West Harlem: A Secret Neighborhood Coming Out Of Stealth Mode

In 2020, when the pandemic hit, West Harlem was ready for its moment. Columbia University had begun its expansion, the Janus Property Co. had completed and leased the first four of its Factory District campus buildings and had begun work on the Malt House and Taystee Building, the George Hotel and Renaissance Hotel had both started construction, and new condos and rentals were on the drawing board. 

Six years later, unbeknownst to many New Yorkers, all of this construction and more is now complete. West Harlem is stepping into a new era, all while maintaining its village-like character.  

“Two things happen when people come to the neighborhood,” said Scott Metzner, president of the Janus Property Co. “First, they’re inevitably early to a meeting because they don’t realize how quickly they can get here from anywhere. Second, they can’t believe they didn’t know how beautiful and vibrant the neighborhood is and how much is new since they last visited, if they were ever previously here.”

West Harlem is only one stop from 59th Street, two stops from 42nd Street and three stops from 34th Street. There are five subway lines — the A, B, C, D and No. 1 trains — within two blocks of the Factory District, making access to and from the entire city unrivaled, Metzner said. 

Metzner, along with his partner, Jerry Salama, have worked in West Harlem on West 126th Street near Amsterdam Avenue for more than 30 years. Over the years, Metzner said the neighborhood has seen an abundance of change, going from “somewhat abandoned” to a place that’s really come into its own — especially in the past six to 12 months.

“In addition to what a lovely and affordable place it is to work, live or play in, it has also become New York’s leading innovation hub, one that encompasses a full range of sciences — engineering, technology, healthcare, artificial intelligence and design — along with the arts and culture sectors that have always been here,” Metzner said. 

Emerging science and technology sectors are increasingly seeking a supportive community of like-minded innovators, Salama said. The “Innovation Triangle” that’s emerging creates this type of community, connecting all the various activities in the Factory District, Columbia University, the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, The City College of New York’s Advanced Science Research Center and the New York Structural Biology Center campuses. 

There are now more innovation companies located here than anywhere else in New York, Salama said. 

“The story that's largely not been told in the real estate press is that in addition to being a leader in New York’s nascent life sciences ecosystem, with tenants ranging from research to educational to commercial, from startups to clinical stage to publicly traded companies, West Harlem has also become a leader in advanced materials, climate tech, med tech and AI,” Metzner said. 

The Best Community 'No One's Ever Heard Of'

Each of the stakeholders in West Harlem’s Innovation Triangle, including community leaders, have known and worked with each other for decades, Metzner said. Not only has Janus built strong relationships and trust over a very long period of time, it's also created a mutual support network of shared programming and introductions, access to space and core facilities, and collaboration across a wide spectrum. 

“It’s not just holiday parties and panel discussions, although we certainly have those, it is something much deeper that really doesn’t exist elsewhere,” Metzner said. “West Harlem is becoming a community of global significance while retaining its hometown touch. Between the real estate and the people, we’re the best innovation hub and neighborhood that no one’s ever heard of.”

A 4-Acre Walkable Urban Campus

Many people may not be familiar with the research institutions in the area, such as the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center or Columbia’s expansion. These campuses represent two of the three points that make up West Harlem’s Innovation Triangle. The third point of the triangle, Metzner said, is the 4-acre Factory District campus. The campus is filled with landscaped passageways and courtyards that connect its midblock West 125th Street entry through one million square feet of commercial buildings to its West 128th Street entry, near the A, B, C and D subways and City College campus.

Once home to 19th and early 20th century industry, the Factory District’s revival has won accolades and awards for its urban planning and architecture that strategically blend new construction within the historic urban fabric. The district includes numerous completed buildings and additional development sites, with four main commercial buildings that host an array of office, wet lab and research space, creative studios, commercial and light manufacturing businesses. 

“There are also a lot of entrepreneurs located here; we’re seeing a lot of knowledge-based users coming in,” said Newmark's Jonathan Fanuzzi, the exclusive leasing agent for the district.      

The 150K SF Mink Building includes medical, arts and innovation tenants and two incubators — Harlem Biospace @ Mink and SoHarlem cultural incubator — as well as art studios for three renowned artists. The Malt House, with over 200K SF, includes Communitas America’s Heyground Harlem incubator and accelerator and Mink Padel, one of today’s hottest social sports, and is preparing to announce more experiential users shortly. 

The 50K SF Sweets Building accommodates smaller users, including the original Harlem Biospace coworking lab and Gluck+, a renowned architecture firm, along with various not-for-profits. The 350K SF Taystee Building is the Factory District’s crown jewel, with Metzner pointing out it is “the premier building north of Midtown.”

Campus environments like the Factory District are far from common in New York, especially with its rare “special mixed-use” zoning designation that allows for all uses to coexist, including manufacturing, residential, lab, office, hotel, retail and academic. It’s a designation that Janus and the community worked with the city for years to craft, Metzner said. 

“Creating a true 24/7 neighborhood was a primary goal of community leaders, elected officials and city planners, and little by little since Covid hit, we’re getting back there,” he said. 

Economic Incentives

Tenants also enjoy the added benefit of generous as-of-right and discretionary economic incentives, ranging from real estate tax exemptions to energy-savings programs and direct government grants. This includes the recent $1.5M grant from New York State Empire State Development, with assistance from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, for the new 11K SF Harlem Biospace incubator. 

Additional incentives include relocation and employment assistance programs, energy-savings programs, commercial rent tax exemptions and opportunity zone benefits.  

“We've been very successful in helping our tenants get discretionary grants from both the New York City Economic Development Corp., as well as New York State Empire State Development Corp.,” Salama said. 

West Harlem’s affordability, built-in economic benefits, arts and culture, science, engineering and research sectors all combine to make this neighborhood one of the city’s hottest emerging places, Metzner said. 

“What we're all creating here is something really unique — a true community, where real estate, research and innovative commercialization join together in a warm and wonderful neighborhood,” he said. 

This article was produced in collaboration between The Janus Property Co. and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.