Billion Dollar West Side Rail Yards Deal Collapses

This evening, the MTA released a press release signaling that the plan to turn the West Side Rail Yards into Hudson Yards won't be happening any time soon. Apparently, developer Tishman Speyer, which won the bidding with a $1.004 billion proposal, got too grabby. At least, that's what the MTA"s statement seems to suggest:

Late this afternoon, negotiations between the MTA and Tishman Speyer over the development of the Rail Yards on Manhattan's Far West Side reached an impasse. The cause of the impasse was Tishman Speyer's attempt to change a central deal term in an effort to postpone the closing on the Eastern Yard until the Western Yard was satisfactorily re-zoned. This demand changed the economics of the proposed deals and the certainty of payments to the MTA. The MTA remains committed to developing these unique and very valuable parcels of land.

To clarify things, per the AP, "Tishman no longer retains the development rights to the Hudson yards." Poor (heh!) Mayor Bloomberg--he's been hoping to see development at the West Side yards for a very long time. But CBS 2 points out the Hudson Yards dream is a complicated one, what with the developer needing to spend approximately $2 billion to build a platform over the yards and questions about whether the MTA will really build a subway extension.

Tishman Speyer did not comment. Deputy mayor for economic development Robert Lieber said it was "very disappointing" but the city is committed building up the West Side And here are renderings of Tishman's plan (NY Times critic Nicolai Ouroussoff is probably thrilled!).

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By Jen Chung in News on May 8, 2008 10:17 PM

Comments [rss]

Snoopy

"The cause of the impasse was Tishman Speyer's attempt to change a central deal term in an effort to postpone the closing on the Eastern Yard until the Western Yard was satisfactorily re-zoned."

Would any of you go into a deal which might not work for you and was dependent on the city to come through within a workable time frame?

aksia

too bad, this would have been a nice public space to snack/lunch at...

buyerb

yes, i dont want to live in dubai

zodak

a new fail pic to add to my collection! nice job jen! ^_^

Tim N.

Bloomberg is pretty good at getting beat up by Shel Silver and kissing developer's asses.

Total abdication of leadership. Developers knew there was money to be made, with some real leadership we could have had responsible development (you know, the kind that doesn't end with people and small businesses in the street) and at least some of these projects would have gotten done.

Hell of a legacy, Mr. Mayor. At least we can't smoke in bars anymore.

thefacts

Also: Columbus Village on an extended stall as well as Trump SoHo sitting idle for months.

And: the Fulton Street transit hub seriously downsized.

Think2wice

As for the Hudson Yards specifically:

If I were Tishman-Speyer, I too would run out of the room with my money in hand if, for one second, I saw the MTA sitting on it's hands about the 7 train extension. Sooo feckless.

Think2wice

Already or eventually add to the list:

No Cross-Harbor Rail tunnel

No expanded Javits Center

No East-Side Access

Citifield and Yankee Stadium are almost done, which means the public sector is a sack of shit.

God almighty it'll take a complete collapse of infrastructure before this town will ever entertain the thought of selling or leasing off assets to more efficient operators.

kapusta

let me get this straight: the puppet government, "Mayor" Bloomberg, is "hoping to see development". in other words- not governing.

the real government, banks and insurance companies (Tishman Speyer is just a middle man),is in a dispute with the independent junta MTA.

gee, maybe the situation will escalate to actual violence.

blablanyc

It's not that New Yorkers don't think big, they think about their communities. The Hudson Yards development was hardly inviting.

Dan Dickinson

jchez, don't forget no congestion pricing, either.

Bloomberg's legacy will be "No".

jchez

Oh, I forgot. No new Penn Station.

Kevin Walsh

Agreed; all the projects save Atlantic Yards are worthy ones, but costs have risen so much that large projects are no longer possible.

www.forgotten-ny.com

jchez

So, no West Side Yards, no stadium, no Westway, no 2nd ave subway, possibly no Brooklyn yard, the WTC is still a hole and will never look like the original "contest winning" design.

For good or ill, this city has decided to stop thinking big.

sonyactivision

No Olympics! No Shitty towers! This site is like Bloomberg kryptonite! "....Go ahead, mayor,... touch it again!"

jenspellnogood

could have been a stadium already, with a super bowl and an olympics on the way.

babyhitler

develop don't destroy. It's more like don't develop and don't do shit in this weakass economy. Fuck this shit!

jack9

"But CBS 2 points out the Hudson Yards dream is a complicated one, what with the developer needing to spend approximately $2 billion to build a platform over the yards and questoins about whether the MTA would really build a subway extension."