http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/ny...1&ref=nyregion
Rezoning Will Allow Railyard Project to Advance
By CHARLES V. BAGLI
December 21, 2009
The last element of the Bloomberg administration’s eight-year effort to transform a 26-acre railyard on the Far West Side into a residential and commercial complex fell into place Monday with the approval of a new zoning plan for a portion of the land.
The new zoning approved by the City Council would enable the developer — a joint venture of Related Companies and Goldman Sachs — to build eight towers, which will house a hotel and more than 5,000 apartments on a platform on the western portion of the railyard stretching from 11th to 12th Avenues, between 30th and 33rd Streets.
Monday’s action also included an agreement between the project’s developers and the city to build or preserve a total of 1,294 apartments in the neighborhood for poor and working-class tenants.
This phase of the rezoning is the culmination of years of work on Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s signature project, which began when he first took office in 2002 with plans to turn the former industrial area into a bustling high-rise district. His initial proposal, to build a $2 billion football stadium for the Jets at the site, was widely criticized and collapsed in the State Legislature.
In 2005, the city rezoned a stretch of the railyard on the east side of 11th Avenue, between 30th and 33rd Streets, for office towers, retail space, a hotel and housing. The city and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the railyards, selected Related, which agreed to pay $1 billion for the development rights for what would be a $15 billion project over both railyards.
“With the rezoning in place and the extension of the No. 7 subway line on the way,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference Monday, “the area is finally poised to become a vibrant new residential and commercial neighborhood with more than 10 acres of open space, new cultural amenities and a new public school.”
Still, it may be years before the first building is erected, given the recession, widespread layoffs and hundreds of stalled residential projects in the city.
Jay Cross, president of the joint venture, Related Hudson Yards, acknowledged Monday that the developer had yet to design the residential towers and would not begin the office towers until it secured a major tenant.
After lengthy negotiations with community groups, elected officials and the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, Related promised that 431 of the more than 5,000 apartments it planned to build at the site would be at below-market rates. The developer also pledged to preserve an additional 401 apartments in nearby housing complexes it owns for subsidized housing.
At the same time the city agreed to build 320 apartments for low- and moderate-income families on sites it owns in the neighborhood and to try to acquire an additional 150 units in single-room occupancy hotels.
“Compared with where we started, this is fantastic,” Joe Restuccia, a member of Community Board 4, said of the affordable housing.
Related is scheduled to sign a contract with the transit authority for the development rights at the end of January and to give the authority a $43.5 million down payment. The developer is still negotiating a closing date for the eastern railyard; the closing for the western yard will take place a year later. So far it has paid the authority about $25 million.
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http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/s...gHzLqgpAi5kuNP
Quote:
Jay Cross, Related's president for the Hudson Yards project, said construction on a $2 billion platform above the rail yard could begin as soon as 2011. But the timeline for finishing the development is uncertain.
"It's a 10-year process, at least, to build up the Yards," Cross said.
The entire project would be built above the yard, which is used to store Long Island Rail Road trains.
Timing of the construction, and deciding what gets built first, will depend on the economy and Related's ability to line up major tenants, Cross said.
Related, which is partnered with Goldman Sachs, will be looking for corporate tenants just as two of the World Trade Center's towers are set to be finished, with few tenants lined up so far.
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