Manhattan West

History

In October 2015, the Qatar Investment Authority invested a 44% stake in the $4.5 billion mixed-use development project. The deal included the formation of a joint venture between Brookfield Property Partners and QIA for the development of 7 e6sqft of residential and office space in five buildings that Brookfield said would be worth $8.6 billion upon completion. Initial plans included a 62-story residential tower and 67-story skyscraper. In 2017, plans for an additional, 59-story skyscraper were filed.

Manhattan West is part of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment, a larger plan to redevelop the Hudson Yards area, which extends from the west of Pennsylvania Station to the Hudson River.

During the summer of 2020, Manhattan West opened Citrovia, an outdoor garden of 16.5 ft constructed lemon trees bearing hand-painted lemon slices—to obscure the scaffolding on the construction site. The interactive display is no longer available to visit and is currently being deconstructed upon the completion of the second tower.

Manhattan West officially opened to the public in late September 2021.

In September 2021, a $50 million plan to build pedestrian bridges connecting the High Line and Manhattan West was announced by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Brookfield Properties. Groundbreaking for the approximately 1000-foot extension, called the Moynihan Connector, took place on February 24, 2022. This project will connect the High Line to Moynihan Train Hall through Manhattan West.

In October 2025, Brookfield announced plans to convert part of Four Manhattan West, a building at 424 West 33rd Street, to residential use. That building predates the Manhattan West development. having been completed in 1913.

Site and structures

The development is located on the west side of Manhattan, bound by Ninth Avenue in the east, Tenth Avenue in the west, 31st Street in the south, and 33rd Street in the north. It abuts Moynihan Train Hall and Hudson Yards. The project consists of six buildings: four office buildings, One and Two Manhattan West, the Lofts and Five Manhattan West; the Pendry Manhattan West Hotel; and the Eugene apartment building. It also includes Magnolia Court, a 2.5-acre pedestrian plaza, which is open to the public.

One Manhattan West

Main article: One Manhattan West

One Manhattan West is one of five buildings developed by Brookfield Property Partners and QIA for the Manhattan West project. Designed and engineered by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the building broke ground in 2015.

The structural system of the tower is composed of a central reinforced concrete core and a perimeter steel moment frame. Part of the tower overhangs the below ground train tracks leading into Penn Station. In order to avoid the tracks, the perimeter columns on the south, north, and east sides do not come down to ground level, but are transferred to the core above the building's lobby. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill also served as the lead structural engineer on the building, the 15th-tallest in New York City as of November 2022, while Jaros, Baum & Bolles was the MEP engineer and AECOM Tishman Construction was the primary contractor.

The 67-story, 2.1 million square-foot structure topped out in August 2018 and was completed in 2019.

Placed outside One and Two Manhattan West, Charles Ray's sculpture Adam and Eve (2023) consists of two larger-than life figures made of stainless steel blocks.

Two Manhattan West

Two Manhattan West, also designed and engineered by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, was completed in January 2024. Permits filed in November 2017 showed the building to include just under 1.75 million square feet (163,000 m2) of office space on 59-stories with plans to reach 935 feet (285 m) in height. Construction began at the end of 2019. In 2022, the building topped out at 58 stories with 2 million square feet.

Installed in the lobby of Two Manhattan West, Christopher Wool's Crosstown Traffic (2023) measures 28ft by 39ft and is both his first mosaic as well as his largest work of art.

Law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore announced in October 2019 that it would occupy thirteen floors at Two Manhattan West, solidifying its place as the anchor tenant. In August 2022, global accounting firm KPMG announced that it intended to move its U.S. headquarters to the building in 2025. Totaling 456,000 square feet, the space KPMG will occupy represents a 40% decline in space currently leased by the firm in Midtown. In September 2022, investment and technology development firm D. E. Shaw & Co. agreed to occupy eight floors in the building beginning in 2024.

The Eugene

Main article: The Eugene

The Eugene, previously known as Three Manhattan West, located at 435 West 31st Street, is a 64-story residential building that broke ground in December 2014 and was completed in 2017. It is 730 feet (220 m) high and has a total of 844 apartments, divided between 675 market-rate units and 169 affordable units.

Pendry Manhattan West

The Pendry is a 21-story hotel operated by Pendry Hotels and Resorts with 164 guest rooms including 30 suites, a restaurant, a lounge, an open-air terrace bar, and meeting and event space. The building, also designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill, began construction in December 2018 and opened on September 17, 2021. It is the Pendry brand's first New York City location.

Five Manhattan West

Formerly known as Westyard Distribution Center, the building at 450 West 33rd Street was designed by Davis Brody Bond and originally opened in 1969. The 1.8 e6ft2, 16-story building originally had a beige precast concrete facade with a sloped base, which was seen as out of place with the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood. As of 2014, it contained the headquarters of the Associated Press. In 2014, the brutalist concrete exterior was replaced with a glass facade by Rex Architects. Its interior and mechanical systems were also renovated. When renovation of the building was completed, it was renamed Five Manhattan West. The building's tenants include Amazon's marketing division, Whole Foods Market, and Peloton Interactive's studio.

The Lofts

As part of the project, a building constructed in 1913 on 33rd Street was redesigned as a flexible workspace and office space.

Additional tenants

By October 2019, when One Manhattan West opened, the tower had reached 90% occupancy. Current tenants include the law firm Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom, LLP, Ernst & Young, McKool Smith, Accenture, W. P. Carey, and Pharo Management. Additionally, the National Hockey League has its headquarters and flagship retail store in the building. In October 2019, the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore signed for space in Two Manhattan West, intending to move its headquarters to the building and occupy 13 floors. The firm was to move to the building in 2024.

Manhattan West also rents space to a variety of entertainment, dining, and shopping venues. These include Casa Dani, Ci Siamo, Zou Zou's, Peachy, Public Rec, OPR Eyewear, New Stand, and a Daily Provisions location.

Reception

Justin Davidson, in an article about the development's opening for New York, compared Manhattan West favorably to Hudson Yards, writing that the Brookfield development "[...] feels like a corner of New York conceived with actual human beings in mind" while Hudson Yards "[...] has aged from a shiny new space station to a disconsolate one".

References

References

1. "In New York City, architecture aficionados know the building that sits at 450 West 33rd Street.".
2. "The Eugene (Manhattan West, South Tower)".
3. (September 28, 2021). "Mixed-use development Manhattan West officially opens today, revealing restaurants, open space, and more". 6sqft.
4. Hilburg, Jonathan. (September 28, 2021). "Manhattan West opens, capping over 30 years of development on Manhattan's Far West Side".
5. Moin, David. (September 23, 2021). "EXCLUSIVE: Who's Coming to Manhattan West".
6. Coen, Andrew. (October 18, 2021). "Manhattan West a Test to Midtown's Resiliency".
7. Hillcoat, Mike. (August 1, 2014). "The Track to Span 3: Genesis of the innovative Manhattan West Platform".
8. Hughes, C. J.. (March 17, 2017). "Hudson Yards, Meet Your New Neighbor, Manhattan West". The New York Times.
9. "One Manhattan West – The Skyscraper Center".
10. Young, Liz. (September 29, 2021). "Brookfield's $4.5 billion Manhattan West development is ready to open". New York Business Journal.
11. Stouhi, Dima. (September 29, 2021). "SOM's Mixed-Use Development in West Manhattan Opens to the Public".
12. Chaban, Matt. (January 15, 2013). "Manhattan West on the Rise: Brookfield Breaks Ground on 60-Story Twin Towers". New York Observer.
13. Chung, Jen. (January 15, 2013). "Photos: Brookfield Properties Breaks Ground On $4.5 Billion Far West Side Project". Gothamist.
14. (May 21, 2014). "Permits Filed: 401 West 31st Street". New York YIMBY.
15. (May 21, 2014). "401 West 31st Street | Manhattan West | Brookfield Office". The Real Deal.
16. Ugolik, Kaitlin. (May 21, 2014). "Brookfield Makes Headway On Manhattan West Apt. Tower". Law360.
17. (October 29, 2015). "Qatar Investment Authority Makes Mark in NYC RE". Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.
18. Levitt, David M.. (October 28, 2015). "Qatar Joins Brookfield's $8.6 Billion Manhattan West Project". Bloomberg.com.
19. (October 18, 2017). "First Filings Submitted for Manhattan West's Second Office Tower Show Height Decrease, Hudson Yards". New York Yimby.
20. Sender, Henny. (October 28, 2015). "Qatar fund backs Brookfield's $8bn Manhattan West project". [[Financial Times]].
21. Margolies, Jane. (July 12, 2021). "When Scaffolding Hands Them Lemons, Developers Make Lemon Trees". The New York Times.
22. Herrmann, Michele. (September 30, 2021). "This New Mixed-Use Property In Manhattan Is A City Within A City".
23. Baird-Remba, Rebecca. (September 15, 2021). "Plan Unveiled for Pedestrian Bridges Between High Line, Manhattan West".
24. (February 23, 2022). "Work to Begin on High Line Connection to Moynihan Hall".
25. (February 24, 2022). "Groundbreaking held for $50 million High Line connecter to Moynihan Train Hall".
26. Getlen, Larry. (October 28, 2025). "Brookfield to Convert Part of Four Manhattan West to Residential".
27. (October 27, 2025). "Brookfield Properties eyes residential conversion of Four Manhattan West".
28. Baird-Remba, Rebecca. (December 13, 2022). "How Brookfield Tried to Redefine the Century-Old Four Manhattan West".
29. "Frequently Asked Questions".
30. Davidson, Justin. (September 30, 2021). "Manhattan West Is (a Little Bit) What Hudson Yards Should Have Been".
31. "Manhattan West Development".
32. Avery, Dan. (September 30, 2021). "Frank Lloyd Wright Home Lists in Michigan, Jonathan Adler Makes Moves in SoHo, and More Real Estate News".
33. Bifulco, Agnese. (May 10, 2021). "SOM Skidmore Owings & Merrill Manhattan West renovates Far West Side in New York".
34. (2017). "Effects of Perimeter to Core Connectivity on Tall Building Behavior". International Journal of High-Rise Buildings.
35. Claire Voon (April 27, 2023), [https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/04/27/charles-ray-christopher-wool-manhattan-west-public-art New works by Charles Ray and Christopher Wool will be public fixtures of Manhattan development] ''[[The Art Newspaper]]''.
36. (January 30, 2024). "Two Manhattan West Opens, Marking the Completion of a Major New York City Development". Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
37. (November 27, 2017). "Two Manhattan West moves forward with official DOB filing". Curbed New York.
38. (December 20, 2019). "Two Manhattan West Prepares For Imminent Ascent, in Midtown". New York YIMBY.
39. (January 27, 2022). "SOM's Two Manhattan West Officially Tops Out 935 Feet Above Midtown West, Manhattan". New York YIMBY.
40. Voon, Claire. (April 27, 2023). "New works by Charles Ray and Christopher Wool will be public fixtures of Manhattan development". [[The Art Newspaper]].
41. Morris, Sebastian. (October 11, 2019). "Cravath, Swaine & Moore Sign on as Anchor Tenant at Two Manhattan West in Hudson Yards".
42. (August 23, 2022). "KPMG to Move US Headquarters to Manhattan West Tower, Cut NYC Office Space". Bloomberg.com.
43. (August 23, 2022). "KPMG to Cut Manhattan Office Space in Move to New U.S. Headquarters at Hudson Yards". The Wall Street Journal.
44. Rogers, Jack. (September 28, 2022). "Two Manhattan West Snares Another Big-Ticket Lease".
45. Warerkar, Tanay. (March 8, 2017). "Inside Manhattan West's 62-story rental before it welcomes residents".
46. (September 26, 2018). "Brookfield Property Partners Investor's Day Presentation". Brookfield Property Partners.
47. Walhout, Hannah. (September 29, 2021). "Pendry Hotels Brings a Dose of California to Manhattan — Here's a First Look at Their New Hot Spot".
48. (April 13, 2018). "Brookfield Lands $1.2B Landesbank Loan for 5 Manhattan West".
49. Maurer, Mark. (January 26, 2015). "Ad giant IPG grows to 280K sf at Brookfield's 5 Manhattan West".
50. Jordana, Sebastian. (February 10, 2014). "REX Unveils Details of Five Manhattan West Development".
51. (December 6, 2017). "Five Manhattan West / REX".
52. Dobnik, Verena. (May 25, 2014). "Big plans in works for NYC's gritty 'Wild West'". North Jersey.
53. Morris, Keiko. (February 10, 2014). "'Brutalist' Building Set for Yet Another Look". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
54. Hughes, C.J.. (March 17, 2017). "Hudson Yards, Meet Your New Neighbor, Manhattan West". The New York Times.
55. "Peloton® Studios".
56. (July 15, 2021). "Ernst & Young opening big new Manhattan West offices, with collaborative spaces, flexible work policies". New York Business Journal.
57. (January 26, 2021). "Meet One Manhattan West: Best Design Silver Winner". Commercial Property Executive.
58. (October 30, 2019). "Manhattan West's tallest building officially opens". Curbed New York.
59. "WP Carey Inc". Reuters.
60. (December 20, 2019). "Hedge Fund Pharo Relocating to One Manhattan West". Commercial Observer.
61. (December 17, 2021). "Blackstone Nears Deal Valuing Manhattan Office Tower at $2.85 Billion". WSJ.
62. (September 23, 2021). "NHL to Open NYC Flagship Store with Lids and Fanatics". License Global.
63. (October 11, 2019). "Cravath, Swaine & Moore Sign on as Anchor Tenant at Two Manhattan West in Hudson Yards". New York Yimby.
64. (December 14, 2021). "Casa Dani, From a Celebrated Spanish Chef, Opens in Manhattan West". The New York Times.
65. (October 8, 2021). "Danny Meyer's First New NYC Restaurant in Years Arrives Inside Another Monied-Up Manhattan Development". Eater.
66. (August 31, 2021). "Zou Zou's Brings Eastern Mediterranean Cooking to Manhattan West". Grub Street.
67. "Peachy".
68. "Public Rec – Leisurewear comfort clothing".
69. "We simply care.".
70. "New Stand {{!}} A Day Improvement Company".
71. (September 30, 2021). "Manhattan West Is (a Little Bit) What Hudson Yards Should Have Been". Curbed.