Travel back to 1901 and take a look at the 4,5,6 train being built up the east side of Union Square. Remarkable images! You can even see the statue of George Washington at bottom center of the first photo. This was his original location, at the intersection of 4th Ave. and 14th St., before he was moved into the park itself.
This week (May 23 to May 27), Contractors will continue to excavate earth and rock, and load out material. We will complete the underpinning of the adjacent buildings. Installation of rakers, line drilling, lagging and sheeting around the perimeter will progress as well. Concrete foundation walls are scheduled to begin.
The following week (May 30 to June 3), we will continue line drilling, rock excavation, and loading out, as well as lagging and sheeting.
Concrete foundation walls will progress.
This week (June 6-10), contractors will continue to excavate earth and rock, and load out material. We will complete the underpinning of the adjacent buildings. Installation of rakers, line drilling, lagging and sheeting around the perimeter will progress as well. Concrete foundation walls are scheduled to begin.
The following week, we will continue line drilling, rock excavation, and loading out, as well as lagging and sheeting.
Concrete foundation walls will progress.
Beacon’s Closet has a competitor. 2nd St., a Japanese company, is now selling high-end vintage clothing at 110 University Place.
Next week (May 28 to June 1), Superstructure work will continue at the 18th floor level. The superstructure concrete work will be completed on the building by the end of the month. We will begin pouring concrete at 6am on Friday the 25th in order to finish in a timely manner. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic. The site will be closed on Monday, May 28th for the Memorial Day Holiday.
The following week (June 4 to June 8), we will be working on the machine room levels on the 18th floor. Additionally we will have another crane on the Northwest corner of the site to help with a steel truss installation. This should not greatly affect pedestrian or road traffic. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic.
The 4th Quarter Union Square Partnership Business Report, available here, has some interesting updates:
Union Square finished the year strong, with storefront occupancy in the BID1 reaching 91% in Q4 2025 (compared to 85% in Q4 2024). This growth reflects continued confidence in the district and demand from both national operators and emerging local players. Around Union Square Park, five long-vacant corner storefronts are slated to welcome new business openings in 2026, including global apparel anchor UNIQLO as well as Flight Club and Voodoo Doughnut, both new to NYC.
60 businesses opened in Union Square in 2025 (11 more than in 2024). Q4’s 16 openings ranged from top retailers like Pacsun, Ulta Beauty, and Aritzia (which expanded into a new space three times its previous size), to more intimate establishments like Maison Welles and Stars. Nespresso debuted its 13,000+ SF flagship that merges traditional retail with multi-sensory coffee tastings, interactive masterclasses, and a speakeasy. While Nespresso leads in scale, smaller coffee-forward openings include unique experiences this quarter, including Ioannis Coffee Chef’s “farm-to-cup” workshops and luckin coffee’s tech-driven model. With rising occupancy and a robust tenant pipeline, Union Square enters 2026 primed for an exciting year.
This excellent article reviews many of the historic buildings that help define our neighborhood. Of course, many are endangered.