The JV between Vornado and Lawrence Ruben Co., 20X Square Associates, was announced in April 2007 as the developer of a 1.3-million-square-foot office tower over the terminal's north wing. The Port anticipated that the deal would bring in $500 million over the term of the lease, which it planned to put toward renovations on the 60-year-old depot. At the time, the Port's executive chairman, Anthony Coscia, said the agreement would provide a vehicle for "leveraging the robust real estate market so that we can secure needed resources to invest in this aging facility and allow it to serve future generations."

According to Port documents, negotiations on the tower development "ceased" as the robust market paled, and the second of two extensions on the exclusivity agreement expired in August 2009. However, since negotiations began, 20X Square became more familiar with the bus terminal and its operations, "and would therefore need less time to move forward with the air rights development project when the real estate market recovers," according to Port documents.

Tuesday's vote by the Port's board extends the agreement retroactively from August '09 to August of next year, while putting 20X Square in charge of 60,000 square feet of retail space through August 2014. Through a spokeswoman, Vornado declined comment on the Port's action.