Study: Massive Hudson Yards project to add $19B to NYC economy

Dive Brief:

A new study revealed that New York City’s Hudson Yards mixed-use development is on track to boost the city’s coffers by $18.9 billion by the time the project is complete, according to the New York Business Journal.
The study, funded by Hudson Yards' developer Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group — and prepared by consulting firm Appleseed — found that Hudson Yards will make up 2.5% of New York City’s gross domestic product and pay nearly $500 million in city taxes each year.
When Hudson Yards is completed, it will provide Manhattan’s West Side with 50 million square feet of office, retail and residential space, including 20,000 apartments — 5,000 of which will be affordable.

Dive Insight:

The Appleseed study also concluded that when all is finished, the project will have created 7,030 construction jobs with total wages of $761 million. In fact, the project is responsible for 16% of new construction jobs in the city for the period 2011-2014, according to the report. The Metropolitan Transportation Agency has also seen a payoff with $2 billion in revenue during construction and development, and the authors of the report said the agency can expect almost $90 million a year once Hudson Yards is complete.

The report also mentioned the dedicated subway station built at Hudson Yards. MTA officials and construction crews have had their hands full with water leaks in that station since it was under construction in 2012 and are now battling mold and visible water damage as a result. In March, the MTA expressed its final frustrations with construction company Yonkers Contracting, and ordered it to hire an experienced waterproofing contractor from Australia to fix the leaks.

Tishman Speyer is currently developing two skyscrapers in Hudson Yards — including a 1.3 million square foot tower and the terraced Bjarke Ingels Group building called "The Spiral," which features ascending greenery coiled around the tower’s exterior.

Tutor Perini counts Tower "C" and Tower "D" as part of its Hudson Yards haul thus far. Tower "D" is a 70-story residential tower with 391 rental and sales units, and Neiman Marcus is scheduled to anchor the seven planned stories of retail. Tower "C," however, might be a sore spot for Tutor Perini. The general contractor reported in January that its 2015 earnings would come in $500,000 lower than expected, primarily due to losses on Tower "C." The company called it the "first major loss for Tutor Perini on a fixed-price contract in the past 20 years."