600 New Housing Units Coming to the Meatpacking District
A rendering of the housing and neighborhood upgrade project for Ganesvoort Square, by the architectural firm Marvel Design. The project will result in 300 new affordable homes.
As many as 600 new housing units will be coming to Manhattan’s storied meatpacking district, thanks to a plan just announced by Mayor Eric Adams, who said New York City will be “transforming 66,000 square feet at Gansevoort Square into 600 mixed-income housing units, a massive new open pavilion, and the city’s next cultural and artistic hub.”
The location of the project, Gansevoort Square — on Little West 12th Street between Washington Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan — will abut the southern end of the hugely popular High Line walkway that has delighted New Yorkers since it opened for foot traffic in 2009.
The Ganesvoort Building’s Union History
The centerpiece of the square is the Ganesvoort building, which was put up by New York City construction unions in 1949. It cemented the status of the meatpacking district as the operational hub of the city’s thriving meat industry.
The building was the workplace for hundreds of unionized meat workers performing a variety of tasks before distributing their products to local and regional wholesalers and retailers. These workers were proud members of local United Association (UA) 342, founded in 1904, and one of the oldest unions operating in the city. At the time, the meat workers comprised the majority of the new union. UA now boasts 300,000 members across many trades operating across the country.
All of which makes it appropriate that today’s accomplished and reliable construction unions of New York perform the remodel that will turn the marketplace into many affordable homes, surrounded by a thriving, cultural neighborhood.
Given the meatpacking district's union history, it's appropriate that today’s accomplished and reliable construction unions of New York perform the remodel.
The Plan
The new Gansevoort Square will include include:
• Up to 600 mixed-income housing units, half of which will be deemed affordable housing, which will further the city’s ambitious housing policy goals to deliver needed affordable units.
• A new, 11,200-sq. ft. public open space.
• The opportunity for additional development on a 45,000 sq. ft. space, including a potential expansion of the Whitney Museum of American Art with new gallery, education, and learning spaces, as well as potential new High Line facilities.
Gary LaBarbera, president, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, spoke of the importance of building the new project with local union talent. He said, “As New York City continues to reinvigorate its economy, we must invest in development projects that will help expand our housing stock and generate family-sustaining careers in our local communities. This administration’s continued commitment to driving forward bold initiatives that are built with labor standards and pave accessible pathways to the middle class for hard working New Yorkers is crucial to the future of our city.”
Support from New Yorkers
“The Meatpacking District is an iconic neighborhood, steeped with the city’s social, economic, and cultural history,” said New York City Executive Director for Housing Leila Bozorg. “Reimagining Gansevoort Square provides an exciting opportunity to build on that history, while introducing critical new housing, public open space, and expansion opportunities for important cultural institutions.”
Councilmember Erik Bottcher of district 3, said, “I’m grateful to our partners at the Gansevoort Meat Market, the Whitney, the High Line, and more with whom we’re embarking on this next chapter in Gansevoort Square’s history together.”
Build it Union or Don’t Build it
The Gansevoort Square project is the result of the city’s new action plan to encourage housing projects in business districts to make them more vibrant, resilient, healthy, and globally competitive. The mayor put a stamp on those goals by saying, “We’re gonna build it here, with local union talent, and make it affordable for local working class New Yorkers.
That’s the union dream.
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