BY YANNIC RACK | As the third year of construction at Hudson Yards comes to a close, the developers of the sprawling complex have inked deals for a whopping $5 billion in construction financing for the first phase of the project.
Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group, which are partnering on the development, announced last week that they secured the funding for their 90-story flagship office tower, 30 Hudson Yards, as well as the adjacent food and retail mall, the one million-square-foot Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards.
The news came only days after the announcement of another deal for $1.3 billion in funding for the site’s first residential tower, and also concurred with the last commercial tenant signing on to fill the remaining space at 30 Hudson Yards.
“These transactions represent a tremendous inflection point for Hudson Yards, and the continued transformation of the west side,” Jeff T. Blau, CEO of Related Companies, said in a statement.
In fact, the financing package marks one of the largest capital raises for a real estate project in the country since the 2008 downturn, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“The depth of commitment from our global roster of lenders, investors and tenants evidences not only the strength of Related and Oxford, but reflects the confidence in our collective vision for Hudson Yards as the new heart of New York,” said Blau.
Thirty Hudson Yards is now the site’s first building to be fully committed, with Wells Fargo Securities joining Time Warner Inc. and private equity firm KKR in the tower once it opens in 2019.
Currently under construction, it will also sport the city’s highest outdoor observation deck, and provide a direct connection to the new No. 7 subway extension that opened across the street this summer.
The subway stop and the concurrent unveiling of the nearby Hudson Park and Boulevard in September were the latest visible signs of progress on this portion of the far West Side, where the opening of the High Line has greatly spurred development over the last few years.
The northern section of the elevated park even wraps around Hudson Yards, which roughly spans the area from W. 30th to W. 34th Sts. (btw. 10th Ave. & the Hudson River).
Now the first office tower of this brand new destination is months away from opening, and the developers predict that by 2025 more than 125,000 visitors, workers and residents will fill the neighborhood every day.
“We are one step closer to seeing the Hudson Yards community come alive,” Blake Hutcheson, CEO of Oxford Properties Group, said in a statement.
The project is being developed in two phases, and will eventually encompass 17 million square feet of commercial and residential space, more than 100 shops and restaurants, approximately 5,000 residences, a cultural and performance space, 14 acres of public open space, as well as a new 750-seat public school and a hotel.
