Work Underway on Manhattan’s Largest Green Roof

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

Atop the ten-story tall building of 341 Ninth Avenue in West Chelsea is about to get a whole lot greener.  

West Chelsea is known for its huge stretch of 200 art galleries, which stand within a few blocks of each other, including the city's most prestigious and eclectic art spaces, its bustling LGBTQIA scene and the High Line. Now, the upscale neighborhood will have one more thing to boast about— the Morgan North Postal Facility. 

It is hard to miss the Morgan North building—the size of it alone makes it notable (the nearly hundred-year-old building is a block long), but it will be the two-acre park on the roof that will turn heads. According to New York Build Expo, Tishman Speyer and the United States Post Office are working together to redevelop the roof of the art deco style building. The Morgan North building is one of the largest mail processing facilities in the United States.  

New York YIMBY announced that work has progressed since the project began last December, with specific attention to waterproofing, adding in skylights and a number of raised garden beds being built.  

“It’s unique to have such a large expanse of nature on top of a building,” says architect Joey Shimoda, FAIA in a Tishman Speyer Instagram post. “Bringing fresh new life into a historic structure in this way is an exciting opportunity.” 

Morgan North’s website claims that the building is a part of creating a new nature of work, one where employees are given the space they need to be well. The importance of green space for mental health is well documented, and this oasis above the steel and concrete of New York will be a testament to tenant well-being. One thing is certain, the new building is nothing short of a breath of fresh air. 

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Photo credit : Courtesy of Tishman Speyer