Slowly, but surely, the "grand schemes are trying to make a comeback...
Developer Said to Seek Relocation Of an Arena
By CHARLES V. BAGLI
May 26, 2010
Quote:
The developer Steven Roth is quietly trying to revive a plan to move Madison Square Garden one block west of its current home atop Pennsylvania Station just as the arena is beginning a major $850 million renovation.
Mr. Roth, chairman of Vornado Realty Trust, has in recent weeks talked to Hank J. Ratner, the Garden’s president, and James L. Dolan, whose family controls the arena, as well as top officials at City Hall, who are intrigued by the idea, according to several people who have been briefed on the discussions.
Garden executives insist that they are moving full speed ahead on their renovation. They moved their television network to 11 Penn Plaza last week in preparation for the first stage of construction and will temporarily close the Garden’s 5,600-seat theater at the end of June.
“The process to transform M.S.G. is well under way, and any other option that may or may not be available is not being considered, period,” said Barry Watkins, a spokesman for the Garden. “This transformation is the best option for our customers, partners and all of New York.”
But Mr. Roth, whose company controls much of the real estate around Penn Station, from 1 Penn Plaza to the Hotel Pennsylvania, is not one to give up easily. Officials and real estate executives familiar with the proposal were reluctant to be named publicly for fear of alienating either Mr. Roth or the Dolans.
According to these officials, the developer’s pitch to Mr. Dolan and Mr. Ratner went something like this: The renovation of the 42-year-old arena could be more expensive and more disruptive for the Knicks, the Rangers and the Liberty than anticipated. And in the end, the site would still be inferior to the new arena for the Nets that is under construction in Brooklyn.
Mr. Roth, who declined to comment, has proposed a stripped-down version of a $14 billion proposal that collapsed in 2008, a victim of hubris and a struggling economy. Civic and business groups had embraced the idea of moving the Garden to transform the cramped and bewildering corridors of Penn Station into a grand transit hub for the 550,000 daily commuters who already use it.
But the 2008 proposal also involved the creation of a special zoning district that would have allowed development rights to be sprinkled around the neighborhood, enabling Vornado to build a forest of skyscrapers.
Now, Mr. Roth is proposing to scrap the zoning district and the development rights transfer. He would simply move the Garden into a new arena that would be built within the walls of the James A. Farley Post Office, which sits across Eighth Avenue from the Garden. The post office building would also become an adjunct for an expanded Penn Station, which would be renamed Moynihan Station. The postal operations, which occupy the Eighth Avenue lobby of the blocklong building, would remain.
The old arena, in turn, would be razed to make way for a huge retail mall and improvements to the train halls and corridors below. But one executive who is familiar with the latest proposal said the work would not involve expanding the capacity of the station, the nation’s largest transit hub, one of the reasons the original proposal gained such widespread support.
Mr. Roth is motivated by both his investment in the neighborhood and a desire to enliven the planned renovation of the post office. He and his partner, Stephen Ross, of the Related Companies, are renegotiating their 2005 deal with the state to turn the post office into Moynihan Station.
But it is unclear whether there is either the political will or the public money to accomplish Mr. Roth’s proposal.
In any event, the Dolans are proceeding with their plans to transform the arena, having spent about $70 million on the project so far. For the next three summers, they say, they plan to close both the arena and the theater so that they can reconfigure the arena, providing better sightlines for fans, more luxury seating and a pair of sky bridges suspended over the court and rink.
|
I've seen the renderings of a renovated MSG. I would prefer a move, but the new Garden won't be completely horrible, from the inside.
__________________
NEW YORK is Back!
“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
|