First look at St. John’s Terminal’s transformation into ‘green’ office complex

Oxford Properties Group—the firm best known as the co-developer of the Hudson Yards megaproject with Related Companies—has unveiled its redevelopment plans for the massive St. John’s Terminal, across from Pier 40, in the West Village.

Oxford took over the southern portion of the St. John’s Terminal site from Westbrook Partners and Atlas Capital, for $700 million last fall. Initially, this portion of the site would also have seen the construction of a residential development and a hotel, but Oxford has decided to pursue an as-of-right office development.

The project will now span 1.3 million square feet over stories 12 stories—the top floor of the existing four-story building will be removed, and Oxford will build a nine-story addition to the existing structure. Oxford has retained COOKFOX Architects to design the office complex, and the latter has incorporated many open, green spaces into the overall design of the project including a rooftop terrace.

The new design will also highlight much of the railway tracks that remain within the complex; as a former freight terminal, the building could hold up to 227 train cars. In the first phase of development, the overpass covering West Houston Street on the north side of the terminal building will be removed to expose the tracks connecting the building to Hudson River Park, and the waterfront.

COOKFOX Architects

“St. John’s Terminal has a long history as a hub of innovation and productivity,” said Dean Shapiro, the head of US developments at Oxford Properties, in a statement. “Its unique form allows us to create workspaces that reduce the friction of expansion and change over time, so tenants can focus on productivity.”

The office building will have 100,000-square-foot floorplates, which should make it particularly attractive for office tenants in this burgeoning part of Manhattan, with Hudson Square just next door. Construction on the office complex is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2019, and the first set of tenants are set to move in sometime in 2022.

COOKFOX Architects

Meanwhile, Atlas and Westbrook still plan to develop the northern portion of the site into housing, but the details on that are likely to have changed since the sale of the parcel at 550 Washington Street to Oxford.

COOKFOX Architects