Hudson Yards park expansion poised to become NYC’s priciest

Plans to expand the Hudson Yard park could cost as much as $374 million, Crain’s has learned. That staggering amount translates to $124 million per acre of the park, which would easily make it the most expensive park built in the city in recent history. The High Line, which until now claimed the title of the city’s most expensive park, only cost $36 million per acre, in comparison.

The city’s decision to spend millions expanding the Hudson Yards Park comes just a few months after a report published by the Center for an Urban Future, which identified $6 billion in need for the city’s parks and called out the city’s “chronic underinvestment,” in parks infrastructure across the city.

The first section of the park, which is officially known as Hudson Boulevard Park, debuted in 2015. That section measures about 4 acres, and is located between West 33rd and 36th Streets and between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues. The expansion would extend the park up to West 39th Street, and the park itself was promised as part of the rezoning that allowed the creation of Hudson Yards.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called the expansion a “vital investment,” especially in light of the fact that the neighborhood would get many new residents in the coming years, according to Crain’s. Part of the reason the park is so expensive is because it will sit above active rail yards, and this particular parcel still needs to be decked over for construction.

The city has maintained that the cost projections are just estimates, and are bound to change as the planning work continues. Still, it begs the question, should so much money be concentrated on one park, when there are so many others, especially in the outer boroughs, that are in need?

• At $125M an acre, Hudson Yards park would be city’s costliest [Crain’s]
• NYC parks plagued by ‘chronic underinvestment,’ infrastructure problems: report [Curbed]
• Hudson Yards Park Is Officially Ready for Visitors [Curbed]