Last March, City Council gave its stamp of approval on the after a review process that lasted over half of a year. The rezoning now allows for buildings to rise as tall as 290 feet in the quiet, 18-block neighborhood. While 290 feet is nothing special by New York City standards, the neighborhood is now primed for a major facelift.

The growing neighborhood, which is bounded by West Houston Street to the North, Canal Street to the South, Sixth Avenue to the East and the Hudson River to the West, is getting a $27 million upgrade to kick things off.

The first phase of the Hudson Square redevelopment project will focus on streetscape improvements, marking the first infrastructure project of major size in the neighborhood formerly known as the Printing District in 80-plus years.

A park at Spring Street and Sixth Avenue will be transformed, creating a gateway where Spring Street meets the western border of SoHo. The hopes are that Spring Street, which extends westward to Hudson River Park, will become the “main street” for the neighborhood. The beautification plan will result in new sidewalks, distinctive lighting and over 300 trees that will be planted over the next three years, the first 30 of which will be planted by the end of 2013.

One of the key aspects in gaining approval from neighborhood residents during the rezoning process was park overhauls, and phase one immediately addresses these concerns.

The rezoning of Hudson Square resulted in a projected 2.8 million square feet of new residential space. The downtown neighborhood is likely to witness a surge in new construction in upcoming years.