Google announces $1 billion Hudson Sq. expansion
IMAGE COURTESY NEOSCAPE
The building at 315 Hudson St., between Vandam and Spring Sts., is
set to become one of three new Google office locations in the Hudson
Square neighborhood, which will collectively be known as Google Hudson
about a decade ago that Hudson Square
was destined to become a hub for New
York’s growing creative, technology
and offi ce users.”
Meanwhile, Oxford Properties
Mt. Sinai to use Rivington House as new health facility
PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
At a rally to save Rivington House
earlier this year, neighborhood
residents decried the then-plan
to convert it into luxury condos.
ington House — to play an active role
in future conversations.”
Facilities at the Bernstein Pavilion,
between E. 15th and 16th Sts. on the
eastern edge of Stuyvesant Square park,
will remain open and operational until
the Rivington site is ready, to avoid any
time without existing services, according
to Riegelhaupt.
Additional services, including intensive
Group is redeveloping 550 Washington
St., between W. Houston and Charlton
Sts., the southern half of the original
High Line freight-rail terminus, to create
a 1.3-million-square-foot, 12-story
commercial building. The design, by
COOKFOX Architects, would retain
three stories of the existing structure
as a base, then add additional fl oors on
top.
Some Downtowners have previously
expressed concerns that Downtown
Manhattan will become more akin to
Midtown, particularly with Google’s
expansion and Disney’s pending redevelopment
of the full square block
bounded by Varick, Vandam, Spring
and Hudson Sts. Ellen Baer, president
of the Hudson Square Connection Business
Improvement District, welcomed
Google’s announcement.
“Google’s expansion sends a powerful
message that Hudson Square has
become one of the city’s most dynamic
creative districts,” Baer said in a statement.
“With new public-private partnerships,
neighborhood improvements
and vibrant open space, there’s never
been a better time to be part of the
growth taking place here in Hudson
Square. We look forward to working
with stakeholders across the spectrum
to continue this momentum and keep
making Hudson Square the city’s best
place to live, work and visit.”
crisis and respite beds, primary
care and a partial hospital program
will be added at the Rivington site, on
the Lower East Side at Rivington and
Forsyth Sts. The number of beds has
not been set, though the hospital noted
that less than 65 percent of Bernstein’s
existing beds are used, on average.
The Bernstein facility is 60 years old
and too antiquated for its services, according
to the hospital. Riegelhaupt
said it is too soon to know Mt. Sinai’s
plans for the Bernstein property, but
if it is sold, 100 percent of the money
would be reinvested back into the new
Mt. Sinai Downtown Network.
K Webster of Neighbors to Save Rivington
House emphasized her longtime
fi ght was to restore the Rivington building
as a full-time nursing home.
“For people who really have to have
24/7, long-term care in the age of Alzheimer’s...
our mission was to return
this to people who need nursing home
beds,” she said.
Community members met with local
politicians on Wednesday. Slate is expected
to schedule a meeting with all
stakeholders soon, according to Webster.
“This was rather sudden,” she said.
“Why the secrecy?”
GOOGLE continued from p. 1
The latest $1 billion campus expansion
comes after Google purchased the
Chelsea Market building for $2.4 billion
earlirer this year, and announced
that it will lease additional space at
Hudson Park Trust’s Pier 57, also earlier
this year.
“With these most recent investments
in Google Chelsea and Google Hudson
Square, we will have the capacity
to more than double the number of
Googlers in New York over the next 10
years,” Porat wrote. “Our investment in
New York is a huge part of our commitment
to grow and invest in U.S. facilities,
offi ces and jobs.”
She added that Google, which currently
has around 7,000 employees in
New York City, is growing faster outside
the San Francisco Bay Area than
within it, including new offi ces in Detroit;
Boulder, Colorado; Los Angeles;
Tennessee, and Alabama.
“As we continue to grow across the
country, we look forward to calling
New York City home for many years to
come,” Porat wrote.
At 315 Hudson St., real estate organization
Jack Resnick & Sons is in the
fi nal stages of a $65 million development.
Google’s offi ces at that building
are expected to boast a rooftop garden,
indoor and outdoor event spaces for
clients and community events, a cafe
and open workspaces, according to a
Square.
Resnick press release.
“We are thrilled to welcome Google
to 315 Hudson St.,” Jonathan Resnick,
the president of Jack Resnick & Sons,
said in a statement. “We recognized
SINAI continued from p. 1
stop” center at 45 Rivington St., under
the plan.
“When behavioral-health services
are more critical than ever, we are
pleased to announce plans to expand
and enhance our behavioral-health offerings
to the Downtown community
at a new Comprehensive Behavioral
Health Center located at 45 Rivington
St.,” Riegelhaupt said. “The new Center
will be a state-of-the-art, community
oriented destination for behavioral
healthcare and a ‘one-stop’ location of
services for mental health, addictions,
physical health and social service needs
for the Downtown community.”
Rivington House, a former nursing
home and care facility for people
with H.I.V. / AIDS, was nearly turned
into luxury condos after a scandal that
rocked the Lower East Side and has
dogged the mayor ever since. The group
Neighbors to Save Rivington House has
been pushing the city ever since to reopen
the building as a 24/7 care facility
for the elderly and disabled.
The group was blindsided by the Mt.
Sinai news.
“Once again a deal is being attempted
without notice to or involvement of
the community most impacted by the
removal of 219 nursing home beds in
Rivington House,” the group wrote in a
statement on Mon., Dec. 17. “Unacceptable.
While it is heartening to hear that
our relentless three-and-a-half years of
advocacy appears to have succeeded
in staving off a luxury condo development,
Mt. Sinai Hospital is a newcomer
to the neighborhood, and this community’s
advocacy and its needs are requisite
to any fi nal outcomes here,” the
statement said.
Slate did not immediately respond to
a request for comment.
Councilmember Margaret Chin said
greater transparency is needed and that
she will push for increased community
involvement on the issue.
“While we understand there is a
signifi cant need for behavioral-health
services, we can’t lose focus on the fact
that 219 nursing home beds were lost,”
a Chin spokesperson said. “The fundamental
issue here is improving transparency
in this process, and ensuring
that the Lower East Side community’s
unique healthcare needs are addressed.
As more details on these plans are released,
Councilmember Chin will continue
to push for opportunities for the
community — especially the advocates
at the forefront of the fi ght to save Riv-
6 December 20, 2018 TVG Schneps Media