The city's Far West Side dreams are at stake as the MTA will auction off the buildings rights to the West Side railyards. The NY Times takes a broad look the 26-acre swath of land where Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff says the Bloomberg administration wants to create the "21st century Rockefeller Center." Well, a Rockefeller Center with many huge buildings, as the article's lede calls the lots "where the Bloomberg administration envisions the equivalent of five Empire State Buildings rising..." Some interesting details about the post-West Side Stadium hopes for the railyards:
- The city expects five developers to bid for the land: A partnership of Durst & Vornado Realty; Extell; Brookfield Properties; and Tishman Speyer.
- The western part of the railyards will still need to be rezoned, and it will happen under a public review process.
- It will cost around $1 billion to build a platform over the railyards (on top of which all other buildings would be built)
- The fate of the High Line is questionable, as developers aren't inclined to include it in their plans since they believe it will be costly to design around.
- Hold-ups with approval for the Javits Center expansion are also complicating the plan.
The auction for the MTA's railyards will begin next month. Here is the city's website about the development of the area known as Hudson Yards. The Hudson Yards Development Corporation released a draft conceptual land use for the area (PDF) last week. Curbed called it "dizzying" and "dark" given how massive the buildings would be; a map and summary of the draft conceptual land use follow after the jump.
From the original photograph of a single Empire State Building by Skaines on Flickr
From the Hudson Yards Development Corporation:
Summary:
- Plan for WRY will be coordinated with the entire Hudson Yards area
- Plan allows for mixed-use development
- Plan will include generous open space and relate to the existing Hudson River and High Line parks
- Plan will include on and off-site affordable housing
- On-site – up to 20% of the rental units would be affordable through
the 80/20 program
- Off-site locations:
- West 54th Street / MTA Site
- West 48th Street / DEP Site
- Plan will include a PS/IS school
- Plan will include office space for arts and non-profit uses
- Parking will be allowed, but not required, for WRY site
- Plans should incorporate green building standards
- WRY development plans are subject to ULURP and environmental review
- Guidelines should be flexible and promote compelling architectural design
