Sometimes powerful business decisions start with a simple question: What if this empty space could actually work for us?
That’s exactly what happened at Hudson Yards when the team looked at a prominent 150-foot curved wall along 11th Avenue. Here was one of Manhattan’s most lively neighborhoods—surrounded by luxury retail, world-class dining, and the iconic Edge observation deck—just waiting for the right moment.
Hudson Yards had showcased mural art here before, which showed they understood the value of creative visitor response. But they saw an opportunity to do something bigger: turn this space into a true destination that would make people stop, attract, and want to share their experience.
Blank Walls = Missed Revenue
Developers are catching on: blank walls can be profit centers. When Americans for the Arts surveyed city dwellers in 2023, 70% said they felt more positively about their communities when public art enhanced their environments. That’s not just a nice-to-have statistic—it’s a roadmap for creating spaces people actually want to spend time in.
Hudson Yards gets more than 24 million visitors annually. The question was: how do you turn a wall into an experience that matches the energy of everything else happening in the neighborhood?
Finding the Right Artist (It’s Harder Than It Looks)
Choosing an artist isn’t about picking the prettiest portfolio. It’s strategic matchmaking between someone’s artistic approach and your business goals. We spent time understanding the neighborhood’s rhythm and, through close conversations with the Hudson Yards team, chose an artist whose style matched their brand and vision—someone whose work prompts passers-by to pause and take it in rather than simply stroll past.
Manhattan-raised muralist Queen Andrea—the lettering powerhouse we tapped to give Hudson Yards its 150-foot “welcome” wall.
Manhattan-raised street artist Queen Andrea kept coming up in our conversations. Her large-scale lettering and bold color palettes don’t just catch your eye—they pull you in. That invitation to interact was exactly what Hudson Yards needed.
Taking the lead on creative direction, we worked with Queen Andrea to hone the concept around “Welcome to Hudson Yards,” but the real work was in the details. We designated specific moments for selfies, chose typography that photographs beautifully, and refined compositional elements that naturally make people want to gather and linger.
After several rounds of renders and revisions (because getting it right matters more than getting it fast), we had our vision.
The Logistics Nobody Sees
Here’s what’s fascinating about mural projects: they look effortless when they’re done well, but the coordination behind the scenes is pretty intense. Once we locked in the concept, our team was juggling permits, lift access schedules, artist contracts, assistant coordination, paint logistics, and safety protocols—enough to make an air-traffic controller dizzy. (Okay, maybe not that dizzy, but you get the picture—pun intended.)
Queen Andrea blocks in the first blues of “Hudson Yards,” lift permits, weather calls, and safety checks all quietly in play.
Weather planning became crucial—you can’t exactly pause a multi-week outdoor project because of rain. But beyond the logistics, there’s something more delicate happening: creating art that actually belongs in its space. It needs to understand who walks by, what energy the neighborhood has, and how to spark genuine connection rather than forced interaction.
Early Signs of Success
It’s still early to measure long-term impact, but the initial response tells a story worth paying attention to. Research from Project for Public Spaces shows that thoughtful public art installations significantly boost pedestrian engagement and how long people stick around.
At Hudson Yards, we’re seeing exactly that. People aren’t just walking past anymore—they’re stopping, taking photos, and sharing their experiences online. The mural has become a natural gathering point in ways we hoped for but couldn’t guarantee.
From a business perspective, Americans for the Arts research shows an average 8.2% property value increase near arts and cultural amenities. Local businesses near the mural are already reporting more foot traffic and longer customer visits. It’s the kind of ripple effect that transforms entire blocks.
What the Artist Brings
Queen Andrea’s background in New York’s street art scene gave her something you can’t teach: an understanding of how art works in urban environments. Her approach balances technical skill with authentic community connection, which is why her large-scale installations feel like they belong rather than like they were dropped into place.
Working at this scale in Manhattan comes with unique challenges—managing complex installations at scale, ensuring the piece reads clearly from multiple distances and angles. But there’s also something profound about creating art that becomes part of people’s daily landscape. It’s not just decoration; it becomes infrastructure.
The Bigger Picture on Public Art
This project reinforced something we’ve been thinking about: the best public art doesn’t just make spaces prettier—it makes them work better. National Endowment for the Arts research shows that adults who attend art museums or live arts events volunteer at 57–58 percent rates—nearly twice the national average of 32 percent. In short, arts engagement and civic participation go hand in hand.
From above: one 150-foot “Welcome to Hudson Yards” banner maps the plaza, pulls people together, and turns a pass-through corner into a can’t-miss meeting spot.
That matches what we observe. Public art can help people navigate (giving them landmarks that actually stick in memory), create spontaneous gathering spots, and add human warmth to environments that might otherwise feel overwhelming or anonymous.
At Hudson Yards, the mural functions as all of these things simultaneously. Visitors use it as a reference point, but they also connect with it socially, creating the kind of authentic community moments that no amount of traditional marketing can manufacture.
Why This Matters for Business
Framed by the Vessel and storefronts, the wall says “Welcome to Hudson Yards” long before visitors reach the doors.
As cities get denser and more complex, people are craving authentic connections with their built environments. They want to feel like they belong in the spaces they move through, not just pass through them efficiently.
Public art, when it’s done thoughtfully, creates those moments of belonging. An Urban Land Institute member survey found that 91 percent of real-estate professionals believe integrating arts and culture directly adds value to development projects.
High above Hudson Yards, the 150-foot banner stands out, turning a once-blank curve into an unmistakable landmark.
When people connect emotionally with a space, they naturally spend more time there, support local businesses, and become advocates who share their positive experiences. That emotional participation translates into measurable outcomes: increased dwell time, stronger community ties, higher property values, and the kind of organic word-of-mouth that builds lasting neighborhood identity.
At Hudson Yards, we’re watching this shift happen in real time. What started as an underutilized wall has become a destination that supports broader business objectives while creating genuine community value.
The evidence is clear that public art creates measurable value. The real question is whether we’re ready to approach it strategically, treating it as the community infrastructure and business asset it actually is.
Ready to explore what’s possible for your own space? Sometimes the most transformative conversations start with the simplest questions.
