea Market on a recent afternoon, Fernando Espino, 36, was shoveling construction debris on the concrete slab above the roof of the Morimoto restaurant, while unseen diners below tasted truffled tofu and summoned the Iron Chef’s sake sommelier.

Workers have long been inured to the spectacle of meat hanging on hooks in the same meatpacking neighborhood where supermodels slink to fashion shoots, where Beyoncé shops and Cameron Diaz heads to her scheduled hair appointment.

Another wave of wind roiled from the river and crashed into the High Line. “It’s not a problem for me, in 30- to 45-mile-an-hour winds,” said John Forbes, the ironworker, who is 6-foot-5 and weighs 380 pounds. “I’m not going to blow away. I’m an andiron.”

NYguy

Jan 25, 2008, 2:15 AM

curbed.com

Construction Watch: The Standard Welcoming Voyeurs

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_1_standardconstruction.jpg

In terms of triumphs of humanity, the order is as such: 1) moon landing 2) the pyramids 3) E=mc2 4) the Standard Hotel 5) the four-minute mile. So we were trying to think of the best way to present the earth-shattering news that the website for Andre Balazs' High Line hotel has been updated with a construction photo that AUTOMATICALLY REFRESHES EVERY 15 MINUTES, but then we just showed the site to the most obsessed person we know, and he replied, "Sometimes, I wonder if we deserve the Standard." We'll leave it at that.

http://www.standardhotels.com/new-york-city/

NYguy

Feb 22, 2008, 8:22 PM

Posted on curbed.com

Friday, February 22, 2008

Eater Tastings: Standard Gets Liquored Up, Shake Shack Dethroned, More!

http://eater.com/uploads/standardrestaurant.jpg

Andre Balazs's Standard Hotel over the High Line went before Community Board 2 last night and was approved for three bars and two restaurants, including a party palace up on the 18th floor. Yes, yes, a thousand times YES!

vaporvr6

Feb 23, 2008, 1:17 PM

i am so psyched about this!

cwilson

Feb 25, 2008, 10:07 PM

Really does N.Y. need all those buildings??

Dac150

Feb 26, 2008, 3:24 AM

This is going to be a cool place.

NYC2ATX

Feb 26, 2008, 5:59 AM

Really does N.Y. need all those buildings??

Yes :)

NYguy

Feb 26, 2008, 2:45 PM

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aRzyvVQeyJsY&refer=muse

Hot High Line Park Brings Breakthrough Condo by Denari: Review

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=i8NCgMlpOczs

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=i9fzhcpo7GmY

The HL23 condominium tower, designed by architect Neil Denari and to be built in Chelsea's High Line Park in New York, as seen in an undated artist's rendering. Prices range from $2.65 million for a two-bedroom, 1,870 square-foot unit to $10 million for the two-floor penthouse.

By James S. Russell
Feb. 26 (Bloomberg)

Manhattan's west Chelsea, where meatpacking plants once sat next to leather bars and prostitutes trolled under an elevated rail line, is now the city's hottest real-estate market and a laboratory for new architecture.

As the High Line Park takes shape atop that long-abandoned freight line, it has inspired a condo boom. Yet only HL23, one of the smallest of the current artsy crop, channels the inner beauty of the High Line and puts it in elegant vertical form. It's a breakthrough by Neil Denari, a Los Angeles architect who's much favored by aficionados yet little known outside his home city.

Thank the park -- which won't even open till late this year -- for shifting a longtime neighborhood transformation into overdrive. The rusting viaduct hosted an unknown urban meadow on its long-abandoned tracks as it cut through 17 blocks. The crazy contrast between dandelioned green and industrial grit caught everyone's imagination.

Though a couple of big design names (Jean Nouvel, Shigeru Ban) are attached to a few of the two dozen nearby condo projects in various stages of planning or construction, none so specifically extends the old freight line's aura as the HL23 condominium.

Denari compares his design to a plant reaching for a shaft of sunlight from out of a crack in the sidewalk. The 13-story building rises out of a skinny, seemingly unbuildable 25-foot- wide slot of land. It unfurls in faceted planes of glass and metal, held in place by diagonal braces that look like sinews. The diminutive tower seems to wave gently, bending just a bit east over the old elevated railroad, while the south-facing side tilts back at the top.

Look-at-Me Condos

It's suave when many of its neighboring galleries, self- consciously chic stores, celebrity restaurants and look-at-me condos catch the eye with nervous, tacked-on touches.

Denari makes his design look preordained -- which is amazing, considering that every angle and setback was worked out according to what zoning would permit.

With its elegantly tooled diagonal braces and shiny, embossed metal-panel surface, HL23 is as fluidly feline as a sports car. Denari eases the planar facets of the structure into one another with gentle curves. In wrapping the metal panels around expanses of glass, you see the finesse of a great auto- body designer like Pininfarina.

Italian Influence

Denari has honed this style over 20 years, primarily in stores (L.A. Eyeworks) and interiors of sleek theatricality (Endeavor Talent Agency). On a tour of the Chelsea site, he said he was influenced by Italian design of the 1960s and 1970s and especially by one of its stars, Joe Colombo, whose boldly futuristic, industrial-style chairs and lamps were leavened by rounded corners and a sly Pop Art sensibility.

Since HL23 is neither tall nor sold with the pet spas and fancy fitness rooms that larger projects offer, it differentiates itself primarily by design. Denari opens diagonal vistas through the blocks that others wouldn't see. With one unit per floor (11 total), many of the rooms have multiple exposures.

Perhaps the biggest risk the project takes is employing a level of architectural detail rarely permitted by the corner- cutting culture of real-estate development -- like the pattern of ceramic dots fused onto the glass that echoes the line of the diagonal braces inside. It lends a subtle visual depth.

With prices ranging from $2.65 million for a two-bedroom, 1,870 square-foot unit to $10 million for the two-floor penthouse, developers Naiman and Heher are gambling that Denari's discreet bravura will win over buyers usually wooed by lifestyle bathrooms and layouts crammed with boxy little rooms.

Recent condos by big-name architects have at last put design quality in Manhattan's hidebound real-estate equation. HL23's most radical move may be to do it without a big name and spectacular views.

(James S. Russell is Bloomberg's U.S. architecture critic. The opinions expressed are his own.)

NYC2ATX

Feb 28, 2008, 4:15 AM

^^^ That's an outstanding design! When do we start?! :hyper:

NYguy

Feb 28, 2008, 4:30 AM

^^^ That's an outstanding design!

More from curbed.com

HL23 Interiors Revealed; Peace on Earth At Hand

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3062/2296523058_9a8764c784_o.jpg

Wednesday, February 27, 2008, by Lockhart

Folks, if you're anything like us, you sit around all day thinking, "When are architect Neil Denari and developer Alf Naman going to release additional renderings of their wondrous creation, HL23?" Today, new develoment blog Triple Mint hears our prayers and serves up the goodness, including a provocative view of how HL23 plays with its next-door neighbor, the already complete High Line 519 development by architect Lindy Roy. Oh, the freaking glory. West Chelsea, you continue to amaze.

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3212/2295729833_45822f4f95_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3235/2296523044_749ac84ed7_o.jpg

NYguy

Feb 28, 2008, 4:35 AM

That Standard rises over the High Line, with Midtown in the background...

Photo by Alex Moss (http://flickr.com/photos/alexmoss/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2211/2196297358_2a41d1b2a4_b.jpg

ardecila

Feb 28, 2008, 5:39 AM

Has the Nouvel project (100 West 11th) started yet? That's one GORGEOUS modern building that proves that awkward, ugly-looking angular designs aren't the only way to be "progressive". I'm really looking forward to seeing it go up.

NYguy

Mar 3, 2008, 9:27 PM

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aRzyvVQeyJsY&refer=muse

Hot High Line Park Brings Breakthrough Condo by Denari: Review

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=i8NCgMlpOczs

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=i9fzhcpo7GmY

http://www.globest.com/news/1105_1105/newyork/168708-1.html?sector=newyork

Construction To Begin on Green Residence

http://www.globest.com/newspics/nyc_hl23.jpg

By Natalie Dolce
March 3, 2008

NEW YORK CITY-Freestanding residential tower HL23 will rise from a site on West 23rd Street half beneath the High Line elevated railway bed, now slated for transformation into an urban park. Construction will begin in March on the 14-story building, which will have a reverse-tapering structure.

A source familiar with the development tells GlobeSt.com that the developer, locally based 23 High Line LLC, is buying 100% green energy for the building. Alf Naman of High Line confirms, telling GlobeSt.com that they are in contract to purchase green power from a source that is creating energy elsewhere through wind power. Naman also reveals that total hard costs for the construction are $22 million.

The design architect for the development, located at 515-517 W. 23rd St., will be Neil M. Denari Architects Inc. of Los Angeles. YRG sustainability consultants will direct the High Line project through the LEED-certification process. The developer, 23 High Line is pursuing certification at the Gold level, which targets 41 of 69 available points. According to a prepared statement, the project is targeting points in all five categories, as well as additional innovation credits for exemplary and innovative performance strategies.

As a residential building, special attention has been focused on improving occupant health and well-being by providing a high level of indoor air quality and supplying extensive natural light to the units, the release notes. In addition, strong emphasis was placed on energy efficiency, thereby reducing the demand on our depleting natural resources.

Some of the many green strategies being implemented in this project include: providing a high level of ventilation and indoor air quality to creates a healthier indoor environment for residents; specifying products and materials with low Volatile Organic Compound content to further improve indoor air quality and occupant health; using eco-efficient water fixtures and appliances, which reduces water consumption by at least 30%; implementing a construction management plan that focuses on reducing indoor air contaminants and further improves the building’s air quality; extensive natural daylighting and views to the outdoors, which should reduce the need for electric lighting; providing bicycle storage for building occupants; specifying high reflective roofing products, which will reduce the urban heat-island effect; integrating efficient mechanical systems and a tight building envelope, reducing energy consumption by 15% to 25%; using refrigerants that are low ozone depleting and do not contribute to global warming; providing infrastructure for trash chutes and a recycling program within the building; implementing a construction waste management plan that diverts at least 75% of waste from landfills; and using materials with high recycled content.

Brown Harris Stevens has been retained as exclusive sales agent for the property. The source tells GlobeSt.com that completion date is scheduled for the end of 2009 and that units will be available for sale once construction begins.

The singular form of the 39,200-sf HL23 was made possible by modifications to seven different zoning requirements, granted by the city in support of the design’s contribution to the cityscape. No two homes in the building will be alike. The building will house 11 homes, including nine full-floor residences, a duplex penthouse at the top of the building, and a private garden at the building’s base. The residences at HL23 will range in size from approximately 1,850 sf to 3,600 sf, and in price from $2.7 million to $10.5 million.

"Quite frankly, I felt like it was the last great site in urban America, it was so amazing," notes architect Denari in a prepared statement. "In the early 1980s, I lived in New York City and spent a great deal of time in far West Chelsea, imagining and even drawing designs for buildings that would celebrate its gritty, industrial romance and the beautifully decaying form of the High Line. I cannot overstate how satisfying it is for our firm to create a formally challenging, artistic project here more than 25 years later, addressing a practical demand for the people who will live inside the building and a local demand for the public who will experience it from the sidewalks, the High Line, and from other buildings throughout the West Chelsea arts district."

brickell

Mar 4, 2008, 12:13 AM

I haven't been following the whole thread, but I did see the pictures of people up on the line. Is it accessible now? Do they offer tours? How can one get up there?

Scruffy

Mar 4, 2008, 2:58 AM

not open to the public yet. though if you want to sneak on and take pics...

pj3000

Mar 4, 2008, 4:35 AM

Can't wait to watch this thing further develop. In some ways, I'll miss the old, overgrown, abandoned high line. Used to walk along it... it had rough beauty about it and was a quiet escape from the city.

urbanactivist

Mar 4, 2008, 5:18 PM

I do love the skywalk/promenade concept, but it seems so out of place for Manhattan. Will it connect into Central Park?

NYguy

Mar 6, 2008, 8:56 AM

http://www.amny.com/news/local/am-highline0306,0,4013767.story

Eye-catching building highlights High Line rebirth

By David Freedlander
March 6, 2008

The transformation of the High Line from a rotting railway to a postmodern park traveled further down the track Wednesday as plans were unveiled for a new tower slated to open next year.

The building, called HL23, is the first project by architectural theorist Neil Denari. It will lean above the elevated park at an angle and taper upward to give the appearance of growing out of the old rail bed.

"The site makes what the building is, happen," Denari said. " The High Line is the start of the action. I used to live near there, and I always thought that if you could give me my choice of places to build in the city, I'd take this one."

Denari's not the only one. There are now more than 40 projects going up around the elevated railway, and the area is quickly becoming known in architectural circles as a global hotspot for new and interesting buildings.

"Because there is no context in this neighborhood, I thought you could do something different," said Alf Naman, the project's developer.

The 11 residences at HL23, which gets its name from its location on West 23rd Street between 10th and 11th avenues, will range in size from 1,850 to 3,600 square feet, and cost between $2.65 million and $10.5 million.

The project was unveiled Wednesday at Craftsteak, a Chelsea restaurant, to brokers and industry insiders.

The 14-story building will be the focus of a June exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York on new architecture and the High Line.

Some locals are wondering, though, if development in the area has gone too far.

"It's too much, and it's a lot of dust and traffic," said Silvia Baldwin, 58, a 16-year resident of the neighborhood, as she pointed to the forest of construction cranes looming over her West Chelsea street. "I feel like we're losing too many low-income people."

John Tyler, 65, a life-long resident of the area, agreed. He used to work on the piers unloading ships and remembered when the neighborhood was mostly tenements and trains ran on the strange tracks that seemed to float in the air.

"I wish it didn't change so fast," he said. "What was here they should have left alone. They should just let certain parts of Manhattan be."

http://www.newsday.com/media/photo/2008-03/36423649.jpg

http://www.newsday.com/media/photo/2008-03/36423647.jpg

NYguy

Mar 6, 2008, 9:01 AM

This is all very exciting. I do like the constrast in these shots (posted on curbed.com

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_1_standardconstruction.jpg

http://eater.com/uploads/standardrestaurant.jpg

http://www.standardhotels.com/new-york-city/

Downtown Bolivar

Mar 8, 2008, 9:24 PM

^^^Why are there tracks still sitting on the High Line? I thought they were all taken up.

hi123

Mar 8, 2008, 10:10 PM

Has hl23 started construction yet?

JV_325i

Mar 8, 2008, 10:38 PM

Wow I just checked out this thread for the first time today. This project is going to be one of the most unique and interesting pieces of urban space anywhere. The layout of the "park" will help encourage interaction among those using the space which I think is neat. This sort of begs a question for me though: if the main function of this space is a park, and one of the purposes of which for some people is to get away from "it all" and have some peace and solitude, will this be a desireable place to stroll around in? It certainly would be for me, but maybe not to the majority.

NYguy

Mar 11, 2008, 11:07 PM

^^^Why are there tracks still sitting on the High Line? I thought they were all taken up.

They were removed temporarily for construction. As the park progresses, they will be returned.

NYguy

Mar 11, 2008, 11:12 PM

This sort of begs a question for me though: if the main function of this space is a park, and one of the purposes of which for some people is to get away from "it all" and have some peace and solitude, will this be a desireable place to stroll around in? It certainly would be for me, but maybe not to the majority.

The transformation of this elevated line into a park has made the area that surrounds it the hottest area for development in the city.

There are now more than 40 projects going up around the elevated railway, and the area is quickly becoming known in architectural circles as a global hotspot for new and interesting buildings.

I don't think the idea is just to "get away from it all", but it will be an elevated, limited access direct link to Hudson River Park with a variety of activities around it. As an added bonus, it just so happens that the terminus will be in Manhattan's future Hudson Yards development. The first segment is scheduled to open sometime this year, and I can't wait.:banana:

NYguy

Mar 12, 2008, 1:18 PM

http://chelseanow.com/cn_76/talkingpoint.html

Paths, plants, blogs: Working on the railroad park

http://chelseanow.com/cn_76/work.gif

Work is well underway on Section 1 — the southern part — of the High Line park project. Section 1 is expected to open by the end of this year.

By Katie Lorah
March 07 - 13, 2008

The public space on the High Line is now taking shape above the streets and sidewalks of the Meatpacking District and West Chelsea.

Landscape construction has started on Section 1 of the High Line (Gansevoort St. to 20th St.). Workers are installing the park’s pathways, made of long, smooth, concrete planks. These planks are tapered at the ends to allow plants to push up through the gaps, blurring the boundary between the hard surfaces and the planting. Some of these planks curl up from the surface of the pathway to create the High Line’s signature benches.

At the same time, the construction crew is reinstalling many of the steel rail tracks, where trains once ran. The tracks were marked for their original location before being put in storage during site preparation. They are now being returned to these locations, incorporated into the plantings, as a reminder of the history and original purpose of the High Line.

There will be an access point rising from street level about every two blocks in Section 1. At two of these points — one at Gansevoort St. and one at 14th St. — the stairway will cut directly through the steel structure itself. This will bring visitors up through the massive steel beams and hand-driven rivets of the High Line, coming face to face with the structure itself, before arriving on the landscape on top. Workers recently removed sections of the steel I-beams at both of these locations, creating cutaways for the stairs.

Later this spring, a team of horticulturists, led by Dutch planting designer Piet Oudolf, plan to start planting on the High Line. The plantings in the park are inspired by the wild landscape that grew up naturally on the structure after the trains stopped running. There will be a focus on native and drought-resistant plants, with many of the same species of grasses and shrubs that were originally found on the High Line.

Section 1 is projected to open by the end of 2008, and Section 2 (20th to 30th Sts.) is projected to open by the end of 2009.

Although the High Line up to 30th St. is secure, owned by the city, and on its way to becoming a public park, the future of the High Line north of 30th St. is still uncertain. This section, about one-third of the line, wraps around the West Side Rail Yards, a 26-acre site owned by the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The M.T.A. is planning to lease the rail yards site to a private developer for high-density residential and commercial development. As part of this development, the High Line at the rail yards might be partially or fully demolished. Friends of the High Line is working with city, state and federal elected officials and community leaders to ensure that the High Line is fully preserved at the rail yards. F.H.L. has also started a Rail Yards Blog to monitor activity at this important West Side site: http://railyardsblog.org.

Friends of the High Line is now transitioning into a conservancy organization, which will work with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to maintain and operate the park when it is complete. As part of this transition, Friends of the High Line has recently launched a Charter Membership program. Membership dollars will help make sure the High Line is maintained and operated at a high standard, making it a well-loved neighborhood park. Friends of the High Line is planning a full roster of community events in the year leading up to the opening of Section 1. To learn more about becoming a Charter Member, upcoming events and volunteer opportunities, please visit www.thehighline.org. You can also read the High Line Blog at http://blog.thehighline.org.

Lorah is media and project manager, Friends of the High Line

NYguy

Mar 12, 2008, 1:27 PM

http://chelseanow.com/cn_76/wchelsearaps.html

W. Chelsea raps about Jay-Z hotel venture

http://chelseanow.com/cn_76/jayz.gif

The property at 511 W. 21 St., which runs through to 510 W. 22nd St., where hip-hop entertainer and new development entrepreneur Jay-Z and partners plan to build a 12-story hotel in the untapped West Chelsea area near the High Line

By Charlotte Cowles
March 07 - 13, 2008

The stretch of Tenth Ave. between 22nd and 21st Sts. in Chelsea lies in an area where avant-garde art galleries commingle with historic row houses, churches and auto-body shops on Manhattan’s low-rise West Side frontier.

But with the flurry of recent development after the rezoning of West Chelsea, the formidable orange brick warehouse at 511 W. 21st St. adjacent to the High Line is set for one of the area’s more ambitious high-rise projects—by one of the city’s more talked-about new developers.

This idyllic location is where hip-hop mogul and entrepreneur Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter will make his entree into the luxury development game by partnering with a pair of local developers on a planned five-star hotel set for the site.

The initial “J Hotels” project—an anticipated 12-story, 190-unit hotel that will feature a host of luxury amenities and attempt to tap into the area’s arts culture—got under way when Jay-Z and partners Abram Shnay and Charles Blaichman bought the Time Warner-owned site and accompanying air rights for $66 million in December.

The development team wanted to construct an “architecturally significant” hotel to complement what they saw as an under-serviced neighborhood, which Shnay said is quickly transitioning from a pure arts district to Manhattan’s hottest new nabe.

“There’s nothing like it in all the city,” Shnay told Chelsea Now of his venture, which enlisted world-class architect Rafael Vinoly to design the project, according filings with the city Department of Buildings. “This is pretty ambitious.”

Shnay cited the area’s reputation as the center of the art world as the main draw for J Hotels, and dismissed any notion that the group would try to play off the name recognition of its marquee partner.

“He’s obviously glamorous and an important person and well-known celebrity,” Shnay admitted of Jay-Z. “This is not being done as some sort of ego thing—this is basically a business investment.”

Plans for a hotel, which Shnay acknowledged could change depending in current market conditions, include a restaurant, spa and other retail uses, as well as a possible gallery component. The 12-story structure will be built as-of-right, and he said no variances to the zoning code will need to be sought at the site.

Describing the hotel as having a luxury “Four Seasons kind of atmosphere,” Shnay reiterated that any pomp surrounding the project—with red carpets, limos and flashbulbs—would not be self-generated. “We don’t want that whole kind of scene,” he said.

The current scene in the neighborhood is a classic mix of old and new Chelsea: 22nd St. is home to some of the area’s pioneering avant-garde art galleries, and an old Catholic church and school stand quietly on the corner of 21st St. and Tenth Avenue. A touristy hotel with any amount of glitz will definitely bring change to the neighborhood, said Karen Heaste, who works at Matthew Marks Gallery on 22nd St.

“At the same time, it’s so New York—the change in the neighborhood,” Heaste said. “I don’t want to sound curmudgeonly about it, but I remember when it was just the serious art pioneers who were coming here. I feel like I spend a lot of my time now telling people where they can eat lunch or park their cars instead of having conversations about, you know, the nuts and bolts of modern art.”

Heaste, however, seemed optimistic about the entertainer’s presence in the neighborhood. “I know Jay-Z is a collector and a supporter of the arts,” she said, adding she wasn’t so sure hotel patrons would follow his example. “I do hope there’s some concern for the preservation of the neighborhood.”

Father Fernando Hernandez, administrator of the Parish of the Guardian Angels on 21st St. and Tenth Ave., hadn’t heard much about the hotel but felt optimistic about the prospect. “Whatever can enhance the community is positive,” he said. “I’m positive about any change that brings people to this area. It used to be that all the nice restaurants were over on Eighth Avenue, and now they’ve spread over to Ninth and 10th, and I really like that.”

However, Father Fernando also hoped that the hotel would not drive up rent prices in the area. “I do like the mix in this neighborhood,” he said. “I don’t want this to move the galleries out or displace the old folks. I hope the Chelsea flavor is preserved—it’s artsy, kind of different.”

Maureen McElduff, the principal of the Catholic school affiliated with the parish, has lived a block away from the hotel site all her life. “I’ll be happy as long as it’s a well-run establishment and as long as they keep us in mind,” she said. “You know, we have children here.” McElduff commented that much of the change she has witnessed in the neighborhood during her lifetime has been positive. “There’s been a lot of revitalization,” she said, adding, “I think some of it is getting out of hand… I’m glad about the restrictions as far as buildings going up. They try to keep it residential, and that’s good.”

Some also expressed concern that an influx of hotels and nightclubs on the West Side would drive out the indigenous galleries. Indeed, some of them have already left. “From what I understand a lot of galleries are moving to the Lower East Side,” said Renate Gonzalez, co-owner of the Empire Diner on 22nd St. and Tenth Avenue. “The way the neighborhood is going, it doesn’t surprise me.”

The other co-owner of the Empire Diner, Mitchell Woo, struck a more optimistic note. “Some people could be coming to the hotel to see the galleries,” he said. Believing the hotel could benefit all the businesses in the area, he quoted an old Chinese saying: “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

While the hotel will not require any zoning variances, former Community Board 4 chairperson Lee Compton said that neither Board 4 nor the committee he chairs, Chelsea Preservation and Planning, had been informed of the project. It’s a trend, Compton noted, he sees increasing in Chelsea.

If a new project is as-of-right, he said, such consultation by developers has been happening less and less—unlike in Clinton farther north, or in neighboring Community Board 5, where builders of massive as-of-right projects often stop by the board to let them know what’s going on.

“We would more than welcome such a visit about the 21st Street hotel,” Compton added. “We might even be able to help them sort out any vexing details.”

Last week, the area rang with hammering noises and teemed with construction workers, but not for the incoming hotel. Gerard Zimmerman, chief inspector for the High Line, said that they were there working on the elevated railway that passes just inches from the future hotel.

“They’re turning it into a park up there,” he said of the High Line. “When all this is done, all these buildings around it are going to be worth big bucks. That hotel they’re going to build? It’ll be park-front property.”

Zimmerman, who has overseen construction on the High Line for several months, said that the park plans have inspired many developers like Jay-Z and Co. to snatch up property along the old railway. The park will bring green space to the area as well as provide a pedestrian highway straight to the glitzy clubs, destination restaurants and high-end boutiques of the nearby Meatpacking District. “All the meat guys are leaving,” said Zimmerman. “It’s getting too expensive. All the building owners are happy, but the residents and tenants aren’t.”

Regardless, the area has begun a natural transformation that will ultimately lead to a more “diverse ecosystem,” which includes hotels, office buildings, residential condos and galleries, said local architect and developer Peter Moore.

“It doesn’t benefit West Chelsea to be a gallery ghetto,” said Moore, who just finished construction of his own office building on 27th St. between 10th and 11th Aves. He championed innovative real estate projects like the new hotel as the best approach to take in the evolving “organic mix” of the West Chelsea landscape.

“From a neighborhood point of view, congestion is never welcome,” Moore said. “But I think the enthusiasm from creative developers and architects outweighs the problems of growth.”