A massive redevelopment project is set to start at St. John’s Terminal in the West Village. Oxford Properties Group, who bought the southern portion of the terminal for $700 million last fall, will undertake the plans to pursue the 1.3 million square feet office building. Oxford Properties Group is a global real estate investor, developer, and manager. They were a co-developer in the megaproject at Hudson Yards. The Hudson Yards project built 18 million square feet of commercial and residential space that completely transformed the underdeveloped neighborhood. It plans to bring 55,752 direct jobs to the new West Side neighborhood. Oxford’s portfolio also includes the Olympic Tower, a luxury retail and office building in midtown Manhattan.
St. John’s terminal, built in 1934, was originally used as a freight train terminal that held up to 227 train cars. This new office building located at 500 Washington Street will be 12 stories tall and feature 100,000-square-foot floorplates. “The plan calls to demolish the overpass covering West Houston Street, to reveal the original railroad tracks linking the complex to the waterfront and the Hudson River Park.”[1] This design will be modern, yet authentic to the history of the terminal.
Oxford will add a nine-story structure to the already existing three floors. “Dean Shapiro, Oxford’s head of U.S. developments, said the company contemplated developing a taller building, but decided to go with a lower, squatter structure with larger floor plates in the area of 100,000 square feet.”[2] The architectural firm of COOKFOX plans to “[incorporate] open, green spaces into the overall design of the project including a rooftop terrace.”[3] The design includes up to three acres of outdoor space, a portion of which will be public. The west side of the building will include floor to ceiling glass windows, allowing for beautiful unobstructed waterfront views. The open space, and the great location could be especially attractive for cramped Midtown Manhattan office building tenants that might be looking to relocate. The other side of the former rail warehouse, the north side, is owned by Westbrook Partners and Atlas Capital Group. They plan on developing 400,000 square feet of residential space. The mixed-use complex is slated to have 1,500 rental apartments, office space, and retail stores across its three blocks.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the end of 2019, and occupancy will start in 2022.
[1] Gannon, D. (2018, October). Renderings revealed for $2B revamp of St. John’s Terminal in Hudson Square. Retrieved from 6sqft: https://www.6sqft.com/renderings-revealed-for-2b-revamp-of-st-johns-terminal-in-hudson-square/
[2] Bockmann, R. (2018, October). Oxford Properties reveals design for St. John’s Terminal redevelopment. Retrieved from The Real Deal: https://therealdeal.com/2018/10/02/oxford-properties-reveals-design-for-st-johns-terminal-redevelopment/
[3] Warerkar, T. (2018, October). First look at St. John’s Terminal’s transformation into ‘green’ office complex. Retrieved from Curbed: https://ny.curbed.com/2018/10/2/17924694/st-johns-terminal-550-washington-oxford-offices-first-look