After receiving frenzied press coverage for the past two weeks, The Shops at Hudson Yards--a 720,000-sq.-ft. retail and restaurant component of the Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group's massive Far West Side of Manhattan project--welcomed its first wave of shoppers on Thursday night during an opening party. NREI's first impressions of the project were mixed--New York's newest vertical mall is certainly ambitious in its scale and concept. But its collection of luxury retail chains and upscale restaurants and its synergy with Hudson Yards' interactive art installation The Vessel (which currently requires reserving a spot two weeks in advance) seems like it has been perfectly envisioned to serve the needs of wealthy foreign tourists with active Instagram accounts. Don't take our word for it though--here are some scenes from the opening night.
