Brookfield opts to double public space at Manhattan West

Rendering of part of Manhattan West's public space (Credit: Curbed)
Rendering of part of Manhattan West's public space (Credit: Curbed)

Developers of Manhattan West, located only a block away from the Related Companies’ Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s burgeoning Far West Side, want to double the amount of public space the megaproject provides.

In an unlikely move for a real estate developer, Brookfield Properties wants to expand the amount of open space beyond what is required by the city, from 1.3 acres, or 49,400 square feet, to 2.11 acres, or 91,725 square feet, according to Curbed.

The plans were presented at a public meeting Wednesday night and were approved by Community Board 4’s land use committee, the blog said. However, the board had some reservations.

The revamped plan would connect 33rd and 31st streets with a pedestrian strip and increase the size of A Required Plaza above Dyre and Ninth avenues’ exposed rail yards. A walkway in the southeast corner, as well as a passageway from Dyre Avenue to Tenth Avenue along 31st Street are also part of the new design.

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Manhattan West consists of two 65-story office towers and a 60-story residential tower. Construction on a deck over the area’s exposed railways is already underway.

The plan must go before CB 4 once more and address a number of concerns, including affordable housing inclusions and the proposed aesthetics of the public spaces, Curbed said.

Committee Chair Jean-Daniel Noland likened the current designs to “corporate, easily maintained, pedestrian” plazas in Midtown, saying “this is Sixth Avenue … surely we could do better.” [Curbed]Julie Strickland