Phase Three Of The High Line Is Underway

Photo by Daniel Avila

Last week, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, and Friends of the High Line Co-Founders Joshua David and Robert Hammond hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on the third and final section of the High Line. Located between West 30th and West 34th Streets to the south and north, and 10th and 12th Avenues to the east and west, the final section of the elevated railway, called the High Line at the Rail Yards, extends one half mile beyond the current northern end of the High Line park, which has welcomed more than ten million visitors since it opened in 2009. The High Line at the Rail Yards surrounds Related Companies/Oxford Properties Group’s Hudson Yards project that is anticipated to start construction later this fall. Construction on the estimated $90 million extension of the park will proceed in phases, and be financed by a combination of public and private funds. The first phase is projected to open in 2014, extending the High Line park to West 34th Street and connecting the Meatpacking District and West Chelsea with the future No. 7 subway station, the Javits Center, and the future Hudson Yards neighborhood.

The Mayor was also joined by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer; New York State Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried; First Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris; Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel; City Planning Chair Amanda M. Burden; Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky; Parks Commissioner Veronica M. White; Manhattan Community Board 4 Chair Corey Johnson; Manhattan Community Board 2 Chair David Gruber; Stephen A. Crosby, president of CSX Real Property; Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg; Bruce A. Beal, Jr., President of Related Companies; long-time High Line supporters Donald Pels and Wendy Keys; Anisa Kamadoli Costa, president of The Tiffany & Co. Foundation; Friends of the High Line Board Chair John Alschuler; High Line Design Team Members James Corner, Liz Diller, Ric Scofidio, and Piet Oudolf, and students from Clinton Middle School in Chelsea.

To ceremonially mark the start of construction, the Mayor and Speaker joined the Friends of the High Line Co-Founders and students from Clinton Middle School in Chelsea to toss native grass and wildflower seeds onto the High Line’s existing landscape, which grew up between the rail tracks when the freight trains stopped running in the 1980s. This self-seeded landscape will be partially preserved in the design of the High Line at the Rail Yards, allowing park visitors to experience the original landscape that inspired efforts to save the High Line from demolition and transform it into much-needed public open space on Manhattan’s West Side.

The High Line at the Rail Yards will extend the celebrated High Line park and add new design features that respond to the unique context created by the future Hudson Yards neighborhood. In response to public feedback gathered during three community input meetings hosted by Friends of the High Line, the design will include familiar elements like the iconic “peel-up” benches, intimate overlooks, and meandering pathways, while introducing new design features, such as a designated play area for children, new bench typologies, and an interim walkway wending through the existing landscape of self-seeded wildflowers, native grasses, and shrubs, which will close at dusk. The High Line at the Rail Yards is being designed by James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Piet Oudolf – the same designers behind the first two sections of the High Line park – along with a team of structural engineers, lighting designers, electrical and mechanical experts, and others construction specialists. Design renderings for the first phase of the High Line at the Rail Yards can be viewed at www.thehighline.org.

The first phase of construction will comprise the majority of the High Line at the Rail Yards, including the full capital build-out of the area just beyond the northern terminus of the current High Line park, and the interim walkway on the western stretch of the elevated railway. The second phase of construction will include the 10th Avenue Spur and the area where the High Line at the Rail Yards travels through Coach’s new global corporate headquarters building at the northwest corner of 10th Avenue and West 30th Street, the initial building of the 26-acre Hudson Yards Project being developed by the Related Companies/Oxford Properties Group. The third phase will involve the full capital build-out of the western stretch of the High Line at the Rail Yards. Construction on the first phase will officially begin with site preparation in late October, which includes removal of rail tracks and ballast, waterproofing the elevated rail structure, and stripping and painting of all steel. This will be followed by construction of the park landscape, which includes access systems (stairs and elevators), pathways, plantings, seating, lighting, safety enhancements, and other design features.

The High Line at the Rail Yards will remain closed to the public for the duration of construction. However, Friends of the High Line will open the gates for visitors to explore the site during Rail Yards Weekends, a series of free and low-cost self-guided tours presented by Japanese clothing retailer UNIQLO between 12:00 and 4:00 PM during the first two weekends in October as part of the 10th Annual openhousenewyork Weekend. The self-guided walking tours during Rail Yards Weekends are open to visitors 18 years of age or older. To celebrate the partnership and the one year anniversary of the 5th Ave Global Flagship Store opening, UNIQLO will provide walking tour participants with gift bags including Heattech, the innovative heat generating innerwear, at the end of their visit. Reservations are required and can be made beginning Thursday, September 27. Self-guided tours during the first weekend cost $5, and can be reserved through www.ohny.org beginning the morning of Thursday, September 27. Self-guided tours during the second weekend are free, and reservations can be made through www.thehighline.org beginning at 12:00 PM on Thursday, September 27.

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