Ground was broken for the site in January 2013. In May 2014, permits for complex were submitted and approved. Under the updated 2014 plan, the complex is set to be completed by 2020. By the end of 2014, a $680 million platform over Long Island Rail Road tracks between Tenth and Dyer Avenues, atop which the Manhattan West development would be built, was completed. In October 2015, the Qatar Investment Authority invested a 44% stake in the $4.5 billion mixed-use development project. The deal included the formation of a joint venture between Brookfield Property Partners and QIA for the development of of residential and office space in five buildings, including 62-story and 67-story skyscrapers, that Brookfield said would be worth $8.6 billion upon completion. Manhattan West is part of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment, a larger plan to redevelop the Hudson Yards area, which extends from the west of Pennsylvania Station to the Hudson River. The QIA was referred to as an "early bird" for their investment in an area that has not yet come under widespread development. This strategy assumes taking on more development risk in the hope of better returns.
The development plans announced by Brookfield Property Partners and QIA include five buildings. The 67-story, 2.1 million square-foot building is scheduled for completion in 2019 and law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates have been confirmed as tenants. In July 2018, Wells Fargo provided a $530 million construction loan for the project. The structure topped out in August 2018. The structural system of the tower is composed of a central reinforced concrete core and a perimeter steel moment frame. Part of the tower overhangs the below ground train tracks leading into Penn Station. In order to avoid the tracks, the perimeter columns on the south, north, and east sides do not come down to ground level, but are transferred to the core above the building's lobby.
2 Manhattan West
2 Manhattan West, which reportedly would not undergo construction until it secures an anchor tenant, will be completed following the first tower. Updated permits filed in November 2017 show the building will span just under of office space on 59 stories and rise high. In January 2019, Brookfield announced that construction of the building would begin in 2019 despite not having signed an anchor tenant. In October 2019, law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore signed a lease for floors 25 through 37 in a move from One Worldwide Plaza.
3 Manhattan West, located at 435 West 31st Street, is a residential tower that is part of the Manhattan West project, and broke ground in December 2014. Now complete, it stands 64 floors and high. In total it has 844 units, split between 675 market-rate and 169 affordable.
4 Manhattan West (Pendry Manhattan West)
4 Manhattan West will be a 21-story hotel with 164 guest rooms including 30 suites, a restaurant, a lounge, an open-air terrace bar, and meeting and event space operated by Pendry Hotels. The building, designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill, began construction in December 2018 and is set for a 2021 opening.
The existing building at 450 West 33rd Street, also known as Westyard Distribution Center, was designed by Davis Brody Bond and opened in 1969. The, 16-story building originally had a beige precast concretefacade with a sloped base, and although the facade was cleaned up in 2003, it was seen as out of place with the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood. As of 2014, it contained the headquarters of the Associated Press. In 2014, the brutalist concrete exterior was replaced with a glass facade and its interior and mechanical systems were also renovated. When renovation of the building was completed, it was renamed 5 Manhattan West.
Tenants and owners
Tenants
The law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom plans to move to One Manhattan West from 4 Times Square. Another law firm, Fried Frank, is considering moving to Manhattan West when the development is completed. In August 2017, Accenture signed a lease for the top eight floors of the tower. The National Hockey League is planned to move its headquarters to 1 Manhattan West. Ernst & Young also announced in 2017 that it would relocate to at One Manhattan West, occupying the 6th through 22nd floors. The company is moving from its previous location at 5 Times Square, leaving a million square feet of office space vacant.
QIA ownership stake
By late 2015, reports emerged that the Qatar Investment Authority had plans to invest $35 billion in the U.S. over five years. The QIA investments focus on diversifying the fund’s assets and concentrate on direct investments in real estate, with one of these investments being a 44% stake in Manhattan West. Since the announcement, QIA has made a series of high-level investments in the U.S. including the purchase of a minority stake in the Empire State Building's owner. In September 2015, QIA opened an office in New York City for closer management of the fund’s U.S. assets.
