https://therealdeal.com/new-york/202...fice-projects/
Port Authority’s $10B revamp plans to add two office towers
It’s not the first attempt to save the decrepit bus terminal
FEB 7, 2024
By TRD Staff
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At a public hearing on Tuesday, Port Authority officials unveiled an ambitious $10 billion proposal to overhaul the infamous transportation hub, Crain’s reported. Slightly more than a dozen people turned up at the hearing, according to W42ST, though another 50 tuned in online.
Port Authority wants to transform the cramped and cavernous bus terminal into a modern, bright hub for commuters and travelers, along with two new office towers that will rise above the terminal. The agency plans to fund much of the proposed project, but officials are also placing their hopes on $2.5 billion in tax revenue from the new office developments.
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The same strategy was in the works with Vornado Realty Trust to help finance a redevelopment of Penn Station. Gov. Kathy Hochul was forced to separate the office projects from the Penn Station funding, however, as Vornado’s office dreams were scuttled by post-pandemic office challenges.
Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton appeared unafraid of that scenario at the bus terminal, expressing confidence the office market will rebound by the time the office towers go up.
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But the pairing of office projects and a transformed Port Authority Bus Terminal, specifically, have fallen short before. Vornado nearly developed a 35-story tower for Cisco Systems at the beginning of the century, foiled by the dot-com bubble’s pop.
Steven Roth’s firm also offered to pay for station repairs in the early 2010s as part of a plan to lease air rights over the terminal to develop a 40-story office building. The Great Recession ground that plan to a halt.
This new proposal promises to deliver the project in the next decade, according to Cotton.
Tuesday’s session marked the opening of a 45-day public comment period on Port Authority’s proposal for the terminal. There will be four public hearings in the coming weeks on the plan, which has tentative support from local officials.
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https://w42st.com/post/hells-kitchen...nd-high-hopes/
Hell’s Kitchen Hosts Preview of $10bn Port Authority Bus Terminal Revamp Amid Local Concerns and High Hopes
by Phil O'Brien
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The most expensive show ever in Hell’s Kitchen opened last night to an audience of 17 people (with around 50 tuning in online). The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) put on a special preview of their $10bn Bus Terminal (PABT) replacement to locals before they begin formal public meetings later this month.
Executives from PANYNJ gave a preview of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for PABT which was published last week and described by PANYNJ as being “about 16 inches in thickness.” The release of the DEIS also started the clock on a 45-day public comment period. The project will replace the current terminal and complex of ramps with an extended footprint on Port Authority land snaking from 8th Avenue through Hell’s Kitchen to 11th Avenue. PABT currently serves more than 7,200 buses and about 200,000 people daily.
“It’s not necessarily the most attractive building in New York City,” said Glen Guzzi, Assistant Director of Major Capital Projects at PANYNJ to laughter from the gathered locals. “It’s reviled. We’re going to change that.”
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Guzzi went on to present a plan that he stressed recognized the local community as much as the commuters that use the facility for their travel. In particular, he referenced how they had taken input from local elected officials and the community board to move the proposed high-rise development from 9th Avenue to 8th Avenue, wider sidewalks, street-facing retail and trees!
Meanwhile, Hersh Parekh, PABT’s Deputy Chief for Intergovernmental Affairs, compared the bus terminal plan to the organization’s transformation of LaGuardia Airport. “This was the exact same characterization of the old LaGuardia. When it opened back in the sixties, it was a marvel in the aviation industry. It was built on such a small footprint, but probably one of the busiest airports if you look at it per square foot activity,” he said.
“But LaGuardia was not maintained the way it needed to be, did not keep up with modern times, modern technology, the modern customer. It was not the type of gateway that New York deserved. And so the Port Authority undertook a multi-billion dollar effort to rebuild — and it is a beautiful facility now that has received accolades worldwide. And that is the mission that we are bringing to this bus terminal replacement project,” added Parekh. “This bus terminal is a workhorse. It helps so many hundreds of thousands of people get to their destination every day. But this is not the gateway that New York deserves — and it is important that we make it right.”
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The first job is to create decks over the Lincoln Tunnel on two blocks between W37th and W39th Street to the west of 9th Avenue (after construction, these areas will become a 3.5-acre park space for residents). After that, a staging and storage area will be built between W39th and W40th Street to the west of Rauschenbusch Metro Baptist Church, replacing existing PABT ramps. This will be used as a “Temporary Terminal” to allow the Main Terminal to be reconstructed into a reimagined transport hub. The ramps for the facilities will be extended from 10th Avenue through to 11th Avenue, with better access in and out of the Lincoln Tunnel.
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The main terminal will accommodate two office towers on 8th Avenue. “The purpose of those towers is to drive funding to help build this project because $10bn is a very large project and we need to make sure that we have it fully financed,” said Parekh.
When asked about the current market for offices, Parekh said: ”There’s data showing that the commercial market is on the rebound. Just the other week there was a building that Gucci bought or sold for three times the amount that the experts predicted. We’re talking about these towers being built in the 2030s, so there’s a long timeline from now to then — and we believe that there will be demand for commercial, especially commercial on 8th Avenue facing Times Square.”
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The space on 8th Avenue will be transformed with the closure of W41st Street to accommodate an atrium and better access to the subway. This was a feature in the two visuals released by PANYNJ of the new plans.
Attendees asked if 24-hour working (with associated construction noise) would be needed to get delivery on their eight-year plan. “I do not expect to be working 24/7. We didn’t even do that at the World Trade Center and that was a project where we were given a lot of carte blanche to fix what occurred in Manhattan,” said Parekh. “For instance, on 40th Street, there are hotels, they’re in the business of selling space for people to sleep.”
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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.
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