The City Council has been working on a living wage bill that would raise the minimum hourly wage to $10-11.50 for companies that receive substantial city subsidies. But now it looks like one of the biggest development projects, the Hudson Yards, may be exempt from the proposal, thanks to mayoral hopeful City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. more ›

With whispers of Walmart coming, opponents may have a new angle to fight off the retailer: Albany. The big boxer is reportedly eyeing a spot in East New York for its big city debut, specifically on a smallish-by-their-standards site that would not require them to get City Council approval (good, since Christine Quinn is not a fan). The catch? Developer Related, which Walmart is working with, doesn't own the entire property yet. more ›

According to the NY Times, there's a "front-runner" for the suddenly coveted One World Trade Center. The Times says Douglas Durst is "favored" by the Port Authority Board: "Mr. Durst would invest at least $100 million in 1 World Trade Center," BUT some board members are still undecided. Apparently Durst "proposed a deal in which it would share the risks if leases are signed slowly for 1 World Trade Center, but also get a greater share of the profits if the building is successful," while the other bidder, Related Companies, "is seeking a return for its investment no matter what happens with 1 World Trade Center." An return on investment, who would have thought! more ›

Ha! According to the AP, the MTA and developer Related Co. are still talking about the contract to develop the Hudson Yards, better known as the West Side Rail Yards. For years, the city has been trying to develop the area west of Penn Station, but the attempts to find a developer have been the stuff of melodrama, from a bidding process to picking one suitor—Tishman Speyer—who was later spurned. Then, in mid-May, Related stepped into the breach but the contract was put on the burner over...slow paperwork? The MTA said there have been "constructive negotiations" with Related. Should a deal go through, Related, who bid $1 billion for the land and $2 billion to build the platform over the railyards, will need to cough up $50 million at closing. more ›

Gotta love it: Yes, the MTA managed to salvage its West Side Rail Yards development plans by agreeing to a deal with developer Related and Goldman Sachs, after it tossed a deal with Tishman Speyer. But even though the agency and Related were planing on to sign a contract for the $15 billion project this week, that's been put on the back burner because the MTA has been, according to the Observer, "slower than expected in producing the needed paperwork." MTA CFO Gary Dellaverson added, "This is my fault—the fault of the M.T.A. This is not a product of either Related or Goldman or their lawyers." Dellaverson added he believed the deal would go through, bad economy and all, "Everything that I've seen, is they're continuing to operate in good faith and pursuant to a desire to consummate the transaction." more ›

The MTA has apparently narrowed down the list of contenders to develop the West Side Rail Yards - and may even ask them to team up together. According to Crain's New York, the MTA favors the developers who have already lined up tenants. Which means the front runners are The Related Companies with News Corporation and Goldman Sachs, Durst & Vornado with Conde Nast, and Tishman-Speyer with Morgan Stanley. But front runners may need to be partners as well! more ›

While everyone knows that the proposals five development teams have offered up for the MTA's West Side rail yards are likely to change, the NY Times' architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff made it clear that he hopes they do, with a withering review of the five plans. Noting the great opportunity that developers have, Ouroussoff says the designs "are not just a disappointment for their lack of imagination, they are also a grim referendum on... more ›

A storefront at the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and 43rd Street (across from Grand Central) may be a window into the future of the West Side Rail Yards. The MTA unveiled an exhibition of the five proposals to redevelop the rail yards on the Far West Side of Manhattan, and the public will get a chance to see the models every day (except Thanksgiving) through December 3. And what's more, the MTA wants the... more ›