The New York Seaport’s re-built Tin Building will be an e-commerce platform
The center of New York’s historic—and now defunct—Fulton Fish Market was the Tin Building in the South Street Seaport, where boats and trucks dropped off tons of fish to be weighed and filleted.
In 2018, the Howard Hughes Corporation began replacing it with a new-construction replica (replete with 92 salvaged elements of the original) destined to become a 53,000-sq.-ft. fresh food market run by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
An historic pandemic further delayed the debut of the new Tin Building, but now HHC has announced its 21st Century role in the city will be as an e-commerce and logistics facility for Vongerichten’s market. Setting the building up will be Nathanial Milner, who spent the last two decades developing digital food channels for Whole Foods, Amazon, and Grubhub.
“I am thrilled for the opportunity to to develop best-in-class last-mile logistics and unparalleled customer trust at the new Tin Building," said Milner, who joins HHC as VP of e-commerce and logistics. “We want to provide visitors to the new marketplace with the best-focused customer experience, whether they’re ordering online or dining in person at the Seaport."
HHC’s new CEO David O'Reilly, who helped author a “2019 Transformation Plan” for the company, expects technology and logistics to play larger roles in the new retail era.
"We are constantly exploring new ways to provide our customers with high-quality, state-of-the-art experiences, and technology is a key piece of the equation," O'Reilly said.