30 Hudson Yards and Its Extruded Outdoor Observation Deck Approach Opening Day in 2019

30 Hudson Yards towers behind 10 Hudson Yards. Photo by Michael Young

As the tallest skyscraper in Hudson Yards and the 4th-tallest under construction in New York City, 30 Hudson Yards makes a notable impact on the Midtown skyline with its impressive height and prominent crown. The 1,296-foot-tall office building stands 73 stories above 10th Avenue and West 33rd Street, and will soon open its doors for business. Its observation deck will be the highest in New York, and that component will also contain an extruded outdoor viewing platform. Kohn Pedersen Fox is the architect, while Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group are the developers of the tower, part of the first phase of Hudson Yards.

The building topped-out this past summer. Since then, the glass facade has reached the parapet, the blue construction crane has been disassembled, the tall glass panels that surround the observation deck perimeter have mostly fallen into place, and work on the ground floor is also progressing towards next year’s grand opening. With 2.6 million square feet of space, 30 Hudson Yards is one of the largest commercial office buildings in New York.

The most anticipated aspect of the project is the cantilevering observation deck, dubbed, “The Deck.” This component, designed in collaboration with schlaich bergermann partner, features a partial glass floor cut in a triangular-shaped void looking down the sloped eastern facade and 10th Avenue, more than 1,000 feet below. A 10,000-square foot restaurant, bar, and event space will be managed by Rhubarb hospitality group.

The top of 30 Hudson Yards and the observation deck. Photo by Michael Young

Up until the late 2000s, the Midtown skyline’s focal points were limited to the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Citicorp Building, and Rockefeller Center. They all sat relatively isolated from one another among a wide expanse of flat roofs and large, boxy office buildings that had dominated the neighborhood since the latter half of the twentieth century.

Now that 2018 has wrapped, 30 Hudson Yards and the rest of the project’s first phase have forever altered the nature of the the skyline along 34th Street in terms of height and architecture. Although the view of the Empire State Building has been partially lost when looking on axis from New Jersey, Hudson Yards has become a new mountaintop amongst the plateau of flat roofs between it and the supertalls along 57th Street. 30 Hudson Yards and its surrounding cluster have also become a focal point when looking north from Jersey City or Lower Manhattan.

Hudson Yards from the Lower Manhattan. Photo by Michael Young

Hudson Yards and 56 Leonard Street from 25 Park Row. Photo by Michael Young

30 Hudson Yards and Midtown from Journal Squared. Photo by Michael Young

The rezoning that birthed Related’s railyard-topping towers has also been a catalyst for new skyscrapers and complexes including Manhattan West, 3 Hudson Boulevard, The Spiral by Bjarke Ingels Group, and a number of new hotels and residential projects that follow the length of the High Line.

30 Hudson Yards and the observation deck will open next year, along with nearly every single building in the first phase except 50 Hudson Yards. That will most likely open in 2022, and be the last completed project in Phase I. Phase II will be a mix of residential buildings, retail, and office buildings, as well as additional landscaped parks and greenery.

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14 Comments on "30 Hudson Yards and Its Extruded Outdoor Observation Deck Approach Opening Day in 2019"

  1. Please pardon me for using your space: One of the most complicated design tower, but maintain to the structure fight for outdoor observation deck pop up on beautifully viewed. (Thanks to Michael Young)

  2. Too – too – too much glass!

  3. Flat roof ‘background’ buildings have their place in the mix, everyone can’t be a star.

    • This “flat roof building” is 55 Hudson Yards, 779 feet, 51 floors, it’s Mitzui Fudusan Owned, they made it with own design, if you look closer for architectural details of this building, available in YIMBY, Google search, Wikipedia, You will see that this building is not “such hideous”, btw this a concrete building, not with steel carcasse. Second office tower built here, after 895 feet 52 story 10 Hudson Yards.

  4. My understanding is Phase II is where the developers actually recover all these sunk costs and make their profit, not Phase I. That is quite the long play for this amazing project.

    • Most of the space in these office towers are already pre-leased, 10 Hudson Yards is 95% fully occupied, 30 Hudson Yards is already preleased for 70%, 55 Hudson Yards is 75% pre leased, 1 Manhattan West is pre-leased for over 80%!!! This is unique situation for Hudson Yards and Manhattan West, it’s already more than 2/3 pre-leased or occupied, even construction of first phase is still continuing. Phase 2 of Hudson Yards is residential rental buildings, hotels and schools, 50 Hudson Yards is not yet built vertical, and same situation for Spiral and 3 Hudson Yards Blvd. Btw, in NYC there is no construction permitted without securing major office tenant.

  5. “The Deck” is hideous.

  6. Does somebody know the exactly opening-date of 30 hudson yards observation deck?

  7. Has somebody informations about the opening-date of the observation-deck?

  8. How can I get tickets or access to this amazing feat of engineering? My husband & I will be in NYC 4/12/19-4/15/19.

  9. Horrible…should have never, ever been allowed to change the iconic skyline of New York…that was it’s beauty…no Chrysler Bldg…NO EMPIRE STATE BLDG from the New Jersey approach….Shame on you!! There are plenty of modern glass towers in NY, but nothing new stands to the old architecture of Manhattan!!

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