Renderings revealed for $2B revamp of St. John’s Terminal in Hudson Square

Oxford Properties Group this week unveiled the first renderings of its project to transform an old freight terminal in Hudson Square into a 12-story office building. The Canadian developer bought a section of the St. John’s Terminal site, located at 550 Washington Street, in January for $700 million from Atlas Capital and Westbrook Partners. Oxford Properties then tapped COOKFOX Architects to design a 1.3 million square foot 12-story office complex. New renderings reveal a modern structure with floor-to-ceiling windows, planted roofs and terraces, 100,000 square-foot floor plates, and waterfront access.

Oxford plans to keep the facade of the structure, which was built in 1934 and originally used to hold up to 227 train cars. The design’s large floorplates aim to create a more collaborative space and its facade “will allow for more than 400 linear feet of unobstructed west-facing views.”

The plan calls for demolishing the overpass covering West Houston Street, to reveal the original railroad tracks linking the complex to the waterfront and the Hudson River Park. An addition of nine stories will be built on top of three existing floors.

“We felt a tremendous responsibility to re-imagine St. John’s Terminal in an authentic yet modern way,” Dean Shapiro, head of U.S. Developments at Oxford, said. “St. John’s Terminal has a long history as a hub of innovation and productivity. Its unique form allows us to create workspaces that reduce the friction of expansion and change over time, so tenants can focus on productivity.”

Construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2019, with occupancy delivered sometime in 2022. Atlas and Westbrook, who still own the northern section of the site, released plans in 2016 to bring 1,500 apartments, retail, office, and possibly hotel space to the site. But their proposal, since getting approved by the City Council two years ago, has not moved forward.

Since the 2013 rezoning of 18-block Hudson Square, the neighborhood has transformed from being known as the printing district to an area with luxury rentals and modern office space. The rezoning allowed for more than 3,300 units of new residences, 140,000 square feet of retail and office space, and 75,000 square feet of community facilities.

RELATED:

• COOKFOX unveils design for five eco-conscious high-rises in Hudson Square
• See aerial renderings of COOKFOX’s massive St. John’s Terminal redevelopment
• INTERVIEW: Architect Rick Cook on the legacy of COOKFOX’s sustainable design in NYC

All images courtesy of COOKFOX Architects