Manhattan West opens the heart of New York City’s Far West Side

Manhattan West, a mixed-use neighborhood comprising six buildings in New York City’s Far West Side, officially opened on Sept. 28. The development transforms the underutilized space above active rail lines into a new destination and forms the missing link in a chain of pedestrian pathways that tie the West Side together.

Manhattan West includes seven million square feet of retail, office, residential, and hospitality space across its six buildings. Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM) designed three of the six buildings (One and Two Manhattan West and the Pendry Hotel) and engineered all but the Eugene residences.

The development is organized around a series of dynamic public spaces designed in collaboration with landscape architect James Corner Field Operations and enabled by the engineering of a 2.6-acre platform above tracks leading to Penn Station. A central plaza is lined with 225,000-sf of retail and offers a new gathering space for residents, office workers, and travelers from the station.

As commuters, pedestrians, and residents pass through the neighborhood from the east, One and Two Manhattan West, the two 1,000-foot-tall, SOM-designed office towers, mark their entry into the site. The LEED-Gold-targeting buildings span two million square feet and are clad in high-performance glass. The towers’ distinct structure is celebrated through transparent lobbies that integrate with the surrounding public space and illustrate the complex structural engineering underlying the design. One Manhattan west has no columns and relies solely on a central core while Two Manhattan West features six mega-columns.

Also included in the development are the 23-story Pendry Hotel and the 62-story Eugene, which bring hospitality and luxury residences, respectively, to the site. The SOM-designed Pendry includes 164 guest rooms and suites and is characterized by a dramatic, undulating glass and granite facade.

The Eugene comprises 844-unit residential tower designed in collaboration with SLCE Architects and integrates a crucial outdoor link between 31st Street and elevated outdoor space connecting to central plaza. The development is further enhanced by the renovation of two former industrial buildings, Five Manhattan West and the 1913 Lofts building, into contemporary office space. As part of the adaptive reuse of Five Manhattan West, SOM engineers, working with architects at REX, performed significant structural modifications to transform the building’s interior and facade while improving its energy performance.  On the south side of the building, an elevated breezeway and passage was carved out to extend Manhattan West’s public space to Tenth Avenue.

The Lofts, Five Manhattan West, the Eugene, and the Pendry Hotel are now fully open. One Manhattan West opened in 2019. Construction on Two Manhattan West is anticipated to conclude in 2023. In 2022, a new elevated pedestrian pathway linking Manhattan West’s public space to the High Line will also be constructed to create a connection from Penn Station south to Chelsea.

Brookfield Properties was the developer.