Posted Apr 25, 2025, 5:12 PM
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New Yorker for life
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Borough of Jersey
Posts: 56,199
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Now we shall see how much they really wanted that housing....
https://w42st.com/post/developers-th...on-yards-west/
Developers “Think Outside the Box” to Add More Housing at Hudson Yards West
by Catie Savage
4/25/25
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In a dramatic shift aimed at regaining community and political support, Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group announced today (Friday) they plan to significantly increase the number of proposed housing units at Hudson Yards West — from 1,500 to as many as 4,000 — while maintaining the originally agreed 324 affordable units, fulfilling their commitment to the City.
The announcement follows months of heated opposition to the developers’ previous plans, which include a casino on the Western Rail Yards site, that many local leaders said prioritized commercial interests over housing in one of Manhattan’s last major development opportunities.
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The new plan is built on what the developers describe as an “innovative public-private financing structure,” using a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) program, which was used to facilitate the development of the eastern portion of Hudson Yards. That structure, which helped fund the eastern section of Hudson Yards, would allow Related and Oxford to construct the $2 billion platform needed to build over the active Long Island Rail Road tracks.
Crucially, it would also allow for the replacement of a previously planned office tower with two residential towers, tripling the total housing units in the proposal.
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“Over the last few months, we met with the community and heard consistent calls to add more housing to Hudson Yards West, even as many acknowledge the unique financial hurdles of developing the site,” said Related CEO Jeff Blau. “We tried to think outside the box and identified a historically successful funding model that would allow us to increase the amount of housing at the site to up to 4,000 units, while still preserving the other critical benefits of the project. This is the type of creative solve the community has been asking us to find, and we look forward to discussing it with the City Council.”
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In the press release, Related emphasized that the expanded housing proposal came after “over 200 community meetings where housing emerged as a top priority.” It also noted that a similar financing model had already returned over $500 million in excess revenue to the City from the eastern Hudson Yards development and could remit another $2 billion by 2028.
Still, skepticism is likely to remain high in Hell’s Kitchen and Chelsea, where community leaders have been wary of Related’s shifting plans. Many have expressed concern that without a binding commitment to housing, the area could be left with a cluster of office towers — and, potentially, a casino — rather than a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood.
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https://www.crainsnewyork.com/politi...ubling-housing
Related sweetens embattled Hudson Yards casino with 2,500 new apartments
Nick Garber
4/25/25
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The developer will remove a proposed 1,400-foot office tower and replace it with two residential buildings, raising the project’s total from 1,500 apartments to as many as 4,000. The promise comes in response to outcry from neighborhood residents who criticized Related for trying to change the terms of a 2009 rezoning that required 5,800 homes to be built on the site. Related needs the City Council to approve those zoning changes in the coming weeks for the developer to have any shot of competing in the state-led process to award three downstate casino licenses this year.
To pay for the new housing in the absence of the office tower, Related — with its partners Wynn Resorts and Oxford Properties — are proposing a financing structure in which the developer would make payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs. Those PILOTs, which likewise need City Council approval, mirror the system that was used for the initial phase of Hudson Yards and would help cover the cost of the new housing and the $2 billion platform over the western half of Hudson Yards where the complex would sit.
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It’s unclear whether the changes will satisfy opponents of Related’s megaproject. Its fate is in the hands of local Councilman Erik Bottcher, who has expressed skepticism and is coming under heavy pressure from groups including Friends of the High Line — a nonprofit that is campaigning against the proposal over fears it would harm the linear park. The opposition has threatened to derail what otherwise looked to be among the strongest contenders for a casino license, given its size and promise to create 35,000 construction jobs.
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Related will ask the council to approve the new PILOT scheme at the same time as the zoning changes, which are due for a vote by early June. All downstate casino bids will also be submitted in June, and the state has given bidders until Sept. 30 to resolve all their local land-use issues.
Even if it does not win one of three downstate casino licenses, Related says the PILOT scheme will be necessary to pay for any future development atop the so-called Western Rail Yards. Although its 2009 deal with the city called for using luxury condo sales to finance that buildout, the developer says construction prices have more than doubled in the ensuing years, while condo sales have become less predictable.
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