Developer wins Eastern Rail Yard text amendment

Modification allows residential building to be sited at the corner of West 30th Street and Eleventh Avenue. On March 4, 2009, the City Planning Commission approved RG ERY LLC’s proposal to amend the site planning and parking regulations within Hudson Yards’ Eastern Rail Yard, also known as Subarea A1. The affected area, located within the Special Hudson Yards District, is bounded by West 33rd Street to the north, West 30th Street to the south, Tenth Avenue to the east, and Eleventh Avenue to the west.

RG, a joint venture of Related Companies and Goldman Sachs, was selected by the MTA in May 2008 to develop Subarea A1. RG submitted the application in order to facilitate construction of its proposed design, which includes hotel, residential, and ground-floor retail use at the corner of Eleventh Avenue and West 33rd Street; commercial office, residential, and retail space along Tenth Avenue; a community facility building along West 30th Street; and a residential building with groundfloor retail near the corner of Eleventh Avenue and West 30th Street. The design also allows for a maximum of 1,000 on-site accessory parking spaces, with a maximum of 350 spaces for commercial and community facility use.

Under the current zoning text, the only permitted uses on the southwest corner of Subarea A1 are community facility. The amendment would allow RG to construct its proposed residential building near the corner of Eleventh Avenue and West 30th Street. Also, the current zoning text requires new development in Subarea A1 to provide on- or off-site accessory parking. RG’s proposal allows, but does not require, accessory parking, and mandates that parking spaces within Subarea A1 be accessory to uses within Subarea A1 and not be used for public parking.

At the Commission’s February 4th public hearing, Joshua David, cofounder of Friends of the High Line, asked the Commission not to approve any applications for Subarea A1 until a solution was in place for the entire High Line. David noted that areas of the High Line north of West 30th Street remained unprotected, and that a comprehensive plan, including City-acquisition of High Line sites north of West 30th Street, was needed to preserve the High Line in its entirety.

The Commission found all aspects of the plan to be appropriate, noting that the residential building at Eleventh Avenue and West 30th Street would vitalize the intersection. Though the Commission recognized concerns over the future of the High Line, it determined that the proposed text amendment would not harm the High Line or prevent its integration into RG’s development.

Review Process
Lead Agency: CPC,Neg.Dec.
Comm.Bd.: MN 4,App’d, vote not available
Boro.Pres.: App’d
CPC: App’d, 12-0-0
Council: App’d, 48-0-3

CPC: Eastern Rail Yards Text Amendment (N 090211 ZRM – text amend.) (March 4, 2009). CITYADMIN

CITYLANDComment: On April 2, 2009, the City Council approved the application without modification.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.