Roughly five years from now, the New York skyline, just like in any other large cities all over the world, will dramatically change as a result of a variety of factors. These will be anchored on rapid socioeconomic changes which will transform the built environment of 2020 and beyond.
Experts predict that 2020 will be marked by an expansion of investable real estate all around the globe with major cities experiencing up to 75 percent in growth. Real estate economics are predicted to be affected largely by concerns for sustainability and the integration of newer technologies into the building and construction of real estate projects. Additionally, competition for prime assets will greatly intensify. And the competition will be especially stiff in New York which, by 2020, will see whether its Vision 2020 has been made real or far from it.
Vision 2020 is a blueprint that the Bloomberg administration operationalized to give New Yorkers an entirely different way to live for many more generations to come. All five boroughs of New York City have been duly prepared for real estate development particularly those lining the 600 miles of prime waterfront. With more than a dozen or so real estate development projects in full swing, in addition to recently completed projects, the New York skyline will literally reach for the sky come 2020.
Large scale real estate development plans by the private sector have been matched by the equally ambitious projects of the government. Staten Island will be home to a 35-acre residential neighborhood equally supported by a network of improved roads. The stretch of real estate land from Westchester County to Hunts Point along the Bronx River will be geared for residential development.
Hunters Point in Queens will see 5,000 residential apartments that are designed to be affordable often dubbed as below-market rate. The former Domino Sugar factory in Brooklyn will be turned into a 2,200-unit residential housing complex. This is in addition to equally ambitious expansions near the well-established neighborhoods in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, both waterfront communities.
Manhattan will continue to enjoy vertical expansion of real estate primarily because waterfront land is very scarce which can command premium prices. Nonetheless, the West 50s will see several real estate development projects giving excellent real property opportunities to New Yorkers. Investments made on the building and development of additional piers, greenways, and parks on the East Side are generally taken to increase the values of both commercial and residential properties this side of New York. With all of these development activities, it is expected that the real estate picture of New York in 2020 will be tens of thousands of rental apartments and condominiums that are both luxurious and affordable.
A driving force in New York’s real estate industry is the superb view of the New York Harbor. With over 600 miles of continuous waterline, real estate projects built in these areas are surely going to appeal to almost every other New Yorker. Add to this the services that are slowly yet surely defining themselves in support of these growing waterfront communities and you get the picture of a 2020 New York.
Five years from now, a great number of New York’s population will be living in one of those high-rise condominiums or apartment complexes that line New York’s waterfront. Just take a look at the 90-story One 57 residential skyscraper and the soon-to-be-completed tallest residential building in the world at 1,775 feet, Extell’s Nordstrom Tower and you will have an idea of how New York’s real estate market will be like in 2020.
The remaining five years will only see the development of newer and more efficient building and construction technologies. These that can significantly change the way residential skyscrapers are designed and built.
In New York where prime land is gold, maximizing vertical space will be the signature of 2020.