JIAMING signed a partnership agreement with well-known U.S.-based global real estate developer Tishman Speyer on 23 July 2014. Both parties will co-invest in the 509 West 34th Street Development Site in the Hudson Yards district of Manhattan. The total investment in the entire project is projected to be approximately USD3.2Bn, approximately equal to RMB19.6Bn.
The 509 West 34th Street Development Site is situated in the Hudson Yards district with a site area of 6,266sqm (67,451 square feet) and a plot ratio of 33.0. A 265,000sqm (2.85 million square foot) office tower is planned for delivery beginning in Q4 2019. The 509 West 34th Street Development is the 2nd largest development in the western Hudson Yards district by development area. The site’s large footprint provides flexibility to design a highly efficient building that offers tenants large, open floor plates as well as sweeping views of Midtown Manhattan and the Hudson River. Additionally, the site will offer build-to-suit opportunities to a diverse group of companies, attracting branded tenants in the pre-leasing market.
The Hudson Yards district is a fast-growing area of Manhattan bounded by West 42nd Street, Eighth Avenue, West 30th Street, and Hudson River Park. The Hudson Yards district was rezoned in 2005 to allow for increased density and commercial and residential use, and city planners have focused their efforts on making the area a new business district in Manhattan. An additional 2.42 million sqm (26 million square feet) of office space, 20,000 new housing units, 185,000sqm (2 million square feet) of retail space, and 279,000sqm (3 million square feet) of hotels will transform the Midtown Manhattan skyline.
Several public infrastructure improvements are underway in the area to help spur development, including the 2-mile extension of the No. 7 train to 11th Avenue and 34th Street, construction of the Hudson Park & Boulevard and construction of Phase 3 of the High Line elevated park. Both the No. 7 train and Hudson Park & Boulevard will be adjacent to the project, further enhancing its competiveness.
Private investment in the Hudson Yards neighborhood continues to grow with 158,000 square meters (1.7 million square feet) of office space currently under construction for delivery in 2015 and 2016 and two other development sites preparing for construction commencement totaling approximately 595,000 square meters (6.4 million square feet) of office space. The district is also benefiting from recent commitments by such major office tenants as COACH, L'Oreal Paris, SAP and TimeWarner as well as major retailers, including luxury retailer Neiman Marcus, which recently announced that it will open its first ever Manhattan store in Hudson Yards in 2018.
The success story between JIAMING and Tishman Speyer on the 509 West 34th Street Development Site will facilitate the ongoing development of the district. We also expect to make a substantial return upon stable operations. JIAMING believes that the partnership with Tishman Speyer will help kick off its overseas investment strategy. They look forward to cooperating with Tishman Speyer in different projects in the future.