Chelsea Market
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food hall, retail, office space, television production |
| Founded | 1890s |
| Headquarters | Manhattan, New York City , United States |
| Products | Food hall, retail stores, office spaces |
| Owner | Alphabet Inc. |
Chelsea Market is a multifaceted complex in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, serving as a food hall, retail center, office space, and television production site. Occupying a full city block, it includes a pedestrian bridge spanning Tenth Avenue that connects to the neighboring 85 Tenth Avenue building. The High Line park runs along the building’s Tenth Avenue frontage.
Originally built in the 1890s, Chelsea Market was the former manufacturing site for the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco), where the Oreo cookie was first created and produced. The property underwent significant redevelopment during the 1990s, transforming into a retail concourse on the ground floor with office spaces above. Currently, the complex is owned by Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company. Chelsea Market is situated within the Gansevoort Market Historic District, an area listed on both New York State and the National Register of Historic Places.
Description
Chelsea Market spans an entire block bordered by Ninth and Tenth Avenues and 15th and 16th Streets, featuring a connecting bridge over Tenth Avenue to 85 Tenth Avenue—a former part of the Nabisco complex now under separate ownership. Beyond retail offerings on the ground floor, the building accommodates office tenants including media and broadcasting firms such as Oxygen Network, Food Network, MLB.com, BAMTech, EMI Music Publishing, and New York City’s cable channel NY1. More recently, Google has established offices on multiple floors (second through fourth and seventh through eighth), with its subsidiary YouTube occupying space on the fifth floor.
The retail component was created by linking what were originally separate back lots of individual buildings into a unified ground-level concourse with entrances on Ninth and Tenth Avenues. This redevelopment was completed in April 1997 under architect Jeff Vandeberg. Major retail anchors include Pearl River Mart, Chelsea Market Baskets, Posman Books, Sarabeth’s Bakery, Manhattan Fruit Exchange, MokBar, BuonItalia, Anthropologie, and Buddakan restaurant. The market offers a diverse culinary selection featuring establishments such as Los Mariscos, Miznon, Fat Witch Bakery, Amy’s Bread, Chelsea Wine Vault, Eleni’s Bakery, Ninth Street Espresso, The Lobster Place, Dickson’s Farmstand, The Green Table, Chelsea Thai, Friedman's Lunch, Giovanni Rana Pastificio e Cucina (specializing in fresh Italian pasta), along with specialty shops selling cheese, artisanal salts and olive oils, chocolates, and flowers. In November 2015 Davidovich Bakery announced opening a Davidovich Bagels location within Chelsea Market.
Morimoto restaurant—owned by Food Network’s Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and designed by renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando—operated on the Tenth Avenue side from its opening in January 2006 until 2020. The Food Network has historically filmed programs such as Iron Chef America and Emeril Live within the Chelsea Market complex.
The developers foster a collaborative environment among tenants by encouraging vendors to supply restaurateurs with fresh ingredients like seafood, produce, and meats. This synergy cultivates community engagement and mutual business support among tenants. The co-location of television production companies also generates media visibility for on-site businesses. Additionally, Chelsea Market enables enterprises to integrate manufacturing and retail operations under one roof.
The High Line—a repurposed elevated railway track converted into an urban greenway—passes through the building's Tenth Avenue side. Opened in spring 2009, this linear park provides a continuous pedestrian corridor linking the Javits Center to Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.
History
Baking operations at this site were established by local enterprises in the 1890s, culminating in the 1898 consolidation of multiple firms into the National Biscuit Company, commonly referred to as NBC. Nabisco expanded the complex continuously until relocating to suburban areas in 1958. The current layout encompasses 19 individual buildings occupying the full city block, incorporating both manufacturing spaces and administrative offices. Following Nabisco's exit, the property experienced several decades marked by fluctuating occupancy levels and light industrial activities, reflecting the neighborhood's commercial decline. In the 1990s, developer Irwin Cohen (1933–2023), together with Jeff Vandeberg and Vandenberg Architects, spearheaded a redevelopment that transformed the complex into a retail arcade on the ground floor with offices above, distinguished by playful design elements and adaptive reuse of historic urban components.
Most of the original structures are characterized by heavy timber framing with brick exteriors, crafted by the architectural firm Romeyn & Stever. An interior pedestrian bridge spans upper floors, facilitating passage between the northern and southern sections of the courtyard. The building facing Tenth Avenue is a later addition from the 1930s, designed by Nabisco’s architect Louis Wirsching Jr., replacing earlier baking facilities on that side. This construction coincided with the development of the High Line, enabling a freight train siding to be integrated directly within the building. Additionally, rail connections and an aluminum-clad pedestrian bridge were installed across Tenth Avenue to link with the existing 85 Tenth Avenue structure on the opposite side.
Situated within the "Gansevoort Market Historic District," Chelsea Market is recognized by both New York State and the National Register of Historic Places. The district's nomination was advanced by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, which advocated extending New York City’s Historic District designation in the Meatpacking District northward to 16th Street. However, when designated in 2003 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, the district boundary stopped just short of 15th Street.
In 2012, ownership under Jamestown L.P. secured approval to construct a six-story office tower above the western segment of Chelsea Market despite notable opposition from community members and activist organizations. As of 2014, construction on this expansion had yet to commence.
In 2018, Chelsea Market was acquired by Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, for over $2.4 billion. Google also owns 111 Eighth Avenue, located across Ninth Avenue from Chelsea Market. Before purchasing Chelsea Market outright, Google leased space within the building. This transaction ranks among New York City's most costly real estate deals for a single property in history.
Gallery
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Ninth Avenue access point to Chelsea Market
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Assortment of dining venues within Chelsea Market
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Elevator serving the MLB.com office spaces
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Interior view of Chelsea Market
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Staircase descending to Chelsea Local with Pearl River Mart prominently displayed
References
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Chelsea, Manhattan
- Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
- Food halls
- Google buildings and structures
- Office buildings in Manhattan
- Shopping malls in New York City
- Tourist attractions in Manhattan