The High Line has quickly become one of the most beloved and iconic public spaces in New York City. As anyone who has visited the site can attest, it’s always thronged with people: New Yorkers, out-of-towners, foreign tourists, you name it. It manages to seamlessly combine the incessant hum of the city itself with the peace and tranquility of a much larger public park. Even developers love the site as adjoining spaces are attracting starchitect design talent and fetching ridiculous prices on the housing market.

Everyone now has cause to rejoice anew as the third and final stage of the High Line project is now underway. Known as the High Line at the Rail Yards, this last section will go from W. 30th to W. 34th streets in a large arc around the rail yards, ending in an abutment of the West Side Highway. The official groundbreaking for this stage of the project was on Thursday, September 20th and this section will be open to the public the first two weekends of October for those who have registered.

The final stage is scheduled to be completed sometime in 2014 and with the High Line being such a renowned success, who knows what similar projects will follow it. That particular area of the city has been a hotbed of development contention for years with plans having been proposed for an Olympic stadium, the Moynihan station expansion of Penn Station, the current extension of the 7 train, and myriad other projects. The completion of the High Line will be a small but significant step in the right direction for the revitalization of the area.

Image: thehighline.org