Jeffrey Kalinsky, Nicholas Kirkwood Welcome the Whitney Museum’s Move Downtown

Footwear retailers in the Meatpacking District are upbeat about next week’s much-buzzed-about opening of the Whitney Museum, which is relocating downtown from its longtime Upper East Side home.

Celebrated architect Renzo Piano designed the 200,000-sq.-ft.-space, which is situated between the High Line and the Hudson River.

“I am so excited about the Whitney being our newest neighbor,” said Jeffrey Kalinsky, founder of Jeffrey New York and a retail pioneer in the Meatpacking District.

Designer Nicholas Kirkwood, whose New York boutique is close to the museum on Washington Street, is also eagerly anticipating the opening and its impact on the area.

“There is huge excitement for what the Whitney is doing with its move downtown — the scale of the new space, the facilities and opportunities it will bring to artists and, of course, the impact on the neighborhood itself, with its proximity to and connecting of the Highline and the Chelsea galleries,” he said.

“The Whitney’s relocation also says a lot about what it means for its future — to immerse itself in the vibrancy of downtown NY and the approach that this part of the city has to contemporary art and architecture. Meatpacking is already such a dynamic location, but the opening of the Whitney will really cement downtown Manhattan as a cultural hotspot,” he added. “We expect a great crowd of new people to the area.”

Other major fashion players that have presence in the Meatpacking District include Diane von Furstenberg, whose headquarters and flagship is there, as well as Tory Burch and Scoop.