Making Midtown

" Making Midtown: A Vision for a 21st Century Garment Distric in New York City provides a roadmap for revitalizing the Garment District with fashion design and manufacturing at its core. The recommendations outlined in this publication also establish a model for New York and other cities to create a new kind of urban creative district -- one that leverages, rather than replaces, a given neighborhood's existing resources to create real estate value, support jobs, and capture a distinct neighborhood identity and character. This publication synthesizes more than three years of work which documented the Garment District's built environment, real estate dynamics, and fashion industry activities: engaged scores of Garment District stakeholders to identify priorities and build consensus around shared goals; and developed a new model for integrating manufacturing into a densely developed, mixed-use creative district. The team of Design Trust Project Fellows - including architects, urban designers and economic development consultants - developed the final recommendations in three key areas: 1. Promote locally designed and produced clothes 2. Improve the Garment District's public realm 3. Sustain a diverse mix of uses in the District, including garment district manufacturing."