Fulfilling the Promise of Manhattan's Far West Side

Regional Plan Association strongly supports redevelopment of the Far West Side with the density and mixed-use character proposed by the City and State of New York. This underutilized area represents the region’s best opportunity to create a new 24/7 district in the region’s central core that can grow with an evolving 21st Century economy.

Our vision emanates from development principles that have guided RPA throughout its history and from our economic priorities for the future. These principles and priorities lead RPA to oppose construction of the New York Sports and Convention Center and support a phased strategy that implements much of the City’s plan on a revised timetable. Most successful redevelopment plans are altered and revised several times before implementation, and this plan must be flexible enough to incorporate changes if it is to succeed.

Development Principles and Priorities

RPA’s core development principle is that the entire region benefits when high-density, high-value development is located in the region’s urban core and in transit-accessible suburban centers.

• For the Far West Side and other locations within the urban core, public policies should encourage office activities, high density residential development, and civic, cultural and entertainment functions that have a clear need for a central location.
• The Far West Side needs to be developed in a manner that enhances the success of existing and emerging commercial centers.
• The proposed uses for the Far West Side should maximize the value of the waterfront, one of New York City’s most underutilized resources.
• The district needs to make the best possible connections to the region’s transit network, to enhance both prospects for success and benefits for the rest of the region.

The Far West Side also needs to be considered in the context of regional priorities. The goal of creating new office districts to allow for future expansion of the economy is only one of three critical development priorities, each of which has a momentum of its own and could be affected by the plan for the Far West Side:

• The region’s transit network has almost no capacity for growth into and within the Central Business District (CBD), and funding for both maintaining and expanding the system are very much in doubt. Plans for development of new office districts on the Far West Side and in other parts of the City will be greatly impeded without essential projects to expand transit capacity, such as the Second Avenue Subway and a new Trans-Hudson passenger rail tunnel. Accelerating office development without increasing transit capacity will only add to congestion that could hinder overall growth for the city and region. The proposed #7 extension may be essential to the development of the district, but adds no new capacity into or within the CBD.
• Housing availability and affordability are persistent impediments to both economic growth and social equity. While addressing the need for housing should not be the primary goal of the West Side plan, the district can make important near-term contributions to both market-rate and subsidized housing.
• Existing and emerging commercial centers in other parts of the region need to be strengthened along with the Far West Side. Development of the district must be carefully coordinated with the recovery of Lower Manhattan and plans for expanded centers in the outer boroughs, northern New Jersey and elsewhere.

Immediate Actions, Long-Term Flexibility

The region’s challenge is to capitalize on the momentum created by the Hudson Yards plan to advance all of these larger objectives. This requires immediate action to launch an incremental westward expansion of Midtown that will proceed over several decades in tandem with development in other parts of the city and the region.

While there is an urgency to get started, there is a danger in rushing projects that will impede the flexibility of both the district and the region to adapt to changing market conditions. In the near term, there is less urgency to create new office space than there is to address a critical housing shortage and a long delayed modernization of the transit network. Vacant space, planned construction and identified development sites should give Manhattan enough office space to accommodate expected demand until well into the next decade. However, without opening the Far West Side for development, New York City will eventually be unable to meet growing commercial demand, even if the timing, strength and character of this market is impossible to predict.

To meet this challenge, RPA supports a phased implementation of most of the elements of the Hudson Yards plan that will maximize benefits and minimize risks for economic growth, the City’s fiscal outlook, the region’s transportation system and the recovery of Lower Manhattan. Specifically, this strategy would unfold as follows:

Phase I: 2004-2009

1. Proceed immediately with rezoning and public realm improvements to allow the district to respond to market demands.
2. Expand the Javits Center.
3. Design a mixed-use alternative for the Western Rail Yards site that will draw residents, visitors and office workers to the Hudson River waterfront.

Phase II: 2010-2015

1. Complete the first leg of the #7 subway extension.
2. Complete public investments in the Eastern and Western Rail Yards and open space network.
3. Complete the second phase of the northern expansion of the Javits Center.

Phase III: 2016 – 2020

1. Deck the Lincoln Tunnel ​“spaghetti” infrastructure.
2. Construct the second phase of the #7 subway extension.