HELL'S KITCHEN — Fashion Week's potential future home and the centerpiece of the west side's Hudson Yards development will land before Community Board 4 on Monday, beginning a long process to create a huge new space for concerts and arts events.
At roughly 170,000 square feet, the Hudson Yards Culture Shed aims to be the city's premiere venue for art and entertainment, complete with a performance space, three indoor galleries and another one on the roof.
Plans for the Shed have changed since zoning for it was approved in 2004 — it's now almost 70,000 square feet larger and will be located at the southern end of the development, near West 30th Street and 11th Avenue.
True to its name, the main Culture Shed building will have a retractable "shed" that will provide additional covered space for exhibitions and events.
The change requires some tweaks to the Hudson Yards zoning, meaning Community Board 4's Land Use Committee will review it at its meeting at 6:30 March 18 at the Fulton Center Auditorium, 119 Ninth Ave. The full board will vote on the changes at its April 3 meeting.
The zoning change will make its way to the Borough President's office, the City Planning Commission and will eventually need approval from the City Council.
According to the center's zoning application, it will offer a wide array from community programming on top of artistic exhibitions, ranging from film screenings to greenmarkets. The Shed will host numerous short-term performances and special events as well.
"The ability to present multiple works or events simultaneously in several spaces will allow for unique forms of collaboration across artistic and design disciplines," the application says.
"For example, a theater or dance company may present performances in a space adjacent to an art exhibit, with the performance and exhibit organized around common or related artistic themes and motifs."
The glass building, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and the Rockwell Group, will connect to other skyscrapers in the massive Hudson Yards project.
Developer Related broke ground on the neighborhood's first skyscraper in December, though city officials expect the Culture Shed to open in 2017.
