Transforming an Industrial Weakness in to an Asset

Above: NYC's "High Line" 

Cites with industrial histories often face questions as to what should be made of former industrial space. Should old factories be turned in to schools? Should warehouses be converted in to loft-style apartments? Should railroad tracks be torn up so a bike path can be installed?

Similar questions were raised in New York City back in the 1990s. What should be done with the 1.5 mile elevated industrial railroad track that was built in the 1930s? This “High Line” was once used for freight traffic, but hadn’t been in operation since its last run in the 1980s. Shortly thereafter, residents began fighting for the unsightly tracks’ demolition. Others urged a new rail service to be created. The battle over the High Line as compounded in the late-1990s when another group began pushing for a project that would turn the infrastructure into a system of public parks.

Adaptive reuse won.

In 1999, Joshua David and Robert Hammond, who both lived in the neighborhood, founded “Friends of the High Line” (FOHL)—the organization that rallied support for the preservation of the rail into a set of public parks. It took time to convince their critics that the park was worthwhile. Opposition flyers argued, among other things, that “Money doesn’t grow on trees, and it doesn’t grow in the weeds on the High Line.” During a time of budget deficits, public investment in a new park system would certainly be difficult.

To drum up support, FOHL commissioned a study to show that preservation could prove economically beneficial for the surrounding neighborhood. By 2002, the project had Mayor Bloomberg’s blessing (in an interview some time later, Hammond indicated that the High Line’s transformation would have never happened under prior mayoral leadership—Mayor Guiliani had moved to abolish the High Line). One City Councilman, Gifford Miller, explained his rationale for supporting the High Line: “I believe – and I think the administration has also seen – that when you consider the possibilities for a preserved and reused High Line as a public space and a signature moment in the New York City landscape, that the positives are almost limitless.”

CSX Transportation, Inc. then donated the defunct tract of land to the city in 2005. A design competition solicited the best ideas for what the new park system might look like; 720 entries later, a design team was chosen.

In April 2006, the High Line’s makeover began. The project was completed in two distinct phases: Section 1 opened to the public June 9, 2009 and Section 2 opened June 8, 2011.

The project has since had a profound impact on New York City’s economy. After the city invested $115 million in the park system, over $2 billion in private investment has occurred surrounding the park. Over 8,000 new construction jobs were added related to the project, as well as 12,000 additional jobs as a result of the neighborhood’s redevelopment. In many cases, the values of residential and commercial properties around the park have more than doubled (admittedly, this has caused some gentrification—as some apartments now sell for $2,000 a square foot).

Rather than being an eyesore, the High Line is now a place where residents and tourists alike come to enjoy the parks’ intricate design and beauty. 

Other cities are now looking to the High Line as an example of what can be done when quality design is brought to our urban spaces. Our cities have a plethora of preexisting assets, and to reimagine them can have widespread impacts on local economies—particularly in the most depressed areas where abandoned buildings and land can be brought back to the city’s tax rolls.

What adaptive reuse projects has your city explored? Where is design being used in public spaces to encourage greater economic development? Share your stories with us below. 

BY Amanda Maher on December 5th, 2011

TAGS: nyc | economic development | industrial | urban design