NEW YORK CITY—New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and developer Joseph Moinian launched the official ground breaking of the Moinian Group's two-billion-dollar, 53-story, two-million-square-foot office tower, 3 Hudson Boulevard.
With the infrastructure work on the 34th Street 7 train station complete, the tower construction, on top of one of the subway entrances, can begin.
“The groundbreaking of 3 Hudson Boulevard is another significant step in developing the Hudson Yards District and attracting new businesses and investments to the Far West Side of Manhattan,” Governor Cuomo said. “The Moinian Group's investments in the state-of-the-art tower will support New York's construction workers, and provide space for future tenants, as we continue supporting the economic development of the entire region.”
At Friday's ceremony, Moinian said he's in the midst of the paperwork involved in arranging for EB-5 investors, who may come from China or India. He is working on attracting $250 million to $500 million through the program. However, he notes his company is at the beginning of the process and does not have a number of EB-5 investors committed.
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program allows foreign nationals to become legal permanent residents by investing $1,000,000 in a US business that will employ American workers. A $500,000 amount is the qualifying investment for a US business in target employment areas. The program's purpose is to encourage foreign investment and economic growth in the US.
The EB-5 program has not been without controversy including congressional scrutiny for uncovered cases of fraud. This was the program, as reported in the Washington Post, that Nicole Meyer, the sister of presidential advisor Jared Kushner, had pitched to Chinese citizens to invest in a Kushner family development in New Jersey—while mentioning her relationship to her brother.
News outlets including Bloomberg and the Real Deal have reported that other Hudson Yards developers such as the Related Cos. have attracted EB-5 investment funds and have secured tenants to lease significant spaces in their developments. However, 3 Hudson Boulevard continues to receive attention for its inability to secure an anchor tenant.
The Moinian Group hired new brokers, moving the account from Avison Young's Arthur Mirante to JLL. At the ground breaking, president of JLL's New York tri-state region, Peter Riguardi, who is now leading the leasing efforts, expressed optimism, calling 3 Hudson Boulevard, the area's premier development site.
Designed by architect Dan Kaplan of FXFOWLE, the building will take up the entire square block between 11th Avenue and Hudson Boulevard Park, from West 34th to West 35th streets. Set on the densest bedrock in Manhattan, the tower will not require a platform, according to the Moinian Group. In addition to the street-level, multi-tiered lobby with retail space, and the office tower space, the development will be topped with a duplex rooftop entertainment area, outdoor terrace and sky garden.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Betsy Kim
Betsy Kim was the bureau chief, East Coast, and New York City reporter for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. As a lawyer and journalist, Betsy has worked as the director of editorial and content for LexisNexis Lawyers.com, a TV/multi-media journalist for NBC and CBS affiliated TV stations in the Midwest, and an associate producer at Court TV.
