All stories about "Megaprojects"

Given the dreaminess of the renderings and a tentative completion date way off in 2013, we should have known that the Dutch conversion of Governors Island into a park of wonders was perhaps too good to be true. On the surface, everything is fine. The old Coast Guard base has a big splashy waterfall, and the lineup of summer events on the island is the most ambitious yet. And the Motel 8, aka Building 293, is about to be demolished, part of the first phase of the master plan that includes the razing of 13 buildings total, a basic re-landscaping and an environmental review. But here's the big problem: The Real Deal reports that Leslie Koch, who is overseeing the reinvention of Gov's Island, acknowledged that the project only has $20 million in capital funds budgeted this year (which covers Phase 1), and more than $200 million needs to be secured in total to make the "Park at the Center of the World" dream come alive. In this era of budget shortfalls and crumbling megaprojects, that's, uh, going to be tough. And West 8, the landscape architecture firm chosen to design the 90 acres, now says the entire park will take 15 years to complete. What does all this mean for the future of Governors Island? Here's a hint: Big Purple is watching.
· Governors Island demolition to begin [TRD]
· Governors Island coverage [Curbed]

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Who doesn't love that wacky Dolan family, with their vanity blues bands, reggaeton-flavored digital cable commercials and ill-timed arena renovation announcements? We'll tell you who: the developers involved in Moynihan Station. So, amidst efforts to try and lure Madison Square Garden's owners back into the Moynihan/Penn Station fold, developers Vornado Realty Trust and the Related Companies may be pursuing a new plan of action, the Observer's Eliot Brown reports:

According to multiple people familiar with discussions, the joint venture of the Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust wants the Port Authority to come in and buy the current Madison Square Garden, along with its hotly desired air rights, a task that would cost somewhere between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. The developers have told officials that this purchase by the public sector, which would be effectively paid back by the developers should the entire project come together, is necessary to right the troubled large-scale plan.

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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]

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When Sen. Chuck Schumer spoke out against Bloomberg's prioritizing of the Hudson Yards over Moynihan Station earlier this week—and even dared suggest that the Port Authority take over the Moynihan/Farley Post Office project—Mayor Mike's head nearly exploded. Now, Governor Patterson has joined with Schumer in suggesting that the Port Authority handle the new train terminal, and if Bloomberg hasn't turned green and ripped through his business suit already, we assume it's only a matter of time. Moynihan Station is still reeling from Madison Square Garden's sudden pull-out from the plan as well as budget concerns, but Bloomberg shot back that the whole thing has been slowed by turmoil upstate. The Post quotes him: "The chaos in Albany was not good for us. A new administration comes in. They want to study things. Then there's another new administration. They want to study things." OK, so Bloomberg isn't the studying type. Patterson, trying to smooth over some hurt feelings before brass knuckles come out, said: "This isn't a personal feud, or something like that. He just has a viewpoint on what was Schumer's proposal and one that I'll weigh as I make a decision." Whatever that means.
· Gov and Bloomberg on Opposite Tracks [NYP]
· Schumer Not Into Hudson Yards, Bloomberg Not Into Schumer [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 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]

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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]

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Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

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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Not long ago, Mayor Bloomberg called the redevelopment of the Far West Side "the single most important economic project that this city has undertaken in decades." He was talking about Moynihan Station, Hudson Yards, the Javits Center expansion and the extension of the 7-train. Now, most of those projects are in various stages of disarray (or in the case of Javits, death) and critics have been lining up to pound the rest into submission, citing factors like the credit crunch and poor planning. We've been rounding up these stories under the rubric West Side Doom & Gloom, and Charles Bagli's story on West Side redevelopment in the Times today is by far the gloomiest and doomiest. The argument is made that commercial development will be slow to creep west, especially if Moynihan Station doesn't get done.

That's why, some argue, all resources should be focused on Moynihan—even a smaller version if the Garden stays put—before work begins at Hudson Yards. Oh, and Hudson Yards should be completely rethought, too, because it sucks. Or at least David Childs thinks so. The situation on the West Side is now even more delicate with the addition of Brookfield Properties' Manhattan West. As we speculated, rejected Hudson Yards tenant Condé Nast has been negotiating with Brookfield for one of two office towers planned for the SOM Yards, but that too could be in jeopardy if Moynihan stalls. Ugh! Well, at least the High Line will make its way up there. Maybe.
· West Side Redevelopment Plans in Disarray [NYT]
· Moynihan Station Deathblow: MSG Pulls Out of Plan? [Curbed]
· Yardsmania: From 'Grim Referendum' to 'Damning Indictment' [Curbed]

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The fight to stop the city's big $3 billion redevelopment of Willets Point is going legal. Right now, property owners and opponents of the plan are having a press conference at City Hall to announced they're filling suit against the city over its "negligent, reckless and willful refusal to provide" basic services including streets, gutters, storm sewers, fire hydrants, snow removal, trash and sanitary sewers. They say the lack of services, in turn, will be used by the city to condemn property, evict businesses and turn the parcel over to developers. The suit asks the city to provide basic infrastructure and asks for damages for "past neglect." The city plans a huge housing, retail, hotel and convention complex on the site, which is next to Citi Field. Yesterday, opponents protested outside Shea Stadium on opening day. The Willets Point Industry and Realty Association and 10 of the biggest landowners have hired a major environmental lawyer to pursue the suit. Per a release from the group: "WPIRA maintains that the City of New York has planned to rezone and redevelop for many years and has been waging a campaign of intentional neglect to create and perpetuate an eyesore for the eventual justification of the use of Eminent Domain."
· Willets Point Plan Rendered, Local Love Included [Curbed]

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Did you think former Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Dan Doctoroff had gone off to a life in the private sector? Not exactly. Yesterday, Mr. Doctoroff was cleared by the city's Conflicts of Interest Board to remain involved in a number of projects on which he'd worked as Deputy Mayor. What's fascinating about a Times story on the subject, however, is the number of things in which Mr. Doctoroff is still involved: Hudson River Park, Governors Island, Moynihan Station and the Queens West projects. Plus, that little endeavor know as PlaNYC 2030. Of all this, the Times writes that "Mr. Doctoroff may have left City Hall, but he remains a participant in — and has a big influence over — what is going to be built." The list of Doctoroff projects and involvements in so long that "even some who serve on boards with him have expressed confusion about his roles" and in January a How to Deal with the Doctor Memo went out.
· Ex-Official Cleared to Continue to Work on Big City Projects [NYT]
· City Board Permits Doctoroff a Role in City Projects [Sun]

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The reverberations from the Atlantic Yards Stall that made headlines on Good Friday continue, with the developer announcing that luxury suites at the (not canceled) Nets Arena are going on sale on May 15. There will be a new Manhattan showroom and they'll be priced from $300,000-$540,000 a year. They'll include flat panel TV, access to an "exclusive" lounge and "personal servants." As for when the suites will be available for actual use, given the turmoil for the project, Atlantic Yards Report notes today that developer Bruce Ratner has six years from the time litigation is settled and the site is acquired to actually build the arena.

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[Photo courtesy of Tracy Collins/flickr]

PROSPECT HEIGHTS—The reactions have been rolling in today about the Atlantic Yards Stall in the form of delays, cancellations and a doubling of the cost of the Nets arena:

"I am obviously disappointed that some key components of the Atlantic Yards project may not be completed on the timetable we had envisioned...I remain confident that Forest City Ratner...will fulfill its vision of bringing the Nets, affordable housing, and a new city center to Downtown Brooklyn."--Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz [CurbedWire Inbox]

"Atlantic Yards cannot be built as planned, and was never financially feasible...We call on the city and state to work with the community to develop the rail yards in a responsible manner, without destroying the existing neighborhoods in the process." Also, the arena "would now cost $950 million...and therefore is subject to new governmental review."--Daniel Goldstein DDDB [CurbedWire Inbox]

"Forest City Ratner made a commitment to ACORN and to the people of Brooklyn to deliver on a historic plan for affordable housing...we continue to have every confidence they will live up to their commitment."--Bertha Lewis ACORN [CurbedWire Inbox]

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The road from the announcement of the Atlantic Yards project in 2003 through the possible "stall" making headlines today has not been a simple one to follow. The arena, many will recall, was originally supposed to have been finished in 2006, but along the way there have been delays, controversy, fierce opposition, lawsuits, financial revelations and everything that a New York City megaproject could be expected to have. For those who've forgotten some of the twists and turns, here's a very selective Atlantic Yards timeline touching on some of the, uh, highlights:

December 10, 2003: "Forest City Ratner officials publicly unveiled the Atlantic Yards plan—millions of square feet of office, residential and arena space to take over the Vanderbilt Rail Yards in Prospect Heights." Bruce Ratner predicts his Nets arena will open in 2006.
June 9, 2005: Check out the photo of ACORN's Bertha Lewis kissing Bruce Ratner on the lips after a Community Benefits Agreement is reached.
September 9, 2005: "All systems are go" as the MTA is ready to approve a deal with Mr. Ratner for the Atlantic Yards site. Things are "looking pretty damn good."

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Among the many negative reactions to developer Bruce Ratner's bombshell about the Atlantic Yards "stall" is a blistering, if not withering, analysis by the Times' Nicolai Ouroussoff, who attacks the possible changes in Atlantic Yards on many fronts. In a nutshell, Ouroussoff thinks that an arena without the tall towers designed by Frank Gehry will be an "eyesore." So, while Atlantic Yards opponents may be amused by the venom directed at possible changes, they may be less tickled that his major criticism is that the project would be too small and denuded of its boldest elements. Nonetheless, Mr. Ouroussoff describes the change as a "bitter pill" for the developer and "a painful setback for urban planning in New York." He also calls it "a betrayal of the public trust" and the possible arena that will result "a piece of urban blight."

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[Image courtesy of the New York Times]

Right about now, the reverberations of the story in this morning's New York Times are making their way around Brooklyn: key parts of the Atlantic Yards project are being scaled back, delayed or may never be built. The Times uses the word "stalled" in its headline. It all comes about as a result of comments in an interview with developer Bruce Ratner, who blamed the tanking economy and the credit crunch for big problems in the $4 billion project at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue. Mr. Ratner says the economy "may hold up the office building" and "the bond market may slow the pace of the residential buildings."

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