Development Rides on Subway Expansion

NEW YORK CITY-Construction has begun on the extension of the No. 7 subway line on Manhattan’s Far West Side. The project will start from the line’s current terminus at Times Square and Seventh Avenue, westward under 41st Street to 11th Avenue and south under 11th Avenue to a new station at 34th Street.

Big payoffs are expected for the $2.1 billion the project will cost, and proponents predict transit-oriented development to spring up in one of Manhattan’s most underserved and underdeveloped areas as a result of the build. It is also expcetced to serve as a catalyst for the Hudson Yards project, according to a prepared government statement. The economic development resulting from the completion of this 1.5-mile extension will yield approximately $60 billion in tax revenues to the state and city over the next 30 years, and will create hundreds of thousands of new construction and permanent jobs, the release determined.

The subway advancement might relieve some hesitation developers may have had about developing in the Hudson Yards area. Jeff Katz, president & CEO of Sherwood Equities Inc., who currently owns two parcels in the neighborhood, previously told GlobeSt.com that getting the subway line in place was essential, not so much for residential property, but for office buildings in the area.