The agreement approved by the MTA board secures Related's commitment to redeveloping the Far West Side rail yards via a down payment of $21.7 million. Related will not be obligated to close on the deal, and start paying its 99-year lease, until Midtown's office availability rate declines to 11%, apartment sale prices reach an average $1,200 per square foot and the AIA Architectural Billings Index hits 50. For the MTA, the value of the deal to lease air rights over its 26-acre Long Island Rail Road yards remains $1 billion.

In a statement, Jay Cross, president of Related Hudson Yards, says the company plans to sign the agreement "shortly." He says the project team is "working diligently on design and construction logistics," and adds, "We remain optimistic about the future of New York and fully expect the construction of the Hudson Yards will be an integral part of the city's resurgence. We remain fully committed to this historic development opportunity to create New York's next great neighborhood."

This past December, the City Council approved the rezoning of the Western Rail Yard, the Eastern Rail Yard having been rezoned in January 2005. A partnership of Related and Goldman Sachs was selected as the mega-project's development team in May 2008; Goldman has since bowed out. Build-out of the $15-billion mixed-use project, which will include office and retail components along with housing and public space, reportedly will get under way soon after the MTA finishes the Number 7 subway line extension to Eleventh Avenue, now projected for completion in 2013.