The West Village’s Pier 40 could be home to a new 700K-sf commercial development

Pier 40 in the West Village could be partially redeveloped soon.

New legislation could let the pier develop as much as 700,000 square feet of commercial office space, according to Crain’s. The law that sparked the park’s creation in 1998 included a provision to let it sustain itself with funds from commercial sites, and a new amendment would allow its owner — the Hudson River Park Trust — to enter into a lease with a developer for up to 49 years with a potential 25-year renewal.

Structures could not be more than 88 feet tall, and public open space would have to make up at least 65 percent of the project.

The Hudson River Park Trust is not totally on board with the plan’s limitations. The group wants to increase the limit on office space from 700,000 to 880,000 square feet and doesn’t think a 49-year lease would appeal to developers.

For years, media mogul Barry Diller tried to convert Pier 55 into a floating park and performance space, but legal challenges ultimately killed the project in 2017. Shortly after, Gov. Andrew Cuomo revived the project by brokering a deal between Diller and the park’s opponents — namely the civic group City Club of New York, which had filed a suit against the project backed by Douglas Durst.

The pier spans 15.4 acres and has needed infrastructure repairs for years. The Hudson River Park Trust previously raised $100 million for repairs by selling part of the pier’s air rights to real estate investors. [Crain’s] – Eddie Small