With Earth Day just around the corner on April 22, we are looking at the best luxury residential developments that focus on green amenities and urban farming.
Staten Island Urby – 5,000SF urban farm
Urby aims to inspire and deepen the very nature of apartment living by applying the personal approach associated with boutique hotel hospitality and design to the residential experience. Inside and out, fresh design maximizes space and light, while in-house culture teams host get-togethers to spark interaction, creativity and good times among neighbors.
Located on the North Shore waterfront, Staten Island Urby is one of the largest new construction developments in Staten Island with 571 apartments and 35,000 square feet of commercial space.
Among Urby’s various collective spaces, which are designated for get-togethers among neighbors, is the 5,000-square foot Rabbit’s Garden, an urban farm with a variety of vegetables, herbs, microgreens, and flowers for CSA members and wholesale clients, accompanied by picnic tables for shared dining.
Managed by the farmer-in-residence Olivia Gamber, produce from the farm is used by the residents, purchased from the restaurants at Staten Island Urby to incorporate into seasonal dishes, served in the Urby Kitchen and sold at a weekly farmer’s market. Residents are welcome to help grow their own herbs and vegetables and are able to participate in tending to the farm.
Waterline Square – indoor gardening studio

Developed by GID Development Group, Waterline Square is a five-acre, three-tower luxury residential mega-development that has been designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and Associates, Rafael Viñoly Architects, and Richard Meier and Partners Architects. Located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the development features 263 condominium residences with access to more than 100,000 square feet of best-in-class sports, leisure, and lifestyle amenities that has been designed by Rockwell Group. The Waterline Club, which connects all three buildings, includes an indoor gardening studio with individual tower gardens for residents to cultivate. From flowers to seasonal vegetables and more, residents can grow plants year-round.
Greenwich West – Living Green Wall
Greenwich West, with 170 loft-style condominium residences, is one of the tallest new buildings in Manhattan’s Hudson Square neighborhood. Located at 110 Charlton Street, Greenwich West rises 290 feet tall on New York’s westside skyline and provides unprecedented views of the Hudson River, New York Harbor and Statue of Liberty. Designed by acclaimed French architecture firm, Loci Anima, with interiors by Parisian designer Sebastien Segers, the tower brings an elegant sensibility to the nexus of one of Manhattan’s most desirable neighborhoods.
Amongst the several detailed design elements at Hudson Square’s hottest new residential building is an Earth Day friendly Viewing Garden designed by legendary French botanist, Patrick Blanc, who is also known as the creator of the vertical garden. The Viewing Garden, also known as a green wall, is situated in the building’s courtyard reaching nearly 18 feet tall and 38.6 feet wide. Serving as a symbol of health and well-being, the garden showcases 99 artfully planted species creating a total of total of 102 bulbs in the design. A captivating wall of windows framing the double-height lobby provides residents with additional views of the Viewing Garden from inside the building.
One Manhattan Square – largest private outdoor gardens in NYC
The largest private outdoor gardens in New York City are at Extell Development’s One Manhattan Square. This modern glass residential tower will have over an acre of exterior garden space designed by West 8.
Inspired by squares, parks and urban sanctuaries around the world, West 8 thoughtfully engineered a range of meaningful garden retreats for residents to relax, work, socialize and play at this vertical village boasting more landscaped areas than any other development in New York. Topiary gardens accessed via a sumac meander will spiral the tower’s base providing residents with countless ways to explore private birch gardens, social courtyards, and relaxation spaces.
One Manhattan Square’s gardens feature both active and peaceful spaces including outdoor grilling and dining areas, ping-pong tables, a putting green, children’s playground, romantic fire pits, an adult tree house, tea pavilion, and stargazing observatory. In total, the building will have over 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities.
Arbor 18 – the borough’s “healthiest” new development
Arbor 18, a new luxury project and urban sanctuary in Brooklyn designed to help restore residents’ focus and energy levels after spending all day in the city.
Dubbed as the borough’s “healthiest” new development, the property is teeming with plant life as well as spa-like amenities to inspire a balanced and tranquil lifestyle.
Residents can enjoy a curated arboretum on the ground floor, a private Zen garden overlooking the lobby and a roof deck that seamlessly blends into the surrounding treetops of Prospect Park. These spaces are prime for meditation and invite residents to connect with nature on a daily basis. There is a state-of-the-art fitness center with a yoga studio, a dedicated meditation room and an infrared sauna also promoting wellness for stressed-out city dwellers.
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