The billionaire behind Hudson Yards, the most expensive real-estate development in US history, says it’s ‘not a neighborhood for the rich’

AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

• Hudson Yards, NYC’s new $25 billion neighborhood, is the most expensive real-estate development in US history.
• The neighborhood’s luxury condos start at $4.3 million and cost upwards of $32 million.
• When it’s finished, Hudson Yards will have a luxury mall with stores like Louis Vuitton and Dior, office spaces, public gardens, a performing arts space, and the highest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere.
• It’s been called a "billionaires’ playground," but Stephen Ross, the 78-year-old billionaire behind the project, told Forbes it’s "not a neighborhood for the rich."

Hudson Yards is the most expensive real-estate development in US history. When it’s finished, the $25 billion development will include luxurious residential towers, office spaces, a school, a luxury mall with high-end boutiques and restaurants, a $200 million art installation, public gardens, a performing arts space, and the highest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere.

Condos start at $4.3 million and can cost upwards of $32 million.

Hudson Yards, with its glossy luxury boutiques and sky-high price tags, has faced criticism from some who see it as a neighborhood made only for the ultra-wealthy and earned nicknames from a "playground for billionaires" to "a mall for the wealthy." Justin Davidson of New York Magazine called Hudson Yards "a billionaire’s fantasy city."

But the billionaire behind the massive real-estate project disagrees with that characterization. 

Hudson Yards is "not a neighborhood for the rich," Stephen Ross, the chairman of Related Companies, the real estate firm that’s the developer of Hudson Yards, said in an interview with Forbes. "It’s not a separate enclave."

Katie Warren/Business Insider

Ross is worth more than $10 billion, according to Bloomberg, and Forbes estimates that his Related Companies has developed $30 billion worth of properties worldwide. Ross is also the owner of the Miami Dolphins.

In the Forbes interview, Ross said Hudson Yards’ mall offers affordable options for eating and shopping, such as Shake Shack, H&M, and Zara.

The mall also includes the city’s only Neiman Marcus, along with restaurants like TAK Room from Thomas Keller, the chef behind the Michelin-starred Per Se.

Luxury lifestyles in Hudson Yards

Hudson Yards currently has two luxury condominium towers: 15 Hudson Yards and 35 Hudson Yards. At 15 Hudson Yards, residences start at $4.3 million and go up to $32 million.

Read more: I toured the first residential building to open in Hudson Yards, NYC’s new $25 billion neighborhood — and it was clear it’s selling much more than just real estate

Katie Warren/Business Insider

Its neighbor, 35 Hudson Yards, which its architect called "a city within Hudson Yards," will include a 60,000-square-foot Equinox fitness center, the world’s first Equinox hotel, retail spaces, and at least one restaurant. Condos start at $5 million and go up to at least $28.5 million — and that’s not including the penthouses, which are not yet priced. Ross himself will be moving into one of the penthouses, he told Forbes.

At One Hudson Yards, Related’s 33-story rental building that opened in 2017, available units range from $8,805 to $17,000 per month. At the nearby Abington House, the cheapest available apartment is a studio for $3,410.

Of the 4,000 apartments that are planned for Hudson Yards, about 10% will be rented at below market rates as part of the city’s affordable housing program. These apartments, which will be open to those who make between about $31,000 and $62,000 per year, will rent for $858 a month for a studio and up to $1,350 a month for a two-bedroom, according to Curbed.

Hudson Yards opens to the public on March 15, but it’s only about half-finished, according to Crain’s. It’s expected to be completed by 2025.

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See Also:

• I got a tour of a $14 million penthouse in NYC’s new $25 billion Hudson Yards neighborhood and found that it was perfectly designed to show off its best asset
• I toured a new 92-story luxury tower in NYC’s Hudson Yards, where condos start at $5 million — and it was clearly designed to be so much more than just a residential building
• A woman who studied 600 millionaires discovered that most of the superrich have surprisingly affordable homes. Here’s what some of those look like.

SEE ALSO: I toured a new 92-story luxury tower in NYC’s Hudson Yards, where condos start at $5 million — and it was clearly designed to be so much more than just a residential building

DON’T MISS: Firefighters are warning that lives could be at risk in New York’s $25 billion megadevelopment

Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Katie Warren)