Transforming an Industrial Weakness in to an Asset

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Objective: The purpose of this case study is to showcase how an organization in New York City rethought the use of an old, industrial railroad track and paved the way for its transformation in to a beautiful park system, which has singlehandedly helped to revitalize the neighborhood.

Main Topic: Industrial
Sub Topic: Land Use Strategies
Sub-Sub Topic: Neighborhood revitalization

Geography: New York City
Major Participants: New York City government, Friends of the High Line

Background: New York City’s 1.5 mile “High Line” is an elevated industrial railroad track that was built in the 1930s and used for freight traffic. The track had not been used since its last run in 1980. Within just a few years, residents were lobbying for the unsightly tracks’ demolition. Other residents were fighting for installation of a new rail service. The battle over what to do with the High Line was compounded in the late-1990s when another group of residents began pushing for the reuse of the rail infrastructure as a system of public parks.

The challenge: Determining which group of public interests should win: what should be the ultimate use of the High Line? Should it be demolished or preserved—and if preserved, for what use?

How it happened: In 1999, Joshua David and Robert Hammond, who both lived in the neighborhood, founded the “Friends of the High Line” (FoHL) organization in order to rally support for the High Line’s preservation into a set of public parks. FoHL commissioned a study to show that preservation could prove economically beneficial for the surrounding neighborhood. By 2002, the project had the mayor’s support. CSX Transportation, Inc. donated the defunct track to the city in 2005. A design competition was held to solicit the best ideas for what the new park system might look like. After 720 teams enter plans, FoHL and the City of New York choose a design team (James Corner Field Operations, landscape designers and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, architects).

In April of 2006, the project broke ground. The project was slated to be completed in two distinct phases. Section 1 opened to the public on June 9, 2009 and Section 2 opened June 8, 2011.

Results for New York City Economy: The city invested $115 million on the park system and, in return, there has been over $2 billion in private investment surrounding the park. There were 8,000 new construction jobs added related to the project, as well as 12,000 additional jobs as a result of the area’s redevelopment. In many cases, residential and commercial properties around the park have more than doubled since the High Line’s new parks have opened. Rather than being an eyesore, the High Line has now truly become a tourist attraction for its intricate design and beauty.

Lessons Learned: No project of this scope will be done without opposition. Critics of FoHL sent out opposition flyers arguing 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 was certainly a tough sell. This is why it was imperative for FoHL to commission the study to show that the project was economically beneficial for the neighborhood.

Moreover, mayoral support was critical. Mayor Guiliani had moved to abolish the High Line entirely. It wasn't until Mayor Bloomberg gave his blessing that the project was able to move full steam ahead.

Remaining Challenges: The city still has a completely underdeveloped waterfront nearby. The next step would be to connect the High Line to the water front in order to promote that area’s simultaneous revitalization.
 

Last Updated on January 30th, 2012

TAGS: parks | economic development | industrial | neighborhood revitalization | cities | nyc | land use | adaptive reuse