This week marked the opening of the first tower in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards business district. 10 Hudson Yards, a 52 story skyscraper, is the first of many developments in the project to come online and to do so at a time of economic growth for the city.

“You have this brand-new office district that can put in new amenities and technology and pieces companies are looking for at a time when the city’s economy is doing spectacularly well,” said RPA’s Chief Planner Chris Jones to the Wall Street Journal.

RPA has long been involved in shaping a new development vision for Manhattan’s Far West Side. In its third regional plan released in 1996, RPA proposed the transformation of the area into an expansion of the Midtown business district with a mix of uses. Nearly a decade later, that vision helped shape RPA’s alternative development scenario for the Hudson Yards when city leaders proposed building a football stadium on the site. The plan ultimately adopted by the city and developers closely resembled RPA’s proposal.

Image: RPA’s alternative development vision for Hudson Yards