Hudson Yards – A Challenge To Innovate

You have probably heard of the Hudson Yards project, on the West Side of New York City. Touted as the future of retail shopping, the center is the largest private development project in U.S. history, with about 120 boutiques and restaurants, as well as significant public art, dynamic cultural experiences, and cutting edge residences. The Hudson Yards Grand Opening in 2019 was an occasion for celebration for the community , developers and business executives, and retailers involved in this very ambitious project.

For Dickinson Cameron, the Hudson Yards grand opening was a milestone in our development as a company. The process of building five boutiques there brought us out of our comfort zone and gave our team a chance to come together in pursuit of a common and tangible goal: finish the project on time and on budget with our typical high quality work product.

During this project, we faces three significant challenges; working inside a massive development project, the complicated logistics of working in Manhattan, and finding the right partners to provide the very high-end finishes required by our clients.

During this project, two Project Managers, an assistant Project Manager, two Project Engineers, an Estimator and four Superintendents managed approximately $8.7 million in revenue.  At the height of the construction our team was working 24 hours a day to get across the finish line, and there were obstacles nearly daily. 

The Hudson Yards development is LEED certified and has a tax exemption; as such the tie-in to the fire alarm and HVAC systems are extremely complex and require coordination among multiple stakeholders to not only adhere to the Landlord criteria but also provide the necessary technical information and submittals.  Beyond that, there were specific cost controls that needed to be implemented in order for the Landlord to meet their tax exemption status. As a result, our Project Engineers are adept at navigating this complex submission processes.

The logistics of working in Manhattan alone are complex; then add in the additional layer of a project the size of Hudson Yards, and a massive coordination effort is required.  Every delivery needed to be inputted into the online system where the driver and truck information is provided.  Once the delivery got to site it was screened 2 blocks away and then sat in line to await entrance into the loading dock. The site Superintendents became extremely proactive in getting the proper information beforehand and asking the right questions to ensure on-time deliveries. 

Once it came down to building the boutiques, there were multiple constraints to deal with. The leasing agreements for most stores lasted until the very last minute so schedules were extremely tight.  Reliable subcontractors and quality supervision were critical.   As a result, we have grown our New York sub-base and come out of this experience knowing who we can trust to give us the highest quality work at the most competitive price.    

The Hudson Yards project goes down in DCC history as one of the most challenging endeavors. And we’re so proud of the work we have done.  Visit our portfolio page for more information.

Our Hudson Yard boutiques: