New York is notorious for merging neighborhoods to create new ones, but what about a district within a district? Get ready for the addition of another district within Manhattan’s Financial District. Formerly known as the World Financial Center is Brookfield Place, which will be home to Le District, a 37,000 square foot French cuisine empire. The marketplace will be divided into four zones in order to cater to the every French-food desire that New Yorkers may have.
The restaurant section of Le District will host two full-service sit down restaurants that overlook the North Cove Yacht Club boasting views of the Hudson River. While plans for Le Districts restaurants are still underway, Brookfield Place is also building an additional five restaurants unassociated with the French food emporium. The other zones of Le District include an area with traditional patisseries and cafés, a traditional French marketplace and a “garden” where one can purchase anything from prepared food to a bouquet of flowers. This impressive new development is projected to open in phases between November of this year through March 2015.
Often compared to the Flatiron District’s Italian marketplace, Eataly, the 2,000-seat Le District is set to draw in over $120 million in sales in its first year, according to the New York Post. If the success of the marketplace goes as planned – it will ensure the projected outcome…$250 million. The Flatiron District’s growing population will also help boost revenue, as it has nearly doubled between 2001 and 2009 with roughly 33,000 new residents, according to the NY Times.
With two floors of dining options, some serious management is going to be necessary. Luckily, Peter Poulakakos and Paul Lamas from HPH restaurant group have everything under control. This team has plenty of experience in the NYC dining scene, with several restaurants under their belts including Harry’s Italian and another 450-seat project coming soon to Battery Park City. Poulakakos and Lamas have also brought Jordi Vallés, a chef from Barcelona, in on Le District to help them create the best possible dining scene the Financial District has to offer.