Hudson Yards - The Most Extravagant and Stupid NYC Development
First of all, Hudson Yards looks beautiful. But it is the very definition of what is wrong with this city.
The buildings are way too big and way too expensive. Some data:
Hudson Yards has double the average vacancy rate in the city, and the highest. As of Sept 22 (quick search, most recent available data): 37% vacant vs city avg of 19%. This has probably of course slightly improved given the return to office narrative, but the trend is still terrible.
Why such high vacancy?
Well, maybe because the prices are stupidly high. Median rent for a 1 bedroom as of Feb is $4205 versus median Manhattan 1-bed rent of $3750 (a stat that includes the Hudson Yards outliers).
Maybe because it looks so nice but is so unpractical. You see studios asking on StreetEasy for $4000+ per month. Who exactly is this marketed to? People who can afford that probably don’t want a small studio anymore.
Maybe the very definition of this impracticality of Hudson Yards can be shown in the fact that the “Vessel” (a massive, cool looking structure smack in the center of Hudson Yards) has literally been shut down because too many people were using it to kill themselves.
This city is striving too hard for luxury and has lost its sense of practicality. It’s a slow day in the office.
What does this vacancy represent? Apartments? Retail? Office? If this is the kind of analysis you're used to doing, no one should be taking your word on anything.
There aren't enough apartments in Hudson Yards to have a meaningful impact on average prices in Manhattan. Also, Manhattan includes lower cost of housing markets like East Harlem and Washington Heights (really anything uptown). The average rent for a 1 bedroom in midtown Manhattan is $4,792 (or was in Sept 22), so Hudson Yards is actually a good deal! Sucks to be this badly wrong, huh?
Probably the people who can afford to pay that much for a studio (obviously you've forgotten that concessions exist, which isn't surprising given the otherwise ignorant tenor of this post). Doctors, folks in finance or tech, etc.
Holy shit, you mean to tell me an art installation that is, in your words, a "cool looking structure" doesn't have a practical application! My god, guess it is time to burn down the Louvre and the Met, all that art has no practical use after all!
You don't know a single thing about development in this city, or the history of it.
Also, newsflash - Hudson Yards is a neighborhood, not just the group of buildings put up by Related. Be more specific. Or, as your boss must say to you several times daily, "attention to detail!"
If you hold still for a second, I’ll help remove the stick up your ***
Just want to make sure we keep all the little kids from peeing in the pool! Garbage in, garbage out - and your post was garbage in.
Totally agree. The lack on detailed, supported analysis is completely appalling in this post.
deleted
I know HY well pretty well so I’ll opine. If you’re a tenant within 10 or 30 HY then it’s a great perk to have the Edge and mall inside the building. The district does have a luxurious feel that can wow you at first.
But after a while, you realize that Hudson Yards as a whole is mainly designed for very-high income folks ($500K+). This feeling is emblematic of the issues of NYC as a whole. We have become a city where only the very rich can enjoy it unfortunately. I say that because rents are astronomical. Even Brookfield’s Eugene had major vacancy issues back in 2021/2022. 99% of those who work at HY can’t afford to live there nor would they choose to because it’s secluded from rest of city. Another topic is lunch for office workers. Try eating lunch at HY every day and you’ll either become obese or broke. Like seriously lunch within the mall is easily ~$20. Most of the workers actually go to Moynihan to grab better food at Naya’s or Chopt but even then it doesn’t save much.
Lastly, the location is really not good. Only one train services the area and it is doesn’t run at all times. It’s supposed to be a live/work/play mixed-use district but most people just work there and go home. There’s nothing slightly affordable nearby even if you wanna do a little happy hour with colleagues or grab a quick snack.
Conclusion: Tourists will love it. Workers and native residents will hate it.
Hudson Yards, the Related project, was built specifically as a retail and office node on the West Side. It feels like a tourist destination because it is a tourist destination. The housing is almost incidental to the project. Hudson Yards as a neighborhood is far more congenial to residential uses; it's just a nicer, newer Hells Kitchen in most respects. Or an extension of West Chelsea, if you prefer. Prior to HY coming in, Chelsea west of 9th Ave and above 23rd was a wasteland. The idea that Hudson Yards doesn't have residential amenities may be true, but is also short sighted - the area literally didn't exist to pedestrian traffic until the last five years! And three of those were COVID! Expecting a level of neighborhood amenitization as you'd find on the Upper West Side or Greenwich Village is insane. Every "new" neighborhood ends up being exceptionally pricey - Battery Park City has never had any "affordable" buildings, either, because the huge amount of money that goes into literally creating a new area needs to be paid for by the people who end up living, working, and shopping there.
Est facilis ut sint nemo voluptatibus iure dicta. Enim sit molestiae adipisci debitis id iste. Quasi quia repellendus vitae ipsam cum. Et est expedita architecto corrupti corrupti. Delectus sed a architecto possimus sunt expedita.
Aperiam vel tempore et corporis. Est nihil nostrum temporibus tenetur assumenda voluptate vel.
Recusandae non consequuntur culpa dolorem omnis. Et pariatur doloribus nemo qui commodi. Quis quo quisquam eum iste laudantium.
Dolor accusantium fugit rerum iusto consequatur cum. Aut aut et in sint ad voluptatem perspiciatis.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...