With the combination of Hudson Yards, Brookfield Properties' Midtown West project and the Moynihan Station development, "You would see a district emerge" based on transit-oriented density, said Vishaan Chakrabarti, president of Moynihan Station Venture, a joint venture of Related Cos. and Vornado Realty Trust. The three projects are in close proximity to one another.
Mannarino and Chakrabarti expressed confidence that their multibillion-dollar projects would reach fruition, notwithstanding obstacles such as the resignation of Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Cablevision's plan to renovate the existing Madison Square Garden rather than move the arena across Eighth Avenue to Moynihan Station West. Another potential roadblock is the upheaval in the financial services industry: the office components of both Tishman Speyer's Hudson Yards project and Brookfield's Midtown West would seek to accommodate the need for large trading floors. "This too will pass," said Mannarino, adding that the three projects were intended to attract a variety of tenant classes.
Joshua Sirefman, Brookfield's SVP of US development, noted that corporate tenants still have their future space requirements in mind.
Moderator Peter Riguardi, president of the New York region for Jones Lang LaSalle, noted that the redevelopment of Times Square occurred against the backdrop of a soft real estate market.
As for Cablevision's plan to keep the Garden where it is, Chakrabarti said that if the arena stays put, a big-box retailer could go in its place at Moynihan West. On the other hand, he said, this would compromise the plan to redevelop the current Penn Station—including a larger waiting area and glass skylights that would not be possible if the Garden remains at its present location. He noted that Penn Station currently serves 550,000 passengers per day, or more than the total daily number of travelers who use the area's three major airports, and said the JV sought to rectify the error that was committed when the original Pennsylvania Station was torn down in 1963.
Sirefman said that while he hopes the Moynihan Station project can be completed "in all its grandeur," the Midtown West project would still be able to draw on area transit's "enormous capacity" to bring workers to the area. Part of that capacity would come from the project's proximity to rail lines: Midtown West would include a $630-million platform over Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit tracks, with a pair of office towers built on top. Foundation work on the platform will begin in May or June, he said, while the two towers designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill—one 60 stories, the other 64—are scheduled for completion in 2013.
While Tishman Speyer's Hudson Yards plan includes office and residential components, it also preserves the High Line and includes 13 acres of open space. "It allows you to create an environment you can't create anywhere else in New York City," said Mannarino.
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