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yankeesfan1000

Aug 7, 2010 4:05 PM

First post, anyways saw this a few days ago, and looked for this update but didn't see it. From the WSJ.

http://secondavenuesagas.com/wp-cont...sRendering.jpg
(Full article on page 11 - post 213)

SkyscrapersOfNewYork

Aug 20, 2010 3:50 AM

Quote:

Extell loses West Side development to Barclays

(The Real Deal) -- Extell Development lost a major West Side development site it assembled for at least $44 million to its lender last week. This may be the first time ever that Extell, one of the city's most prominent builders, has lost a property through a deed in lieu of foreclosure. Gary Barnett's Extell gave up the parcel near Hudson Yards at 356-366 10th Avenue, priced just over the first mortgage value of $28.8 million, to its lender Barclays Capital Real Estate. Extell turned over the site, between 30th and 31st streets, to Barclays Aug. 11 after an unidentified European partner refused to keep funding the project.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...ATE/100819846#

NYguy

Aug 20, 2010 2:43 PM

^ Yeah, I noticed that also, though I thought Extell had given up the site previously. The thread for that proposed tower was recently moved into never built, where it will rest for eternity...:angel:

SkyscrapersOfNewYork

Aug 21, 2010 4:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYguy (Post 4954014)

so in your opinion can we expect a supertall or not?

NYguy

Aug 21, 2010 4:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork (Post 4954852)

so in your opinion can we expect a supertall or not?

There was never a supertall proposed there, and I wouldn't expect one with the zoning and the site being what it is. Here's the original thread...
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=131931

SkyscrapersOfNewYork

Aug 21, 2010 5:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYguy (Post 4954888)

o that site! for some reason i mixed it up with the WPC :haha:

NYguy

Sep 1, 2010 1:40 AM

http://www.observer.com/2010/politic...ide-rail-yards

Related Cos. Moves Closer to Paying Rent on West Side Rail Yards

By Eliot Brown
August 31, 2010

Quote:

One down, two to go.

The Related Cos. is a bit closer to paying rent on the West Side rail yards—valued at about $1 billion over the course of its 99-year lease with the M.T.A.

The commercial Architecture Billings Index has, for three months now, been slightly over 50 (it was 50.4 in July). Scores above 50 mean that billings increased month-over-month. Based on Related's deal with the M.T.A. for the development rights on the 26-acre site, Related must close on the deal and begin paying rent once three economic triggers are hit: the ABI must reach at least 50; the midtown office availability rate must be at or below 11 percent; and the average Manhattan co-op and condo sales price must pass $1,200 per square foot (this last trigger is slightly more complex).

Of course, all of these must be triggered at the same time, and, given the volatility of the economy, the ABI could fall below 50 once again.

As for the other indicators, there's a bit of breathing room for Related: CB Richard Ellis put the midtown availability rate for August at 13.5 percent (it's on the way down—it was 15.2 percent a year earlier), and Miller Samuel put the average Manhattan co-op and condos sales price for the second quarter of the year at $1,051 a foot.

SkyscrapersOfNewYork

Sep 1, 2010 10:38 PM

Quote:

Bloomberg Deputy's Legacy, From Yankee Stadium To Hudson Yards

Hudson Yards
The Plan: Doctoroff first concocted plans for a redevelopment of the airspace above and land surrounding the rail yards west of Penn Station in 1999, when he was still running NYC2012. The plan for a combined Jets and Olympic stadium fell apart after state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, using his veto power as a member of the Public Authorities Control Board, blocked it in June 2005. But rezoning of the site lived on, as did a city-funded $2.1 billion project to extend the 7 train to 33rd Street and 11th Avenue.
What Happened: The 7 extension is on schedule to open in 2013, but for now it will still lead riders to a giant hole in the ground because the above-ground redevelopment is in limbo. After several years of disarray—original developer Tishman Speyer and anchor tenant Goldman Sachs both dropped out—this May the Related Companies, run by Doctoroff's old real estate business partner Stephen Ross, signed a 99-year lease with the MTA for the 26-acre railyard site for $1 billion, though it won't have to pay up (or begin construction) until the real estate market improves. (Running the project for Ross: Jay Cross, formerly in charge of the Jets' stadium push.) The city, meanwhile, has run through most of the payments by real estate developers slated to pay for the subway line and other infrastructure, and is facing nearly $100 million a year in debt payments on the project starting in 2011.

http://www.citylimits.org/news/artic...o-hudson-yards

petes334

Sep 2, 2010 9:17 PM

Those are some great pics. Thanks for the link also.

Mr. Lion

Sep 7, 2010 1:58 AM

can someone explain to me exactly what the situation is (what plan, status, ect.)

Obey	Sep 7, 2010 3:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Lion (Post 4972467)

can someone explain to me exactly what the situation is (what plan, status, ect.)

This has to be one of the most confusing projects to me. I would also love an explanation/status. :shrug:

NYguy

Sep 7, 2010 4:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obey (Post 4972955)

This has to be one of the most confusing projects to me. I would also love an explanation/status. :shrug:

Keep in mind that this thread isn't just about the railyard development, but the entire Hudson Yards redevelopment (see page 1). As far as the railyard development goes, there are two halfs. When the Hudson Yards rezoning was approved by City Planning and the Council a few years ago, it was assumed a new Jets stadium would be standing on the western half of the railyards. Obviously that's not going to be the case, so that half was rezoned to fit in with the master plan that Related has for the site.

Here's the EIS for the Hudson Yards as approved (2005):
http://nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/hyards/eis.shtml

And the Western yards addition...
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/cpc/090433.pdf

As far as any actual design goes, it's a blank slate. Related has a 100 (or so) year lease of the Yards, but won't actually have to start paying until the economy improves. There are three marks to meet for the payments to kick in, and one has recently been met.

Obey	Sep 7, 2010 4:44 PM

:previous: Thank you so much and yes I remeber the whole Jets Stadium thing. It is all coming together yes.

thelanetrain17

Oct 9, 2010 3:28 AM

does anyone know if there are going to be any supertalls in this huge project?

SkyscrapersOfNewYork

Oct 9, 2010 3:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelanetrain17 (Post 5009901)

does anyone know if there are going to be any supertalls in this huge project?

a few actually

thelanetrain17

Oct 12, 2010 8:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yankeesfan1000 (Post 4938969)

First post, anyways saw this a few days ago, and looked for this update but didn't see it. From the WSJ.

http://secondavenuesagas.com/wp-cont...sRendering.jpg
(Full article on page 11 - post 213)

i dont see any supertalls. haha but i might be wrong.

SkyscrapersOfNewYork

Oct 12, 2010 9:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelanetrain17 (Post 5013257)

i dont see any supertalls. haha but i might be wrong.

NYguy

Oct 13, 2010 12:19 AM

Beyond the railyards, there are also a number of other planned supertalls in the Hudson Yards, a couple being the Girasole and Sherwood's potential office building. Extell's former World Product Center will also be developed with a similarly large project.

SkyscrapersOfNewYork

Oct 13, 2010 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYguy (Post 5013493)

any news on the WPC site? all the drilling has stopped recently

NYguy

Oct 13, 2010 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork (Post 5013495)

any news on the WPC site? all the drilling has stopped recently

That site has been cleared for a while now, and work going on there has to do with the subway station that is scheduled to open in 2013. Extell own's the site which is zoned for a large commercial skyscraper.

SkyscrapersOfNewYork

Nov 3, 2010 12:21 AM

tear it down, lets build...

http://a.abcnews.com/assets/images/spacer.gif

Quote:

Magic-Knicks Postponed for MSG Safety Concerns

The Orlando Magic-New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden was postponed Tuesday because of safety concerns after debris fell into the arena during overnight cleaning of asbestos-related materials.

Saying it was using "an abundance of caution," MSG released a statement saying it consulted with the NBA and decided to postpone the game, and wouldn't reopen the building until it was assured the arena was safe.

A spokesman for New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, Farrell Sklerov, said the agency's inspectors were on the scene and had determined that no asbestos had been released.

Garden officials, he said, apparently became concerned after two air quality monitoring stations set up in the arena seating area were triggered while a crew was clearing debris from the building's attic.

Subsequent testing, however, revealed that the dust particles that set off the alarm didn't contain asbestos fibers. The material is only dangerous if it is damaged, produces airborne dust and is inhaled.

The work was done by maintenance staff in the attic above the ceiling following the New York Rangers' game and prevented workers from laying down the Knicks' hardwood floor. The ice surface was still down as of Tuesday afternoon.

In its statement, MSG said it would work with the city and independent experts ATC Associates and GCI Environmental Advisory to determine the next steps.

"As the safety of our customers and employees are our top priority, we will not reopen the Garden until we are absolutely assured the arena is safe," the statement said.

ATC and GCI did not immediately respond to messages left by The Associated Press.

No makeup date for the Magic-Knicks game has been announced. MSG said it would provide information about future events once they have been determined. The Knicks are scheduled to play at home against Washington on Friday. The arena will host Roger Waters: The Wall Live on Saturday, and the Knicks and Rangers will play a doubleheader Sunday.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=12034844

NYguy

Nov 3, 2010 3:56 PM

http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/the-aging-apple

The aging apple
Older office stock, little commercial construction puts NYC behind global competitors when it comes to new office space

http://s3.amazonaws.com/trd_three/im...shmanchart.jpg

November 01, 2010
By Peter Kiefer

Quote:

With a rapidly aging pool of commercial towers, New York has fallen behind dozens of other international cities, which are adding state-of-the-art office space to their building stock at far faster rates than the Big Apple.

Just 2.6 million square feet of office space was under construction here as of the end of June, ranking Manhattan an abysmal 34th in a list of international cities producing new, modern commercial space, according to a review by Colliers International. That number only includes 1 World Trade Center, but if 4 World Trade Center, which is also under construction now, is factored in, the number jumps to 4.9 million square feet.

Still, according to Cassidy Turley, in 2009, just two office buildings were delivered in New York: One Bryant Park and 510 Madison. So far in 2010, 11 Times Square, the Goldman Sachs tower, 41 Cooper Square, and 400-404 First Avenue have all been finished, and 450 West 14th Street is expected to be completed by the end of the year. That means by year's end, 3.73 million square feet of space will have been delivered in Manhattan.

Yet even with that combined with the more than 10 million square feet planned to come online over the next five to 10 years at the World Trade Center site, New York City is still lagging behind many of its international counterparts.

Overall, the construction of new office towers, like all construction, has been depressed in New York. That reality has some observers worried about whether New York will be able to compete globally to attract international corporate tenants.

The reasons for the lack of commercial construction are varied. For starters, the economic downturn has put a freeze on credit and the brakes on construction. In addition, while lower than they were during the boom, land and construction costs remain relatively high compared to a number of other cities -- and political red tape and bureaucracy in the city are notoriously messy.

There are projects on the drawing board, but many of them don't have shovels in the ground yet. For example, the Related Companies, which has delayed its development plans for the Hudson Yards on Manhattan's Far West Side because of the downturn, is now beginning to consider some development projects there.

At The Real Deal's annual forum last month, company president Jeff Blau said the firm won't start new construction in New York for at least 18 months, but he said there has been a "tremendous amount of corporate interest," and Related is working with several potential commercial tenants who would look to take more than 1 million square feet of space.

At present, though, both New York and London -- which have been locked in a head-to-head struggle for the title of the world's "financial capital" -- must reckon with surging cities like Shanghai, Singapore, Moscow and Sao Paulo, among others. Those cities are leaving London and New York in the dust when it comes to adding new, state-of-the-art office supply. Technology may be making the world smaller, but these other emerging cities -- hungry for their share of the global economic pie -- are only getting bigger.

"I wouldn't call it alarming yet, but it is of great concern to me. I think we live on a larger playing field than we used to," said Vishaan Chakrabarti, the head of the Real Estate Development Program at Columbia University's School of Architecture. "What I see is a leapfrogging taking place [by other cities] in terms of new buildings."

Take Shanghai, which ranked at the top of Colliers' list with 37 million square feet of office space being constructed right now -- and what research manager Colin Bogar of Colliers calls a "never-ending stream of new construction over the coming years."

In Shanghai's Pudong District alone, the city will soon have the world's second-tallest tower -- the Shanghai Tower at 2,073 feet -- which is part of a trifecta of new office buildings being built. (The two others are the 88-story Jin Mao Tower and the 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center.) All three structures are incorporating the newest in sustainability technology, like rainwater recycling systems for heating and cooling and built-in wind turbines to create on-site power. Colliers believes the market will "adequately absorb the new supply" with an office vacancy rate of around 10 to 15 percent, Bogar said.

For its part, Moscow (which ranked second in terms of building, with about 30 million square feet under construction)[/color][/b] will have the City Palace Tower, a mixed-use development with 860,000 square feet of offices due for completion in summer 2011. Meanwhile, Dubai (ranked third, with 28 million square feet under construction) is currently developing the massive Business Bay complex, which by the end of this year will have 3.6 million square feet of additional space, 7 million by the end of 2011, and 11 million by the end of 2012, though that space will likely be hard to fill. Last month, Bloomberg News reported that the overall office vacancy rate in the emirate is 40 percent.

To be fair, unlike many of these other urban centers, Manhattan has already gone through several building booms over the past 80 years.

But New York's existing pool of office space, while extremely large and enviable by most standards, poses its own set of problems. Almost 90 percent of the 450 million square feet of existing Manhattan office space was built before 1970, according to the Real Estate Board of New York. That means 40 years of environmental, technological and engineering advances were not factored into the construction of a huge portion of New York's office buildings (with the exception of office retrofitting).

This comes at a time of heightened concerns about sustainability among multinational corporations. More and more Fortune 500 companies are imposing stricter criteria for the sustainability of their corporate headquarters, looking to boost their environmental bona fides and cut operating costs by occupying state-of-the-art, LEED-certified towers.

Last year, the Bloomberg Administration passed legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing government, commercial and residential buildings in New York. When the legislation passed, the mayor's office predicted 85 percent of the existing buildings will be in use in 2030 -- a clear indication that it expects much of the current stock of office towers will be retrofitted.

Margaret Castillo -- president-elect of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and a leading proponent of retrofitting -- said New York's stock of Class A buildings are all designed well enough to be upgraded through a reexamination of their insulation, airflow, lighting, carbon dioxide monitoring and building controls. The problem, she said, is with Manhattan's Class B buildings.

Others, like Columbia's Chakrabarti, think building new towers might be more efficient.

"I do think that we have to consider a world further out where we ask what kind of zoning and tax policy do we need in place which would then make it more sensible to tear down a skyscraper and put up a new one," he said. "We can't stick our heads in the sand like ostriches."

http://s3.amazonaws.com/trd_three/im...leshanghai.jpg__http://s3.amazonaws.com/trd_three/im...pplemoscow.jpg

scalziand

Nov 3, 2010 4:16 PM

Quote:

"I do think that we have to consider a world further out where we ask what kind of zoning and tax policy do we need in place which would then make it more sensible to tear down a skyscraper and put up a new one," he said. "We can't stick our heads in the sand like ostriches."

I can think of one...

NYC4Life

Nov 3, 2010 4:47 PM

Please tear down the Garden!! I don't see what's the point spending upwards of $800 Million to renovate this dinosaur of an arena. The Garden's glory days have long passed, time for a new arena.

yankeesfan1000

Nov 3, 2010 5:22 PM

Agreed about the Garden, I mean asbestos fell onto the court a few days ago, and the game was cancelled. It's a dump.

NYguy

Nov 17, 2010 3:02 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/ny...er=rss&emc=rss

New York Studies Extending Subway Line to New Jersey

By CHARLES V. BAGLI and NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
November 16, 2010

Quote:

Ever since Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey killed an expensive plan for a new commuter rail tunnel to Manhattan, the Bloomberg administration has been working on an alternative: run the No. 7 subway train under the Hudson River.

The plan envisions the No. 7 stretching from 34th Street on the Far West Side of Manhattan to Secaucus, N.J., where there is a connection to New Jersey Transit trains. It would extend the New York City subway outside the city for the first time, giving New Jersey commuters direct access to Times Square, Grand Central Terminal and Queens, and to almost every line in the system.

Like the project scuttled by Mr. Christie, this proposed tunnel would expand a regional transportation system already operating at capacity and would double the number of trains traveling between the two states during peak hours. But it would do so at about half the cost, an estimated $5.3 billion, according to a closely guarded, four-page memorandum circulated by the city’s Hudson Yards Development Corporation.

Unlike the old project, the new plan does not require costly condemnation proceedings or extensive tunneling in Manhattan, because the city is already building a No. 7 station at 34th Street and 11th Avenue, roughly one block from the waterfront. In July, a massive 110-ton tunnel boring machine completed drilling for the city’s $2.1 billion extension of the No. 7 line from Times Square to the new station.

Still, the proposal faces a number of daunting political, financial and logistical hurdles in an era of diminishing public resources. Mr. Christie, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Governor-elect Andrew M. Cuomo of New York would have to agree to make the tunnel a high priority and work in lock step to obtain the city, state and federal funds needed to make it happen.

“Extending the 7 line to New Jersey could address many of the region’s transportation capacity issues at a fraction of the original tunnel’s cost, but the idea is still in its earliest stages,” said Andrew Brent, a spokesman for the deputy mayor for economic development, Robert K. Steel. “Like others, we’re looking at — and open to discussing — any creative, fiscally responsible alternatives.”

Mr. Christie had not yet received a formal briefing on the idea, but his office said it was curious to hear more.

“We’ve been open to ideas for solving the trans-Hudson dilemma, ideas that are affordable and fair amongst the interested jurisdictions,” said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Mr. Christie.

Last month, Mr. Christie, a Republican, put an end to the long-planned Hudson rail tunnel project after the estimated cost climbed to at least $11 billion, from an initial $8.7 billion. The project would have created two new tracks for New Jersey Transit from Secaucus to a new station deep under 34th Street, near Pennsylvania Station. The federal Transportation Department had pledged $3 billion, as had the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. But New Jersey was responsible for the rest of the money.

The federal transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, described Mr. Christie’s decision as “a devastating blow to thousands of workers, millions of commuters and the state’s economic future.”

The two sides are now wrangling over Mr. LaHood’s demand that New Jersey repay $271 million the federal government has spent on the project.

City officials had initially hoped that they could recapture the $3 billion pledged by the federal government, but that no longer seems possible, and the project will most likely have to compete with others around the country for the money. A spokesman for Mr. LaHood declined to comment on the proposal on Tuesday.

Another obstacle is the lengthy environmental review required of such projects, but officials are hoping to be able to use much of the work already done for the tunnel that was killed.

And it is unclear whether New Jersey is willing to redirect to the No. 7 train project the money it had originally intended for the tunnel plan, which was known as Access to the Region’s Core, or ARC. “The issue again will come down to, what will Governor Christie say,” said Jeffrey M. Zupan, senior fellow for transportation of the Regional Plan Association.

It is very likely that the Port Authority would have to be involved, since it has condemnation powers in both New York and New Jersey, unlike the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the city’s subways.

Lawrence S. Schwartz, the top aide to Gov. David A. Paterson, said Tuesday that the Bloomberg administration had not yet formally presented the plan to Mr. Paterson but that similar ideas had been discussed in the past. The governor, Mr. Schwartz said, was “intrigued” by the broad outlines of the administration’s plan and looked forward to hearing more details.

“Getting cars off the road, reducing congestion and providing another access point for commuters between New York and New Jersey is going to benefit the region from a job-creation and development standpoint,” Mr. Schwartz said.

A spokesman for Mr. Cuomo said that the proposal had recently been circulated to the governor-elect’s transition team but that there had been no high-level discussions so far.

Aside from relieving congestion on the rails, the proposal also would benefit New York’s real estate industry, because it would include an $800 million subway station at 10th Avenue and 42nd Street, an area with limited public transportation and a number of new residential towers. The station was part of the Bloomberg administration’s plan for the No. 7 extension, but was cut to trim costs.

And the project would almost certainly serve as a boon for the planned $15 billion Hudson Yards residential and office development, to be built on platforms over the West Side railyards. That project has been stymied by the recession and an absence of demand for new residential and commercial space.

Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, expressed his support for the plan.

“This is a bold idea that must be given serious and immediate consideration,” Mr. Schumer said. “Building the ARC tunnel and extending the 7 line for a second stop are both critical to growing the New York economy for the coming decades, and I will fight to deliver any available federal funds to make that happen.”

At a reception in Manhattan on Monday night, Stephen M. Ross, chief executive of Related Companies and the developer for the Hudson Yards project, spoke to Mr. LaHood enthusiastically about the idea of running the No. 7 to New Jersey.

“I think it’s a great idea and it could save a ton of money,” Mr. Ross said Tuesday.

Busy Bee

Nov 17, 2010 3:50 AM

Woah. Now this would be something.

NOPA	Nov 17, 2010 6:02 AM

So if they did extend the 7 into New Jersey the station at 10th and 42nd would be back on? I would love to see this happen.

NYC2ATX

Nov 17, 2010 6:22 AM

WOW. That was really unexpected...it'd be incredibly interesting, and to have the 10th Ave station. Truly and intriguingly fantastic. :rolleyes:

NYguy

Nov 17, 2010 2:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busy Bee (Post 5058205)

Woah. Now this would be something.

It would change the dynamics of mass transit in the area. For one thing, Jersey commuters could catch a train in Jersey directly to Grand Central and the east side, as well as the redeveloped west side. Suddenly the 7 line extension could be more than it was planned to be. If they're not going to go forward with ARC - and at this point they aren't - it would be a good deal if they could work this out.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/l...50CremjgaK17HO
Let 7 train go to NJ: Mike

By TOM NAMAKO
November 17, 2010

Quote:

Mayor Bloomberg wants to extend the No. 7 train into New Jersey -- the first time any New York subway train would leave city limits.

The mayor's plan would continue the subway line from its stop at 34th Street and 11th Avenue, which is still under construction, to Secaucus, NJ, where it would connect to every New Jersey Transit suburban line.

"Like others, we're looking at -- and open to discussing -- creative, fiscally responsible alternatives," Andrew Brent, a spokesman for Deputy Mayor Robert Steel, said last night.

The idea, which is still in a very preliminary stage, would be to use the partially built tunnel that would have brought Amtrak and NJ Transit trains to Penn Station before New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie killed it, citing potential cost overruns.

The feds and Port Authority had each committed $3 billion to the original project, and that money could go toward funding the No. 7 extension.

"Extending the 7 line to New Jersey could address many of the region's transportation-capacity issues at a fraction of the original tunnel's cost," Brent said.

The estimated cost would be $5.3 billion -- about half that of the original plan, sources said.

The West 34th Street station is slated to open in December 2013.

thelanetrain17

Nov 17, 2010 5:22 PM

thats a great idea! Yet I think it will take longer then 3 yrs to build a subway train to New Jersey.

NYguy

Nov 18, 2010 5:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelanetrain17 (Post 5058857)

thats a great idea! Yet I think it will take longer then 3 yrs to build a subway train to New Jersey.

I think you misread. The west side station is what's supposed to open in 3 years.

http://www.observer.com/2010/real-es...-stop-secaucus
They Can't Even Afford a Second Manhattan Station, But Now the 7-Train Will Stop in Secaucus?

By Matt Chaban
November 17, 2010

Quote:

Westward, ho... after all!

In the confusion following the disappearance of the ARC Tunnel last month, the biggest question seemed to be what would happen to the $3 billion the federal government had set aside for the trans-Hudson train tunnel, by certain measures the largest transportation project ever undertaken. Local politicians, including Mayor Bloomberg as well as the outgoing and incoming governors of New York were desperate to keep the money in the metro area, and it seems the city has cooked up a way to do just that: extend the 7-Train under the Hudson to New Jersey.

This may sound crazy, but it also makes a bit of sense, as WNYC's Andrea Bernstein pointed out when she broke the news on the project:

Unlike the ARC tunnel, an extension of the number 7 would start at 11th Avenue and go west, avoiding the costly proposition of boring a tunnel under Manhattan to Herald Square. It would also instantly take riders to Grand Central station, a holy grail of the ARC project. But it would not necessarily have the same capacity as the ARC, because trains wouldn't be arriving on several Manahttan platforms, as commuter trains do, but not subways. And New Jersey transit riders, who were projected to save an average of 45 minutes on their commute times to Manhattan, would have to switch trains, potentially eliminating much of that time savings.

Well, they can thank New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for that, the man responsible for killing the ARC Tunnel—arguably on political grounds.

Because of its planned path, the new tunnel is projected to cost $5.3 billion, compared to its predecessor's initial estimate of $8.7 billion—though that amount was later projected to be as high as $10 billion to $15 billion. Furthermore, as The Times reports, the project would hopefully provide enough money for the highly sought-after 10th Avenue stop on the 7-Train extension, an effort that was recently left for dead.

Still, the Bloomberg administration cautions that these plans are beyond tentative—that sounds familiar—with the Times making mention of a four-page draft, which sounds more like a napkin sketch than a set of blueprints. After all, public approvals alone could take years. And while even Governor Christie said he was interested in the plan, he, and everyone outside of City Hall, said this was the first they had heard of it. The Times is even reporting now that no one at the MTA even knew about the proposal until it leaked out yesterday.

Has the train already left the station, or is it just building steam?

• Video Link

NYguy

Nov 18, 2010 7:23 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/ny...l?ref=nyregion

Extend a Subway Line Under the Hudson? For Two Men, It’s Hardly a New Idea

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...NEL1-popup.jpg
Steve Lanset, shown here, and Ralph Braskett had the idea of a subway extension five years ago.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...NEL2-popup.jpg
The map drawn by Steve Lanset and Ralph Braskett showing their plan for an extension of the No. 7 subway line to Secaucus.

By PATRICK McGEEHAN
November 17, 2010

Quote:

Steve Lanset said he was “totally blown away” when he read on his computer on Tuesday night that New York City officials were thinking of extending a subway line to New Jersey.

Mr. Lanset, who lives in Jersey City, liked the idea. Indeed, he has liked it for, oh, about five years, since he helped create a Web site dedicated to it — SubwaytoSecaucus.com. But judging by the response to that site, few people warmed up to the idea.

“It didn’t seem to have the wildfire effect that we had hoped,” Mr. Lanset said Wednesday.

His collaborator, Ralph Braskett, said he had received a lot of “abuse” and very little praise for promoting a subway stop alongside the New Jersey Turnpike.

Thus, the two men were more than a little surprised to learn that stretching the No. 7 line westward to Secaucus was gaining traction at City Hall.

After a plan for a commuter-train tunnel under the Hudson River was scrapped, some developers have convinced city officials that a subway extension could be the next best solution. They estimated it could double the capacity for commuters into the city at about half the price of the rail tunnel, which Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said would cost billions of dollars more than his state could afford.

On Wednesday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg attributed the idea to recent “thinking totally out of the box” by Robert Steel, his new deputy mayor for economic development.

Neither Mr. Braskett nor Mr. Lanset had any expertise in transit planning when they first broached the idea. Neither is even a commuter anymore. They simply believed there was a better, less costly way to ease the crush on trains and buses between New Jersey and Manhattan, they said.

Mr. Braskett, an actuary who works from his home in Plainfield, N.J., said he thought the rail-tunnel plan was seriously flawed because it did not deliver commuters directly to any subway line, another train station or to the East Side of Manhattan. Having lived in Brooklyn for more than 20 years, he said, he knew enough about the subway to recognize its potential for carrying people under the Hudson, if only officials on both sides of the river could work together.

He proposed the idea at a public hearing on the rail tunnel, and he and Mr. Lanset wrote an essay in The Record newspaper in Bergen County in February 2006 that made the case for the subway to Secaucus. It did not reroute the debate.

“We were not greeted with open arms and great enthusiasm over this idea,” said Mr. Lanset, who recently left a longtime job as a programmer for an investment bank in Manhattan.

Mr. Braskett described the response as less charitable. “I received abuse from N.J. Transit, I received abuse from the rail nuts,” he recalled, referring to ardent fans of train service. “They’d tell me I’m crazy.”

New Jersey Transit officials had considered a subway extension about 10 years ago, but dropped the idea because, they said, it would not provide as much “passenger convenience and time savings” as a rail tunnel and it would not adequately reduce congestion in existing rail tunnels or at Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan. New Jersey Transit representatives declined to comment about the revival of the idea.

The concept was buried so deeply that even the Sierra Club of New Jersey did not have a view on it, though Mr. Lanset is the group’s transportation issues coordinator.

Jeff Tittel, the spokesman for the club, said: “There have been people within the Sierra Club for 15 years talking about it. It just seemed to make common sense.”

While no officials or transportation planners contacted Mr. Braskett or Mr. Lanset about the idea, Mr. Braskett said he had a hunch that the new plan had borrowed from his older one. “We said it would take half the money and half the time” as building the rail tunnel, he said, noting that city officials were making a similar claim.

But even if the discussion at City Hall never leads to the first extension of a subway line beyond the city’s boundaries, Mr. Lanset and Mr. Braskett were feeling on Wednesday as though their advocacy had not been wasted.

“I certainly felt some validation and vindication,” Mr. Lanset said.

Busy Bee

Nov 18, 2010 3:15 PM

Don't Stop Believin'

NYguy

Nov 19, 2010 2:30 PM

LOL

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/ny...1&ref=nyregion
Extending a Subway Line, Linking 2 Worlds

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The Secaucus Junction station is a main transfer point for several New Jersey Transit lines going into Manhattan.
A new plan could push the No. 7 subway line into Secaucus.

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Commuters at the Flushing-Main Street station, the end of the No. 7 line in Queens.

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A train in Secaucus, heading to New York City.

By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS
November 18, 2010

Quote:

At the corner of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, where the No. 7 train terminates in Flushing, Queens, a barrage of people chat in dozens of languages, jostling for space on the sidewalk. Steps from the subway is an international smorgasbord of restaurants and shops, most splashed with Chinese characters and Korean lettering.

At the Secaucus Junction station, next to the New Jersey Turnpike, there are lots of tall, tan and fluffy plants called cattails. There is also a Dunkin’ Donuts, a yet-to-open Italian fast-food restaurant and a parking lot that offers valet service.

These two very different places might one day be knitted together by a single rumbling artery: the No. 7 subway line.

The Bloomberg administration is considering a plan to extend the line under the Hudson River and into New Jersey to get more cars off the road and improve public transit options for commuters. The idea has become an intriguing Plan B after Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey scuttled a plan to dig a new commuter railroad under the river.

“Sounds like a great idea to me if you live in New Jersey,” said Vincent Chin, 26, who lives in Queens. But would he ever envision riding the subway all the way to the other side?

“No,” he said with a little chuckle, as he headed for the platform at the Flushing-Main Street station on Thursday. “Not at all.”

At the other end of the hypothetical line, Jennifer Laddy passes through the Secaucus Junction Station between her home in Bergen County, N.J., and her sales job in New York City.

“It’s a nice, clean station,” she said, standing on the platform on Thursday, wrapped in a camel-colored coat. “I thought I would hate taking the train in, and it’s not bad at all.”

Then she was asked something she clearly did not expect: Had she ever ventured outside the station to sample the surrounding amenities, perhaps when there was an inordinate train delay?

Ms. Laddy stared for a moment and then burst into a great belly laugh.

“That’s a good one!” she said. “I’d rather go to Flushing.”

The Flushing station is a grimy, crowded subway stop that has been around for about 70 years and handles an average of 57,753 trips through its turnstiles every weekday in an exercise that closely resembles a subterranean running of the bulls, but performed on stairways.

Secaucus Junction, which saw about 19,360 trips each weekday this spring, is a young station, less than 10 years old, that can best be characterized as civilized. It has a soaring central atrium that floods the sand-colored terminal with natural light. Its official name is the Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station at Secaucus Junction, named for the longtime Democratic senator who was the station’s patron and whose name is emblazoned in enormous lettering inside and outside.

The station is a main transfer point for several New Jersey Transit lines, with trains from throughout the state feeding passengers into Manhattan.

Still, during the morning rush, there is plenty of room to spread out, trot for a coming train or even sit on one of the wooden benches that surround a giant, shimmering sculpture of a cattail made of steel and glass.

Even the bathrooms are clean.

There are, however, some drawbacks.

“It’s a little smelly,” said Simone Salmon, 45, who commutes to her job at a New York City law firm each day through Secaucus Junction, and stood on the platform Thursday crinkling her nose in displeasure. “And in the summertime, it gets worse.”

As it happens, the station was built on a swamp.

“It smells like cat pee,” said Josh Warshofsky, 27, who was sitting in the atrium on Thursday. “And there are times when I miss trains here, and there is nothing — nothing! — to do.”

Besides the doughnut shop, the station offers a bar and a newsstand. Despite the Secaucus in its name, reaching the commercial heart of the town would require a suicidal dash across a major interstate highway.

“They first brought me out to Secaucus before the building was up,” said Cork Marcheschi, an artist from San Francisco who created the sculpture. He added, “They took me out to the site and showed me all these drawings, but basically what I’m really left with is a swamp.”

Back in Flushing, a motorman preparing to leave the station made his feelings clear about possibly crossing state lines.

“No way,” said the motorman, who refused to give his name and who quickly started up the train and pulled it out of the station. “Though I do go to Atlantic City all the time.”

NYC4Life

Nov 20, 2010 7:48 PM

How about extending it a bit west to East Rutherford and the new Meadowlands Stadium. Sure would make it a lot easier for NYC residents to see "their" football teams.

NYguy

Nov 21, 2010 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYC4Life (Post 5063403)

How about extending it a bit west to East Rutherford and the new Meadowlands Stadium. Sure would make it a lot easier for NYC residents to see "their" football teams.

Currently you can catch a train all the way from Connecticut to the Meadowlands on game days. It really wouldn't make sense to add the extra costs to extend the subway there for the stadium. There's not a lot going on there most of the week, and the extension to Secaucus is primarily to relieve rail congestion and get more commuters into the city.

NYguy

Nov 23, 2010 2:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYC4Life (Post 5041388)

Please tear down the Garden!! I don't see what's the point spending upwards of $800 Million to renovate this dinosaur of an arena. The Garden's glory days have long passed, time for a new arena.

Just a side note, you can clearly see the work underway now at the Garden. Much of the eastern (2 Penn Plaza) side is open.

NYguy

Nov 23, 2010 2:34 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/ny...1&ref=nyregion

Christie May Aid Subway Tunnel

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 22, 2010

Quote:

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, who halted construction last month on a new commuter rail tunnel to New York City, said on Monday that he would consider using state money to help finance an extension of the No. 7 subway line under the Hudson River to Secaucus instead.

Speaking on “Ask the Governor” on Millennium Radio, Mr. Christie said the subway plan was “a much better idea” than the tunnel, which would have been the nation’s most expensive public works project.

He scrapped that project because of potential cost overruns, forfeiting $3 billion in federal money that had been approved.

Mr. Christie said he had not yet spoken with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg about the proposal. Policy makers in Mr. Bloomberg’s office have been discussing whether it would be possible to extend the line.

“This is an example of what can happen when you decide to take a strong, principled stand on something,” Mr. Christie said. “If something is necessary, people find other ideas that are more equitable.”

Mr. Christie said that among the points in its favor, the subway tunnel would be cheaper than the rail tunnel and would have financing from New York City and New York State.

RobertWalpole

Nov 30, 2010 12:17 PM

Related woos Coach
Related eyes Coach bags
Last Updated: 2:10 AM, November 30, 2010

Posted: 1:59 AM, November 30, 2010

Comments: 0 More Print Steve Cuozzo
REALTY CHECK

Stephen M. Ross's Related Cos. has a leathery catch on the line for its planned Hudson Yards development project -- New York-based luxury goods maker Coach, Inc.

Sources told us booming Coach is prowling for up to 600,000 square feet of office space on the West Side for a new corporate home. Coach has been "exchanging paper" with Related regarding Hudson Yards as well as with other landlords in the area, the sources said.

Publicly-traded Coach was founded here in 1941. Its leather bags, accessories and other products are sold at 400 stores in the US and Canada, including eight in Manhattan. But few shoppers know that Coach is also a big office-space user.

The company owns its 265,000-square-foot headquarters building at 516 W. 34th St., which it once used for manufacturing and where it still maintains a small factory to produce samples.

It also has a few hundred thousand square feet at 450 W. 33rd St. and at a smaller building on 34th Street. "Now, they've outgrown their premises," a source explained.

There's no letter of intent for Hudson Yards, at least not yet. But a source described the Related talks as "still a work in progress but very serious." Financially strong Coach currently has around $1 billion in cash on its balance sheet to play with.

The 26-acre Hudson Yards site bounded by 10th and 12th avenues between West 30th-33rd Streets -- most of it above the West Side rail yard -- is to be developed by Related and OMERS, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. Last May, Related signed a deal with the MTA to lease the site for 99 years, with the partners putting in a $21.75 million deposit.

The project is eventually to include 21 million square feet of development. The master plan calls for three corporate headquarters sites, 5,000 apartments in nine buildings, "destination" retail, a luxury hotel, a new public school, cultural facilities and 12 acres of public open space.

It was understood last night that Coach and Related weren't focused only on one of the office sites, but were exploring "options" at all three.

The MTA/Related deal is contingent on several economic-climate yardsticks. As is typical of such public-private arrangements, it's full of escape clauses and trap doors allowing either side a way out. Moreover, Related must first build a platform over the tracks.

But Related has said previously that with a tenant, work could start as early as 2012. And, if history proves anything, nothing can get a huge project off the ground -- and make all the issues go away -- like a tenant commitment.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...#ixzz16ldnsTyn

NYguy

Nov 30, 2010 2:25 PM

Quote:

Sources told us booming Coach is prowling for up to 600,000 square feet of office space on the West Side for a new corporate home. Coach has been "exchanging paper" with Related regarding Hudson Yards as well as with other landlords in the area, the sources said.

There's no letter of intent for Hudson Yards, at least not yet. But a source described the Related talks as "still a work in progress but very serious." Financially strong Coach currently has around $1 billion in cash on its balance sheet to play with.

The project is eventually to include 21 million square feet of development. The master plan calls for three corporate headquarters sites, 5,000 apartments in nine buildings, "destination" retail, a luxury hotel, a new public school, cultural facilities and 12 acres of public open space.

Well, let the games begin...

RobertWalpole

Nov 30, 2010 2:57 PM

I would be surprised if Vornado isn't courting Coach for the multi-tenant scenario at 15 Penn.

NYguy

Dec 2, 2010 4:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertWalpole (Post 5075184)

I would be surprised if Vornado isn't courting Coach for the multi-tenant scenario at 15 Penn.

Among others. It always surprises me when tenants are already talking of a possible move to the railyards. But with the subway station planned to open in 2013, or a little less than 3 years, it probably shouldn't.

NYguy

Dec 3, 2010 3:09 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/ny...er=rss&emc=rss

Restaurant Bets on Future Of Nascent Neighborhood

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Big plans are afoot for the neighborhood around the Javits Convention Center, including extensions of the High Line park and the No. 7 subway line.
Already, 10th Avenue, above, looking north, has attracted interest from renters and developers.

By DIANE CARDWELL
December 2, 2010

Quote:

In Manhattan’s midsection, just a short stroll from Times Square and Pennsylvania Station, lies a no man’s land of unrealized potential.

Toward the western edge of 34th Street sits a McDonald’s drive-through with a lot full of parked taxicabs. Down 10th Avenue looms the northern end of the High Line, an elevated train trestle whose completion as a park remains as up in the air as the tracks themselves. Nearby, the centerpiece of the enormous Hudson Yards development is not yet under construction.

With the long-troubled Javits Convention Center, a few apartment buildings and a smattering of nondescript office blocks and vacant lots, the area remains a kind of Bermuda Triangle, bordering some of the city’s most valuable property and neighborhoods.

But that has not stopped one established restaurateur — Simon Oren, the impresario whose enterprises include Nice Matin, Sushi Samba and Five Napkin Burger — from betting that the potential will someday be realized. On Wednesday, he opened 404, a bright and airy brasserie set below a grim concrete behemoth of an office building on 10th Avenue at 33rd Street that houses several media companies, including The Daily News.

The restaurant, decorated in clean white subway tile and jewel-toned glass, includes a full-scale bakery to supply bread to Mr. Oren’s other restaurants and will host events for Javits Center gatherings. For the public, it serves breakfast and lunch and will eventually offer weekend brunch — though no dinner, just a happy hour at the bar until 7 p.m.

“Not too many people walk here in the evenings,” Mr. Oren said, “but during the day it is very busy, especially with this building.”

There are signs that Mr. Oren may be riding a gathering wave. Young renters have been lured here to Midtown’s outskirts by new apartment buildings, including an 835-unit colossus at 10th Avenue and 37th Street, and the 288-unit Ohm at 11th Avenue and 30th Street, which features a concert series in the lobby curated by the Knitting Factory.

Just a block or two to the east is more than six million square feet of office space, filled with workers needing to be fed.

Celebrity chefs like Tom Colicchio and Mario Batali have already taken fine dining far west, to 10th Avenue, said Dan Biederman, president of the 34th Street Partnership, which helped bring Mr. Oren to the neighborhood. But their restaurants are nearly a mile to the south.

“That’s cool Chelsea,” Mr. Biederman said. “Simon’s being a groundbreaker here because 10th in the 30s has not been cool.”

Restaurants like 404, named for both its address on 10th Avenue and a North African bistro in Paris, may help change that, drawing more people to the area, offering an amenity to those already there now and increasing the value of the buildings that house them.

So in trying to improve the 34th Street corridor, the partnership has worked aggressively over the past five years to attract restaurants at least a notch or two above the likes of Tad’s steakhouse, a fixture on the street. The group has helped increase the number of full-service establishments from one in 1991 — Larry Forgione’s An American Place, on 32nd Street near Park Avenue — to 21 today.

“Once we took care of litter, graffiti and crime, which were everybody’s first concerns, then the next thing people suddenly realized was, hey, now that the neighborhood’s nice, I want to stay here, but there’s nowhere to eat,” Mr. Biederman said. “You can’t have a good office district without places to eat.”

If all goes according to plan, there will be even more people — eventually. Work on the hub of the Hudson Yards project, which promises to fill 26 acres above the West Side rail yards with offices, apartments, hotel rooms, stores and parkland, is unlikely to start before 2012. An extended No. 7 subway line is not scheduled to reach the convention center until the end of 2013.

The High Line park’s second section, which ends at 30th Street and 10th Avenue, is due to open in the spring. But the parks department does not yet own the last segment, which loops around the rail yards at the West Side Highway to 34th Street.

“You have seen hundreds and hundreds of apartments built over in that corridor recently,” said Robert A. Knakal, a principal at the real estate brokerage firm Massey Knakal, adding that restaurants and stores tend to follow residential development. “It’s something that’s going to evolve over the next 20 years.”

That something is currently at least two neighborhoods — West Chelsea and West Midtown — said Jeffrey E. Levine, who developed the Ohm.

West Chelsea, south of the rail yards, is already a reality, part of a long chain of vibrant neighborhoods full of nightlife, shopping and creative enterprises. West Midtown, north of the yards, is substantially different — still underdeveloped and disconnected from its surroundings.

“The West Side yards will metamorphose the entire West Side of Manhattan,” he said. “But we have to deal with what is, not what will be.”

Even in its not-quite-finished state, the area has its fans.

Jennifer Moore, 22, a college student who sells merchandise at Broadway shows, said she liked how close her apartment, at 37th Street and 10th Avenue, is to work, and how unpretentious it is compared with her old neighborhood on the Upper East Side.

“I didn’t enjoy walking around with the old ladies who were wearing Chanel suits,” she said as Liza, her fox terrier-chihuahua mix named after Liza Minnelli, pulled eagerly at her leash.

Glenn Rachlin, 24, a newcomer to the city who lives in an older apartment building on 34th Street, said he liked the neighborhood as it is, and was not sure how he would feel if it becomes more crowded.

“It’s not, like, crazy Midtown,” he said, gesturing toward the snarl of pedestrians and traffic near Eighth Avenue. “I like that it’s real off to the side. It’s a nice area for now.”

Dac150

Dec 6, 2010 2:32 AM

‘Outgrowing the premises’ is a trend that we are hearing more and more of. This trend is exactly what will fuel the demand for developments such as this. Coach will be among many companies that will scout for these new locations.

NYguy

Dec 7, 2010 5:26 PM

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article.../SUB/101209926

Hudson Yards versus No. 7 train

December 5, 2010
By Erik Engquist and Jeremy Smerd

Quote:

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn might eventually have to decide how to spend any money remaining from the project extending the No. 7 subway line. As much as $500 million may be available, which could help build a station at 10th Avenue and 42nd Street or partially finance a platform at Hudson Yards.

It's the mayor's call, but subject to council approval. The platform would likely win out, because the Hudson Yards project depends on it. It is supposed to be privately financed, but that might not be possible, given the economy.

WTC II

NYguy

Dec 9, 2010 1:02 PM

yankeesfan1000

Dec 9, 2010 4:24 PM

Found these on the site you linked those pictures to, says it's a mixed use tower, 450,000 square feet. It's hard to tell where exactly this one would be, almost looks like 707B also, but could be 706B, are these earlier renderings for the same site? Either way, thought I'd share. Thanks for the link NYGuy.

Images taken from
http://abduzeedo.com/architect-day-d...lle-bernheimer

http://www.d-bd.com/sites/default/fi...iles/POV_3.jpg

http://www.d-bd.com/sites/default/fi.../POV_2_old.jpg

NYguy

Dec 16, 2010 2:30 AM

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

Work Set on West Side Rail Yard

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/i...1215211239.jpg
Development firm Related Cos. is awarding a contract to demolish a 60,000-square-foot building as part of work on the West Side rail yards, above.

By ELIOT BROWN
December 16, 2010

Quote:

Seeing green shoots in the New York City office market, development firm Related Cos. is stepping up early work on a massive project planned during the economic boom over the West Side rail yards by the base of the Javits Center.

This week, Related is awarding a contract to demolish a 60,000-square-foot building on the property once used as metal products distribution center. It is clearing a development site for what Related hopes will be the among the first post-recession office towers to be built. Related is talking to about a dozen possible tenants, says Jay Cross, who is leading the rail-yards development for Related.

The company is under pressure to get moving, given its agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the 26-acre rail yards. The agreement calls for the developer to begin paying hefty rental payments once an improving office market hits an availability rate of 11% availability rate. It is currently 12.6%, down from 15% a year ago.

"The efforts we are undertaking ensure we are ramped up and ready to go because it's hard to predict exactly when you are going to hit on your first and second tenant deals," says Mr. Cross. "This market is very diverse when it comes to large users, and the market seems to be very resilient."

Related is focusing its planning on starting a 1.4 million-square-foot building on the southeast corner of the rail yards that would have up to 1 million square feet of office space, topped with 25 floors of apartments, according to Mr. Cross.

This 800-foot-plus tower would sit on firm ground, while the rest of the site requires an expensive roof to first be built over the tracks.

Like many developers, Related plans to effectively give away the office space at cost to a major tenant—asking for rents of about $70 a foot—while it would look to make its money on the residential above, Mr. Cross said.

The site has long been a priority of the Bloomberg administration, which sprinkled tax abatements on the property, and the city is funding an extension to the area of the No. 7 subway line, currently slated to be completed in 2013.

But it remains an open question among real-estate people whether a large tenant would make the jump to the unproven far West Side.

"Anytime soon I'd say it's low-probability," Robert Freedman, chairman of brokerage Colliers International's New York office, said of the project. "I think the fundamentals will be solid, but it's going to take a while."

NYguy

Dec 16, 2010 3:01 AM

http://www.hydc.org/html/project/hudson-park.shtml

Hudson Park & Boulevard

http://www.hydc.org/includes/site_im..._park_blvd.jpg

Quote:

Hudson Park and Boulevard, an approximately 4 acre system of broad tree-lined parks and open space, will run between 10th and 11th Avenues from West 33rd to West 42nd Streets. The Park will extend from West 33rd to West 39th Streets with a pedestrian connection from 39th Street to 42nd Street. The Boulevard will extend from West 33rd to West 38th Streets on the east side of the Park and from West 35th to West 38th Streets on the west side, and will be approximately 30 feet wide. An amendment to the City Map was filed in November 2006 to establish this new Park and Boulevard system.

Hudson Park and Boulevard, a fundamental element of the new Hudson Yards district, will help transform the area from a desolate industrial neighborhood to a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly mixed-use district. The Park will be the green center at the heart of this newly created neighborhood. With entrances through each of the newly designed east- west side streets, the Park will provide much needed open space for area residents, workers and visitors. Hudson Park, which will be bordered by the pedestrian friendly Hudson Boulevard, will accommodate both larger paved areas for public events as well as smaller more intimate spots tucked within the shrubs and trees. This environmentally sustainable park will offer a variety of activities ranging from grassy areas for picnicking or tossing a Frisbee to walking paths that meander through the landscape to intimate shady nooks for reading and relaxing. Larger public gatherings and events such as farmer's markets and outdoor movies can also be integrated into the Park. When complete, Hudson Park will become an instant favorite, joining this city's other great urban public spaces like Bryant Park, Union Square Park and Hudson River Park.

The No. 7 Subway Extension will have two entrances in the Park. The principal entrance will be located between West 33rd and West 34th Streets and a second entrance will be located in the Park between West 34th and 35th Streets. New commercial buildings constructed along the Park and Boulevard will also have entrances on the Boulevard.

A world class, multi-disciplinary design team has been selected and will be led by Michael Van Valkenburgh Landscape Architects in collaboration with HYDC, the New York City Departments of Parks and Recreation, Transportation, City Planning and the Economic Development Corporation. The design work is scheduled to commence in mid-2010 and to be complete at the end of 2013 when the subway extension opens.

Construction of the first phase of the Park and Boulevard between West 33rd and West 36th Streets is expected to be complete by 2013. The second phase, between West 36th and West 39th Streets, will eventually connect to West 42nd Street on the north via a pedestrian bridge. To the south, the Park and Boulevard will connect to the High Line and the public open space to be constructed at the Eastern Rail Yard. This continuous connection will contribute to a new north-south green corridor that will tie 42nd Street to Gansevoort Street across the neighborhoods of Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea, the Meatpacking District and the West Village.

http://www.hydc.org/includes/site_im...bridge_big.jpg

http://www.hydc.org/includes/site_im...eature_big.jpg

http://www.hydc.org/includes/site_im...8_site_big.jpg

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