The Far West Side: An Urban Design Analysis

Regional Plan Association has eyed the Far West Side for major redevelopment since the organization’s creation in the early 1920s. As this paper will illustrate, RPA’s thinking on what this revitalization should look like has changed significantly through the years as the city and metropolitan region around it have grown.

For the first time, there is a serious proposal by the City and State on the table to recreate this long underutilized section of the city. It is thus an appropriate time to update the organization’s thinking on the use and design of this ​“final frontier” in the Manhattan Central Business District. In studying other great global districts – and working on one in Lower Manhattan – it’s become clear that there are two building blocks of a vibrant 21st Century mixed-use district: access and amenity.

The district must be more than simply accessible. It should be woven into the region’s transportation network to allow easy connections to and through the area from points north, south, east and west. Just as importantly, the district will only attract vibrant life if it provides high-end amenities.

RPA’s first paper on this subject, ​“The Far West Side and the Region’s Future Development Needs,” confirmed that large-scale commercial and residential development in the district is critical to future economic growth in both the city and the region. However, it also cautioned that market forces are likely to make it difficult to meet the City’s development expectations and timetable. With an estimated 115 million square feet of vacant and planned office space in the region and a competitive global marketplace, it is clear that the area must be made extremely attractive if development objectives are to be met.

RPA’s second paper, ​“The Far West Side: Transportation Needs and Impacts,” identified two critical transportation projects in addition to extending the #7 subway line. The paper recommends building the Second Avenue Subway and constructing a new commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson River simultaneous to the #7 extension. To address increased automobile congestion in the district, RPA also recommends policies to reduce auto traffic in Manhattan.

Taken together, the conclusions of these two reports make it clear that for development to succeed on the Far West Side, a superior urban design plan and amenity package will be necessary. Thus, in this third paper we turn our attention to an analysis of the urban design and amenities that are proposed and possible for this new district.

RPA’s analysis and recommendations are based on the goal of achieving a vibrant, mixed-use district on the Far West Side.

We envision a 21st Century district where business uses are predominant but don’t dominate. Its modern buildings are environmentally-friendly and nurture a tapestry of activities, with office space, housing units, retail and nightlife activities woven tightly together. It is a place with grand new public open spaces that draw its residents, workers and visitors to the great Hudson River waterfront that defines its western edge. This paper reviews the City’s plan for the area and several alternatives, and considers their ability to make this vision a reality.

In addition to the City’s plan, we also study an MTA plan from the late 1980s and more recent plans from Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields and community group Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association. After surveying each plan, the report analyzes several key themes that run throughout all of them, before offering some final thoughts.

A second section of this report focuses on the most controversial aspect of the City’s plan – the proposal to build a football stadium and convention center on the western portion of the Hudson Yards, a proposal jointly supported by the State. The report examines four case studies cited by stadium advocates as evidence of its potential benefits.

It analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed stadium, and identifies a list of critical benchmarks or criteria that stadium supporters must satisfactorily answer to ensure that this is the best plan for the Far West Side.

The report concludes that the City’s overall urban design and zoning proposal has many strong elements, including an appropriate overall density, excellent public spaces, and improved transit access. Two elements of the plan require further discussion.

First, the Javits Center expansion must succeed in energizing its surroundings and re-connecting to the city and the waterfront on all four sides. Second, the report outlines the criteria that should be used to evaluate whether the most controversial element of the plan, the proposed Jets Stadium, should proceed.

RPA remains concerned that the stadium could jeopardize the broader goals for revitalizing the Far West Side.