BXP, Moinian, BRP Selected To Develop $1.4B Project Near Hudson Yards

A long-vacant spot of state-owned land on Manhattan’s far western side is slated to become a mixed-use development featuring thousands of units of housing, with some of New York City’s most prominent real estate companies at the helm.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that a partnership of BXP — formerly Boston Properties — The Moinian Group, BRP Cos.,and Urbane Development won the bidding to build a $1.35B mixed-use project featuring two skyscrapers and public space at 418 11th Ave.

The site sits directly opposite the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and is known as Site K, with the proposed development itself to be named HDSN. 

The development's eastern tower — spanning 72 stories with 1,349 residential units, including 404 permanently affordable apartments — will be expedited, given the severity of NYC’s housing crisis, Hochul’s office said. The affordable units would be restricted to residents earning between 60% and 130% of the area median income.

“This transformative development embodies our vision for New York's future — creating affordable homes, advancing our climate goals and generating economic opportunity for all New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a statement.

The project is “an unparalleled effort to help solve New York City's affordable housing crisis” and “will drive economic growth and deliver a vitally needed equitable housing opportunity to Manhattan’s West Side,” BRP co-founder and Managing Partner Geoff Flournoy said in a statement.

HDSN’s Western Tower, meanwhile, will stretch 28 stories high as a full-service, 455-key room with a ballroom, meeting rooms, food and beverage venues, a fitness center and a rooftop looking out onto the Hudson River among other amenities. The hotel would provide a critical lodging element across the street from the city's biggest convention center.

The development will also feature a five-story podium for cultural, educational and community facilities that will be anchored by a 24K SF museum focused on climate solutions, The Climate Museum. The community hub will also feature a 4K SF restaurant and training facility run by nonprofit Emma's Torch and a 60K SF Life Time fitness center featuring an outdoor swimming pool and roof terrace.

“Amid a historic housing crisis across New York City, this project represents a pivotal step toward delivering much-needed homes to Manhattan's West Side,” The Moinian Group CEO Joseph Moinian said in a statement. “We look forward to advancing this transformative project for the West Side community, a region of Manhattan that our firm is deeply embedded within and committed to.”

The developers have also designed public space improvements along 35th Street, including new landscaping and seating areas. 

Site K is the first project to be approved with a floor area ratio that exceeds the cap that had been in place until this year, when state lawmakers raised the limit in their sweeping housing bill. 

“By utilizing the new residential density provisions we secured in last year's budget, HDSN demonstrates how smart policy changes can unlock substantial affordable housing developments,” Hochul said. “New York is once again leading the way in showing what is possible when we think boldly about our cities' future.”

The site is owned by a subsidiary of Empire State Development, the New York Convention Center Development Corp., which is sponsoring the project. However, the proposal still has to go through an environmental review process and a public comment period before receiving final approval.

Site K has been empty except for a mechanical ventilation structure for years. The state put out a request for proposals for the site under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2021.

A partnership between Cheryl McKissack Daniel of McKissack & McKissack, The Peebles Corp., Exact Capital Group and the Witkoff Group had pitched a 2M SF skyscraper called Affirmation Tower for that RFP.

Its plans featured two hotels, office space that would become the headquarters for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a theater, an observation deck and public outdoor space. The development partnership that included The Peebles Corp. would have been majority-owned by Black-owned companies but offered no housing. 

Hochul rescinded Cuomo's RFP because she said plans for the site needed to include housing. She issued a new RFP last year, and ESD officials said the winning proposal was one of seven bids submitted.