A New Vision for Gansevoort Square

Photo Courtesy of NYCEDC

City, Gansevoort Meat Market Mutually Agree to End Meat Market’s Lease Early, Opening Up 66,000 Square Feet of Opportunity

New Plan Includes Mixed-Income Housing—Without Public Subsidy—New Public Open Space, and Opportunity for Expansion of Cultural Institutions

Builds on ‘New’ New York Panel Vision for 24/7 Live, Work, Play, and Learn Communities

A new vision to transform approximately 66,000 square feet in the heart of the Meatpacking District into a 24/7 live, work, play, and learn community and cultural hub for New Yorkers was released today. Known as Gansevoort Square, this vision will build upon the success of the Meatpacking District and reimagine the site as a one-of-a-kind destination for New Yorkers, with mixed-income housing, new public space, and the opportunity to expand the Whitney Museum of American Art and the High Line—some of the city’s most iconic cultural institutions. Unveiled by First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer this morning at the Association for a Better New York, this project will deliver needed affordable housing and open space and cement the Meatpacking District as a global destination and economic engine for the city.

Gansevoort Square—located on Little West 12th Street between Washington Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan—will be partially built on the lot of the Gansevoort Market Co-op. In August, the Gansevoort Meat Market—the site’s current tenant—elected to leave the site early in cooperation with NYCEDC and the City of New York. The initial proposal for this new project includes:

• Up to 600 mixed-income housing units to further the city’s ambitious housing policy goals and deliver needed affordable units. The city anticipates that this will include as many as 300 affordable units, without the need for any public subsidy.
• A new, 11,200-square-foot public open space.
• The opportunity for additional development on a 45,000 square foot space, including a potential expansion of the Whitney Museum of American Art—which has a Right of First Offer on the former Meat Market site—with new gallery, education, and learning spaces, as well as potential new High Line facilities.

There will be an upcoming community engagement process that will kick off with conversations with Councilmember Bottcher, Community Board 2, and local partners.

Gansevoort Square stems from the set of recommendations made in the ‘New’ New York panel’s Making New York Work for Everyone action plan, a set of 40 proposals to reimagine New York City’s commercial districts as vibrant 24/7 destinations. The action plan focuses on creating business districts that are vibrant, resilient, healthy, and globally competitive in attracting and retaining businesses.

About NYCEDC
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that works for a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers. We take a comprehensive approach, through four main strategies: strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors with a focus on equity; build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city’s future economy. To learn more about what we do, visit us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.