On Friday, March 15, 2019, Hudson Yards, the largest private real estate development in the nation and the largest in New York City since Rockefeller Center, held its official opening ceremony emceed by Anderson Cooper.
A year ago, Commercial Observer said the site “is poised to become a global destination, reimagining urbanization and how we live in cities.” Invited guests viewed the ribbon-cutting in the five-acre public space and took an inaugural walk up the interactive landmark centerpiece Temporarily Known As the Vessel (photo)—a competition to rename it is underway— which Architectural Digest dubbed the site’s “crown jewel.”
The Shops & Restaurants occupy the one-million-square-foot retail center and tenants have started moving into several towering buildings.
Speakers at the opening ceremony included Hudson Yards’ developers Related Companies Chairman Stephen M. Ross and Chair of Oxford Properties Group and President of OMERS Blake Hutcheson; plus NYS Senator Charles E. Schumer; President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York Gary LaBarbera; and Thomas Heatherwick of Heatherwick Studio, designers of the Vessel.