NEW YORK CITY-Jay Cross, president of Related Hudson Yards, was among the speakers on a Real Estate Development and Financial Issues panel at the Urban Systems Symposium Wednesday. Cross outlined plans for the 26-acre site, for which Related won development rights in 2008, later telling GlobeSt.com that he feels good about the market and leasing prospects for the site.

According to Cross, some key factors shaping up for success at the yards include the timely and successful completion of neighboring projects, like the Number 7 subway line. “There are major infrastructure parcels of work going on all around us--in particular the number 7 subway, which I think is an unheralded public works success story,” Cross told attendees at the event.

“For the moment they’re both on track schedule and budget wise for our January 2014 opening,” he added. “And from our perspective and from the perspective of our corporate users who I’m pitching for the yards, it’s a critical, critical thing.” Extension of the number 7 subway to the Hudson Yards is a critical part of redevelopment efforts.