The nation’s largest city looked to VHB’s engineering and planning experts to guide a 78-block, massive rezoning project that transformed Greater East Midtown into the center of business in Manhattan and poured new life to one of the largest job centers and high profile business addresses in the world. A planning process of this size and stature required a team of professionals who dream and do. The VHB team worked with the city and its citizens to craft a shared vision for Midtown, with equal focus on housing, community resources, economic and workforce development, and transportation and infrastructure.
The rezoning included a commitment to public space that lives side-by-side with new office buildings and preserved historic landmarks so residents and visitors experience investments in subway stations, less congested sidewalks, and vast plazas for workers. As part of the project, we teamed with the New York City Department of City Planning and New York City Economic Development Corporation to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the zoning text and zoning map amendments. Zoning changes were approved for a 78-block area of Midtown Manhattan to facilitate the construction of approximately 16 new office buildings over the next 20 years, totaling 6 million square feet of new commercial development. This new space promotes the area’s continuing role as a premier economic engine.
