High Line, New York -- Background

 * 1980 - last train runs on high line and adjacent property owners lobby for demolition
 * 1999 - Friends of the High Line formed as non-profit advocacy group, propelled issue into public view and advocated for 
   preservation of structure as public open space 
 * West Chelsea transformed by influx of art galleries escaping SoHo's high rents   
 * New zoning district -- 
     * Priorities:  preserve and transform, create new housing, protect art gallery district  
     * Allows owners of the land underneath to capitalize on their property through a transfer of floor area to "receiving sites" 
       where new residential and mixed use development is not permitted on land previously zoned for manufacturing
     * More than 100 public meetings were held with public and civic organizations to obtain input and gain support for the plan.  
 * 2000's - "Reclaiming the High Line" study, design competition, successful rail banking
 * 2006 - Groundbreaking on Phase 1
 * 2009 - High Line opens to the public