It appears that if Rupert Murdoch wants to bring his News Corporation back into the good graces of the Related Companies in order to nab some Hudson Yards office space, it's going to take a lot of chocolate and flowers. In the developer's version of burning photos of an ex-boyfriend, Related circulated an old rendering at yesterday's Hudson Yards press conference—old, that is, except for the removal of the MySpace banner that adorned the outdoor concert stage in the previous version. Maybe that's why Related's Hudson Yards website is still down—they want to remove all traces of the previous anchor tenant. Now that Murdochville has morphed into Relatedville, the Times reports that the MTA's board will vote on the deal on Thursday. Once it's approved, the two sides will have four months to hammer out all the specifics. Four months. If that's not enough time to avoid another meltdown, the MTA should probably just call it quits.
· Take That, Rupert! Related Air Brushes News Corp. From Rail Yards Renderings [TRE]
· New Developer Signs $1 Billion Deal to Transform West Side Railyards [NYT]
· Hudson Yards coverage [Curbed]
HUDSON YARDS—The "conditional selection" of Related Companies/Goldman Sachs to develop the Hudson Yards after the Tishman Speyer deal fell apart was formally announced this afternoon by the Governor, Mayor and MTA Direcector. The MTA Board will be meeting on Thursday to approve the "Murdochville" deal. If one didn't know the messy history of the plan to date, it would have appeared by the releases being sent around that Related was the first choice all along. Doom and gloom, be gone. The Governor was quoted as saying that "This agreement highlights the resilience of public-private partnerships in the face of the national economic downturn that we are experiencing." Mayor Bloomberg, on the other hand, said that "Today’s announcement that the MTA will award Related Companies, in partnership with Goldman Sachs, the development rights for the West Side Rail Yards is great news for the City. Despite the setbacks of the last few weeks, we are certain that Related and Goldman will realize this tremendous opportunity to develop what is really the only large parcel of undeveloped space left in Manhattan."
Talk about a comeback! The Related Companies' Hudson Yards bid, dubbed "Murdochville" because of the dominance of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation in the renderings, was seen as the early odds-on favorite in the rail yards sweepstakes. But things turned south when it was revealed that Related (also partnered with Goldman Sachs on the development proposal) couldn't get a firm commitment from its anchor tenant, and the whole shebang was eventually awarded to rival Tishman Speyer. Well, we all know how that turned out. Now, The Real Estate reports that the MTA has a tentative deal in place with Related to develop the Hudson Yards. Holy MySpace! So, if Murdochville (with or without Murdoch) gets built, just what are we looking at?
The MTA just issued this press release: "The MTA met today with Tishman Speyer. Despite the best efforts of both sides, a final agreement could not be reached. The MTA has now re-entered discussions with other interested developers and remains committed to timely development of these unique and valuable parcels of land on Manhattan's Far West Side." That's all, folks. [Hudson Yards collapse coverage]
We'd say the picture at right of Sen. Chuck Schumer and Mayor Bloomberg is of the two in happier times, but they don't really look that happy to be in each other's company back then, either. Yesterday, a verbal slap fight broke out between the two over the development, or lack thereof, of the West Side. Schumer got the feud started at a Crain's breakfast, in which he called Bloomberg's plan for a European-style mid-block boulevard running through the Hudson Yards the "goofiest thing I've ever seen," per the Sun. Schumer thinks the whole idea of the Hudson Yards as a new business district is totally ridic, especially when the focus should be on Moynihan Station. He also wants the Port Authority to take over Moynihan, because the agency supposedly has the money and skills to get it done (coughGroundZerocough). Two hours later Bloomberg responded, and he was especially perturbed about the Port Authority suggestion. His comeback, as reported in the Post: "I appreciate all the senator's views on Moynihan Station. His part of the job is to bring us the money." Burn! He also said, of the Hudson Yards: "We set the city's priorities. They don't come out of Washington, and the city's priorities are the West Side, getting it going and getting the rail line going there." Hopefully SchumBloom Round II is right around the corner, because two old guys fighting is funny.
· West Side War [NYP]
· Schumer on Mayor’s Plan: ‘Goofiest Thing’ He’s Seen [Sun]
A statement just released by the MTA: "MTA Chief Financial Officer Gary Dellaverson met today with Tishman Speyer President Rob Speyer to discuss development of the Hudson Yards. They have agreed to meet again tomorrow to continue the discussion." So short, so dramatic. [CurbedWire Inbox; HY collapse coverage]
Those darn gray boxes! They represent the portion of land left out of the 2005 rezoning of the Special Hudson Yards District—the western part of the rail yards that late yesterday led to the collapse of negotiations between Hudson Yards bid winner Tishman Speyer and land owner the MTA. A while back, the High Line Blog explained the rezoning, which is where we lifted the above image from (is that the Jets Stadium in there?!). But maybe the gray boxes are just an excuse. Maybe Tishman had buyer's remorse in light of the credit crunch and was just looking for a way out. Maybe, or maybe not. Charles Bagli reports in the Times that Jerry Speyer is flying from Milan to London today to meet with Mayor Bloomberg about the Hudson Yards. It was Speyer's son Rob who broke off the six-week-old talks with the MTA. Can the old men settle this over a hot cup of Earl Grey? The MTA probably hopes so. Writes Bagli, "But if the authority reopened negotiations with another bidder, it would almost certainly mean that it would get less money for the rights to the property, real estate executives said."
· Deal to Build at Railyards on West Side Collapses [NYT]
· Yardsmania: MTA Dumps Tishman Speyer, Chaos Ensues [Curbed]
Take one last look at the Hudson Yards proposal designed for Tishman Speyer by Helmut Jahn and Peter Walker, folks, because the thing ain't happening. Late this evening, the MTA announced that it had hit an "impassé" with bid winner Tishman over the West Side rail yards, and the result is that the development rights are now back in play. The deal was supposed to be that Tishman would close on the eastern half of the property now, and the western half when it was rezoned to allow for the massive residential and commercial plans, which could take a while. Tishman balked at closing on anything until the western portion of the yards got rezoned, and the result is this doomsday mess we now find ourselves in. Look, in a city where a damn train station can't even get built, is it surprising that a multi-billion-dollar build-out of a plot of land bigger than the World Trade Center would have massive complications? A Tishman Speyer spokesman told Reuters, "We still hope to be able to complete this deal and reach an agreement that satisfies the needs of everyone." We'll see about that, but oh my, does this mean that Murdochville is suddenly alive? Will any promised megaproject get built? The world seems like a cold, dark place right about now.
· MTA, Hudson Yards developer at an impasse [Reuters]
· $1B Deal To Develop West Side Rail Yard Collapses [AP via WCBS]
· All Curbed Hudson Yards coverage [Curbed]
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We'd say the picture at right of Sen. Chuck Schumer and Mayor Bloomberg is of the two in happier times, but they don't really look that happy to be in each other's company back then, either. Yesterday, a verbal slap fight broke out between the two over the development, or lack thereof, of the West Side. Schumer got the feud started at a Crain's breakfast, in which he called Bloomberg's plan for a European-style mid-block boulevard running through the Hudson Yards the "goofiest thing I've ever seen," per the 
