Breakthrough: End of Drilling on 7 Train Expansion Into Hudson Yards Brings More Good News For Emerging Neighborhood

Yesterday, we wrote about the the latest development in the ongoing boom in new construction luxury rental apartment buildings in greater Hudson Yards -- a neighborhood that is sometimes (if unfortunately) called The Linc, and which encompasses the western edges of Chelsea and Clinton. If it seems like we've been covering the goings-on at Hudson Yards a lot here at the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog, that would be because we have. It's not every day that you get to see a new neighborhood rise before your eyes in Manhattan, after all, and the presence of blockbuster new construction luxury rentals such as the LEED-certified Emerald Green, one of Manhattan's most impressive new green rental apartment listings, and the equally impresive 505 West 37th Street have already given Hudson Yards its share of blue chip new luxury rental listings. And now, with news that the planned expansion of the 7 train into Hudson Yards has finished drilling, this new neighborhood is close to a new subway link to the rest of New York City -- and possibly to a new life as one of Manhattan's most desirable residential neighborhoods.

Real estate bigwigs are currently lobbying anyone who will listen -- and who might help foot the nine-figure bill for cutting a new subway station -- to open a second 7 train station at 10th Avenue and 42nd Street. But while that project is still up in the air, the city remains on track to open a new 7 train station at West 34th Street and 11th Avenue by December 2013. The New York Post's description of the breakthrough that completed the tunnel -- which will pass through 42nd and 10th whether there's a station there or not -- is fun for us subway dorks, but real estate watchers have to be heartened by the development as well. A connection to the 7 train offers subway access to a neighborhood that's currently sadly lacking in that department, and could connect residents to the twin transit hubs of Times Square and Grand Central Station in just a couple of stops. Not to mention being a boon to Mets fans, who can hop onto the 7 on the far west side of Manhattan and step off at Citifield to check out D-Wright and the gang. Hudson Yards is on its way to becoming a prime residential neighborhood no matter what, but when the $2.1 million subway expansion is wrapped, Hudson Yards's journey to the big-time will be that much smoother.