UPPER WEST SIDE—One glance at the rendering for Related's twin-towered The Harrison leads to a question: what the heck is that building in the middle? It's the Amsterdam Inn, a budget hotel between 76th and 77th Streets that also houses the Westside Brewing Co., the same establishment that was in the news recently regarding the destructive qualities of neighboring construction. A tipster writes: "The Amsterdam Inn wouldn’t sell out to Related. But rumor has it the Inn owner may actually go ahead and convert it into a real boutique hotel. West Side Brewery’s lease was up in February but they got extended to September. Not sure what happens then." A boutique hotel, just what this city needs! [CurbedWire Inbox]
CHELSEA/MEPA NORTH—An all Related CurbedWire! The rental portion of the developer's new Caledonia building, which is almost on top of the High Line, features one of the most anticipated affordable housing lotteries ever seen. Writes one entrant: "I got my wait list notification for Related's Caledonia housing lotto in the mail today. Very jealous of the people who will get these cheap apartments and those ahead of me on the list but, honestly, kind of happy with my very low wait list number." Careful where you do that yoga. [CurbedWire Inbox]
After megadeveloper Related's plan for a mixed-use development that included an 1,800-seat Cirque du Soleil theater didn't quite pan out (too Canadian), the huge vacant piece of land on West 42nd Street between Tenth and Dyer Avenues took on a new identity as the Hell's Kitchen swimming hole. But when Related announced that it had cleared the way for the rumored 60-story hotel/condo, we knew that the clock was ticking on the unofficial pool. Indeed, a Curbed tipster sent in the above photos of the site, where Related's worker bees are busy excavating and laying foundation. Related had said they would release details on the 440 West 42nd Street project "soon," and we're still waiting. Guys, how about a rendering? Or at least tell us what you did with two years' worth of rainwater!
· Swingin' Related Switches it Up in Hell's Kitchen [Curbed]
· Hell's Kitchen Swimming Hole Might Go Hotel [Curbed]
Shaking us out of our post-Kanye hangover (who knew an architecture critic could put on such a good show?) is this week's Observer, which carries quite the extravaganza: The 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate. The list was constructed in a very eco-friendly manner: it's all about the green. Or in the Observer's words: "The list, especially higher up, contains those who animate the deals and the trends. They are the deciders and the money providers." The top dog, in an entry that was probably feverishly rewritten over the past few days, is Tishman Speyer CEO Jerry Speyer. The deuce spot goes to Mayor Bloomberg, and #3 is one of New York's more prominent Steves, Related CEO Stephen Ross (Vornado's Steven Roth is at #24). The highest-ranking broker is Elliman's controversial spark plug Dolly Lenz, at #25, and her former protegé and current nemesis Michael Shvo is the last to be included, at #100. In Shvo's eyes, we're not sure what would be the bigger insult: being last on the list, or being left off it entirely. We'd ask, but the sound of the Dubai wind whipping through his immaculate coiffure would probably make it too loud for him to hear us. Donald Trump, burn, is #38.
· The 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate [NYO]
In a stunning turnaround from its odds-on favorite status of a year ago, the Related Companies' controversial $625 million plan to turn Hudson River Park's Pier 40 into a glitzy pleasuredome of sexually-suggestive French-Canadian entertainment appears to be dead, all because of something as pedestrian as length-of-lease terms. At last month's Hudson River Park Trust board meeting there was a lot of debate over Related's demands for a 49-year lease, because the HRPT only can grant 30-year leases. At yesterday's board meeting, it was announced that Related's Vegas on the Hudson vision was no longer being considered because of the lease dispute. The other two groups bidding on the ball fields—the parent-led Pier 40 Partnership and the CampGroup/Urban Dove team—were given 90 days to work out a joint proposal. Via the Villager, CampGroup/Urban Dove's plan can be seen above, with another look right here. If the two cannot draft something suitable, the HRPT will go to Albany and inquire about a 49-year lease on Pier 40, which would bring Related back into play. For now, though, it seems like Cirque du Soleil is homeless, and Molto Mario gets what Molto Mario wants.
· Related's Pier 40 plan nixed on lease terms [Crain's]
· Partnership and CampGroup eye a partnership at Pier 40 [Villager]
· Curbed's Pier 40 coverage [Curbed]
Um, about that delay. Well, it looks like it was a very brief one. The Real Estate is reporting that the MTA may choose a winning bid for the Hudson Yards as soon as tonight, with the list being whittled down to Tishman Speyer's officepalooza and the joint Durst/Vornado High Line-destroying hippie lovefest. Yes, the early favorite—The Related Companies' News Corp.-loaded Rupert Murdoch playground, is doneski, at least per these anonymous sources. The problem is that Murdochville, oddly, doesn't have a firm commitment from News Corp., though that line of thought doesn't make much sense because Tishman recently lost Morgan Stanley as its anchor tenant, but that doesn't seem to be hampering the bid. Should a West Side Rail Yards selection be made, it would need to be finalized by the MTA board, perhaps at its Wednesday meeting. In the biggest sense of the word: DEVELOPING...
· Durst/Vornado and Tishman Speyer Lead as Decision Close on West Side Yards [TRE]
· The Other Big Rail Yards Thing is Also Kinda Screwed Up [Curbed]
· Full Curbed Hudson Yards Coverage [Curbed]
Constructing costs are soaring, the credit crunch is limiting the availability of financing, and the 421-a tax exemption program has been eliminated. Yes, these are tough times for developers, and particularly those who are building new rental projects. Still, the Sun's Michael Stoller reports, a handful of massive projects are moving on. Included in Stoller's roundup is Douglaston Development's nearly forgotten tower near the Hudson Yards, Frank Gehry's still mysterious8 Spruce Street (which will reportedly fetch rents of $85/sf), and Related's High Line-neighboring Caledonia (right). The 190 condos in the Caledonia have long since sold out, so now the attention is on the West 17th Street building's 288 rental units. The lottery for the affordable units is in full swing, and now the market-rate rentals are trickling onto the market. Related's rentals website is not much help, but per StreetEasy, six apartments are available for rent, though these may be condo units. Either way, not surprisingly, they are hella expensive. But, oh, that sweet sweet High Line.
· The 'Impossible Dream' of Rental Development [Sun]
· Caledonia Apartment Lottery: Gotta Be In It [Curbed]
· High Line Construction Chronicles: Caledonia Looming [Curbed]
Depending on how this one turns out, someone may someday turn the roller coaster ride called Moynihan Station into a Broadway musical. There are certainly enough interesting characters involved. Today's installment is a grim assessment by Eliot Brown in the Observer that describes a plan that "seems on the edge of collapse." The next test is securing that pesky $1 billion in funding. For those keeping score, $550 million has been pledged toward Penn Station redevelopment by Vornado and Related Companies. The city and state have promised $300 million. The Spitzer Administration is looking for another $200-$300 million from the city and state and about $800 million, give or take, from Washington. The original Moynihan plan was priced at $900 million. The new one is $2 billion. If it doesn't come together? " The project as is could easily unravel toward a scaled-back version—or to nothing at all, condemning generations of commuters to the same old Penn Station."
· What If Moynihan Station Doesn't Happen? [NYO]
· Time to Pass the Hat on Moynihan Station [Curbed]
Remember the glorious image above? Helmut Jahn and Peter Walker's vision of a "town square" surrounded by gleaming new skyscrapers, apartments and community facilities? It's the stuff dreams are made of, and in the end, a dream is precisely what it is. Charles Bagli reports in the Times today that Morgan Stanley, Tishman Speyer's anchor tenant in its bid for the development rights at the Hudson Yards, has dropped out of the plan over concerns that the company's new headquarters would not be built in time for a 2013 move-in. This comes on the heels of Brookfield Properties' departure from the Hudson Yards race, and the MTA's revised demands for the property. Tishman Speyer has not withdrawn its bid, but this could be a crushing blow. The latest series of events can be looked at in two ways: 1) The Hudson Yards are reeling due to the MTA's demands and the credit crunch, or 2) We're that much closer to Murdochville, baby! Wooooooooooo! MySpace! MySpace! MySpace!
· Morgan Stanley Retreating From Railyards Development [NYT]
· Late-Breaking CurbedWire: Brookfield Out at Hudson Yards [Curbed]
· Yardsmania Stunner: MTA Wants Bigger Piece of the Pie [Curbed]
The Moynihan Station plan may have recently found itself in a bit of trouble, but the massive urban planning project still has one thing going for it: at least the Port Authority isn't involved! Unfortch, that may not be the case for much longer. To close the gap on that pesky $1 billion budget shortfall, the developers may recruit the bi-state agency/bureaucratic sinkhole to come aboard and contribute some cash and bonds, the Sun reports. The Related Companies' Steve Ross denied that any such negotiations were going on, but oopsie, a state development official said he was "aware of discussions between the developers and the Port Authority." Steve, you gotta return your calls, buddy! The situation is dicey because Governor Spitzer doesn't want to cede any control over the project, but we all know there's no way of getting something this huge done without the involvement of at least half a dozen or so inept government agencies. Hey, maybe the Moynihan Station/Penn Station renovation/new Madison Square Garden will run as smoothly as the new World Trade Center!
· Port Authority Could Bridge Fund Gap in Penn Plan [Sun]
· Time to Pass the Hat on Moynihan Station [Curbed]
· MSG as 'Light-Filled Glass Container?' Sure! [Curbed]
With a decision on the Hudson Yards bids supposedly one month away, the MTA has chucked a curveball right at the groins of competing developers Extell, Related, Tishman Speyer, Vornado/Durst and Brookfield Properties. Over the weekend, Charles Bagli reported in the Times that the MTA has cold feet about selling the 26 acres of prime waterfront land currently serving as the West Side rail yards. Now, the MTA has two new requests: the winning developer gets a 99-year lease, and the MTA gets an "equity-type interest" in any project built on the land. Whoa now! It's like the cash-strapped MTA woke up one day and was like, "Oh crap, we forgot about the billions more we could be making off this one piece of land!" But how will the developers react to these new demands? As Bagli points out, the move comes right when commercial developers are growing uneasy about the market and the economy. One anonymous bidder told the Times, "I think these people don't realize what the financial climate is like." Another classic case of the unpredictable MTA doing its thing, or an awesome muscle move because—in the end—the winner will pay whatever it takes to get the deal done?
· New Bids Are Sought for Building on Railyards [NYT]
· Yardsmania Nonshocker: Underdogs Still Underdogs [Curbed]
· Yardsmania: Is Related's Murdochville Inevitable? [Curbed]
· Curbed Poll Reminder: The Hudson Yards Winner Is... [Curbed]
Yesterday, in front of a large audience hungry for some decisive action on the development proposals for the athletic fields of Pier 40, the Hudson River Park Trust did what they've done all along during this lengthy process—pretty much nothing. The Trust was not comfortable with awarding the rights to either of the two "official" bids, Related's Cirque du Soleil-loaded "Vegas on the Hudson" (above) or the People's Pier offer of private/public day camps. Nor was the Trust willing to hand the thing off to the Pier 40 Partnership—the coalition of local parents who jumped in a little late and rallied last weekend with Molto Mario on hand. Everyone got sent back to the drawing board, and the Trust will meet again in March. It would appear that the delay benefits the parents, who now have more time to get their act together. Some board members mused aloud on a dream scenario in which the bidders come together on a joint plan that generates lots of revenue for the park and pleases the community. Yeah, we'll see about that. The one thing everyone agreed on was that at least the Hudson River Park is better off than the oft-delayed Brooklyn Bridge Park, which has to resort to sticking luxury condos on park land to pay for stuff. Burn!
· Pier 40 Rally Recap: More Like Cirque du So-Lame! [Curbed]
· Pier 40, Now With Safer Street Crossing! [Curbed]
· Vegas on the Hudson May Be Dead in the Water [Curbed]
As advertised, the Pier 40 Partnership held its Rally For The Park on Sunday, and about 700 people showed up to tell the Hudson River Park Trust that Related's Cirque du Soleil/Vegas on the Hudson plan for the pier is, like, so not cool. Buoying the Pier 40 Partnership's proposal is the Post's report that Bob Kerrey said the New School would pay up to $120 million for facilities at Pier 40. The parent-loaded partnership wants to keep the pier's current athletic fields while upgrading the whole shebang and adding some educational crap. Above, some screengrabs from the rally video on YouTube, featuring a fairly spicy Mario Batali rant against Related's "strip malls and movie theaters" proposal. The board of the Hudson River Park Trust will meet Thursday to figure this whole thing out, maybe.
· Hudson Park Lovers Apply Pier Pressure [NYP]
· Video: Pier 40 rally [YouTube]
· Molto Mario Would Like Less Vegas in His Hudson, Please [Curbed]
The small blocks of affordable apartments that most developers include in new buildings in exchange for zoning and tax breaks remain one of New York's great housing mysteries. How does one actually nab one of these luxury homes at pauper prices? Timing and luck, pretty much, and in the case of The Caledonia—Related's sold-out new High Line building—the time for luck is now! Listed as "Chelsea" on the Dept. of Housing Preservation & Development's website and 451 West 16th Street/450 West 17th Street in the email we just received, the ultrafancy Caledonia is offering up 59 affordable rentals. Quit your job for one at McDonald's, fill out an application and keep your fingers crossed. If the stars align, you'll be looked down upon by your wealthy neighbors in no time!
· Current Housing Lotteries [nyc.gov]
· High Line Construction Chronicles: Caledonia Looming [Curbed]
· The Caledonia [Official Site]
The Superior Ink development in the Far West Village—with its Robert A.M. Stern pedigree, stately townhouses and celebrity endorsements—was supposed to be a blockbuster. And it most likely is. Still, we never thought that Related would need to embark on much of an advertising campaign to unload the 68 condos and seven townhouses, and we certainly never imagined that a sponsored item about the building would turn up in one of those dude-driven e-mail newsletters. But there it is in today's UrbanDaddy. So, what do the fellas have to say about the building?
Plus, whether you nab a studio loft or a spacious three-bedroom, your interior comes courtesy of the excellent/excellently named Yabu Pushelberg (W New York)—allowing you to casually mention to friends, "Oh, you like my bathroom? Yabu did that for me."
On Friday, The Real Deal filed an update on the famed Hell's Kitchen Swimming Hole, also known as the Related Companies' failed Cirque du Soleil theater/luxury development near the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel. It's long been said that Related was now planning a 60-story hotel/condo for the site, so what's with the hold up? Reports TRD:
Twining Properties and Macfarlane Partners, The Related Companies' partners at a long-stalled development site that covers an entire block at 42nd Street and Tenth Avenue, have cashed out their shares in the project. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs and MSD Capital, which became the firm's first outside investors last month, are now equity partners on the project at 440 West 42nd Street, said Related spokeswoman Joanna Rose. "We are moving forward with the project and we hope to reveal details on it very soon," Rose said.
The confusing fate of Pier 40 on the Hudson River is taking on more twists and turns. The Pier 40 Partnership, one of three groups that have submitted a makeover plan for the pier, now estimate the cost of repairs at $125 million—slightly more than the Hudson River Park Trust's estimate, which is $30 million. Why the big difference? The Downtown Express reports that it has to do with what the engineers say will—whoa check out that rendering! It's from the People's Pier group proposal, and includes a pedestrian bridge over the West Side Highway to make it safer to get to the pier. But isn't the danger part of the fun?
· Pier 40 group says non-profit operator is the only answer [Downtown Express]
· Vegas on the Hudson May Be Dead in the Water [Curbed]
1) Don't you just love it when mind-exploding architectural reveals are tucked away in seemingly small-potatoes stories? This little ditty on developers building schools in exchange for more air rights includes info on the boring Azure on East 91st Street and the very very not boring SOM-designed 59-story condo tower planned for 250 East 57th Street (right). Wow. That's a lot to process without fair warning. [Posting/C.J. Hughes]
2) Josh Barbanel reports that in November, "the number of closed sales just about matched the number closed in November 2006, and prices were considerably higher, but roughly flat compared with the prices in the previous quarter." And inventory seems to still be flying off the shelves, he says. Merry Christmas, real estate brokers. [Big Deal/Josh Barbanel]
3)Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff is often criticized for serving no other purpose than breathlessly praising the work of starchitects, and he's had it! But instead of hitting back, the man who once nearly had an orgasm over a Gehry stairwell instead fires off a defense of his precious starchitects. Booyah, haters! [Critic's Notebook]
Rarely does a developer as huge as Related get jerked around, but that's apparently what's happening over on Pier 40 near Houston Street. Forever, Related's $625 million Pier 40 proposal of a Cirque du Soleil theater, concert halls, restaurants and retail was seen as the odds-on favorite over the People's Pier proposal of more fields and facilities. But then the vote was delayed to give the Pier 40 Partnership—a well-connected, well-funded group of local parents—time to get their own proposal together. Now, the Downtown Express reports that the Pier 40 Partnership is about to submit its plan, which calls for indoor recreation space and a school or arts center, among other things. The group may also combine with the People's Pier gang to form a Related-fighting supergroup. It could work. Sources told the DE that the Hudson River Park Trust is "cooling" to Related's proposal. It's an unfortunate turn of events for Related, whose plan was probably hurt by the departure of the megadeveloper-friendly Dan Doctoroff. But hey, anything beats the stench of rotting garbage, right?
· Honing Pier 40 plans as deadline nears [Downtown Express]
· Vegas on the Hudson Vote Delayed, Again [Curbed]
Today marks another stepping stone on the way to the Moynihan Station/Penn Station/Farley Post Office/MSG thingamajig. There's a public hearing about the project, but since designs and numbers are still being tossed around, no one's expecting anything new or exciting. Citizens will, however, get to comment on the famed scoping document. Yep, it's going to be pretty boring, but there's plenty of excitement on the sidelines. Charles Bagli reports in the Times today that Moynihan developers Related and Vornado are trying to lure Macy's from its landmark headquarters on 34th Street to a new location inside the train station. Wait, so they're not going to fills Moynihan's millions of square feet of retail space with Duane Reades, Chase banks and Pinkberrys? An interesting strategy, for sure.
· Moynihan vision remains unclear [Metro]
· An Effort to Tempt Macy’s From a Century-Old Home [NYT]
· Moynihan Station Gets Nailed by Supporters [Curbed]
The Hudson Yards. Moynihan Station. Big, confusing urban planning topics, but New York magazine's Anthony Weiss and Alec Appelbaum do the Lord's work this week and tackle both of them. Over at the Yards, the two handicap the race even though their assumption is that the redevelopment will fall into the lap of more than one company. They agree with the experts and Curbed HQ and annoint Related's proposal as the favorite (much to the chagrin of the Times' architecture critic). They write:
The plan is the front-runner—though it will almost certainly be rejiggered to incorporate aspects of the other bids. With Kohn Pederson Fox as lead architect, its strength lies in having lined up News Corp. and established a financing partnership with Goldman Sachs as well as Ross’s chummy relationship with city planning czar Dan Doctoroff (they both once owned pieces of the Islanders).
The Times' chief architecture critic slammed them, New Yorkfound it a "comforting thought" that the end result will look nothing like them, and now, the Hudson Yards proposals are the victims of even more libelous attacks. Today's shot-taker is the Sun's James Gardner, who writes that the "dispiriting" Hudson Yards are destined to fail as a 24-hour community, due to its crap location and mixed-use hodgepodge. Yep, another Hudson hater, and it has the Post's Steve Cuozzo fired up. Very fired up.
Now that all the instant reaction to the Hudson Yards proposals clustereff has died down, it's time for the propaganda war to begin. In the end, the unpredictable MTA possesses the only opinion that matters, but that won't stop the developers from scoring every press mention as either a win or loss for their cause. Extell already took home a huge victory in securing the Ouroussoff seal of approval, and here are some other Hudson Yards odds and ends:
2) Related's bid, while somewhat warmly received, was peppered with negative feedback regarding the lack of building details. Apparently Stephen Ross & Co. were listening, as a Curbed reader alerts us to some changes over at the Yards displays on 43rd Street and Vanderbilt Ave.: "Related has revamped its presentation, adding a very detailed video and another scale model, big improvement." Well played, Related. Well played.
3)New York's Intelligencer, after dissing the bids altogether a la Ouroussoff, also appears to be veering toward the Extell camp, giving project architect Steven Holl a forum to spout off about how terror-proof the Extell design is. So if you're looking to side with Osama bin Laden's preferred Hudson Yards design, look elsewhere. Like, maybe to Tishman, with that whole Morgan Stanley headquarters thing. Just saying!
· Curbed Poll Reminder: The Hudson Yards Winner Is... [Curbed]
1)New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff finally got around to checking out the Hudson Yards plans, and woo boy, he is not happy. Ouroussoff drops the hammer on the whole process, writing that the proposals are "not just a disappointment for their lack of imagination, they are also a grim referendum on the state of large-scale planning in New York City." Wham! The Related bid is "disturbing," the Vornado/Durst bid is "slightly less disturbing." The "only one worth serious consideration" is Extell's proposal (right), which didn't fare so well in the people's vote. Interesting. ['In Plans for Railyards, a Mix of Towers and Parks'/Nicolai Ouroussoff]
2) The latest regarding One Madison Park and its increasingly notorious $45 million penthouse. A "European Pritzker Prize-winning architect" will be brought in to design just the 22nd Street entrance (because 23rd Street is yucky) and the penthouse will come with a private butler, paid for by the condominium, who will live in a one-bedroom unit on a lower floor. There is a debate going on about whether or not that is possible, however. You know Tim Robbins ain't gonna be pleased about paying for somebody else's manservant. [Big Deal/Josh Barbanel]
3) Joyce Cohen finally figured out who would buy in the Simone in Windsor Terrace, a building that immediately puts you one foot in the grave upon purchase: people whose only other option is the Bronx. Makes sense. [The Hunt/Joyce Cohen]
Phew! Now that the five Hudson Yards bid are in, it's time for the swift, cruel hammer of judgment to come down. But given that the MTA won't say how much the developers are bidding (pissing off some), and since the building designs will surely change as the winning bid navigates various approval stages, how can the proposals be accurately assessed by the public? Simple: by Curbed poll! So, the first task is to read up on the Brookfield Properties, Extell, Related, Vornado/Durst and Tishman Speyer bids. The second is to forget all about what will win (Related, most likely), and what has no chance of winning (Extell). The third is to simply ask yourself...
[All renderings courtesy of dbox; Click to expand.]
Developer: The Related Companies Architects: Robert A.M. Stern, Kohn Pederson Fox, Arquitectonica Biggest building: A 1,080, two-million-square-foot News Corp headquarters Housing: 5,300 units (2,000 rentals) Public space: Nine acres High Line?: Saved! Online?: Nope!
Heading into the tiny storefront where these suckers are on display, we had Related—with its Goldman Sachs financial backing and Rupert Murdoch/News Corporation partnership—pegged as the favorite. But we were underwhelmed. Maybe it was the unfinished model that just showed the bases of all the buildings, but maybe it was also the realization that this thing would be Murdochville through and through. Just take a look at the rendering above. Is MySpace figuring prominently into a multi-billion-dollar, city-changing development deal supposed to be a confidence-boosting move on Related's part? Will MySpace even be around when the Hudson Yards are completed? A focus group of teenagers we keep locked in the basement to answer such questions told us MySpace is lame now.
Our admiration for the swimming hole that developer Related Companies had been nice enough to construct for the residents of Hell's Kitchen (on 42nd Street between Tenth and Dyer Aves.) is not echoed, oddly, by neighborhood residents. Yesterday, Theater Row developer Fred Papert sued Related, claiming the hole has become a genuine hazard for the neighborhood. In its defense, Related says it has started picking up after itself, and besides, they've got plans that might even exceed the original Cirque Du Solei scheme for the site. Per the NYT:
According to a real estate executive who has been briefed on the developer’s plans, Related wants to form a joint venture with an unnamed hotel operator to build a 60-story, one-million-square-foot tower. The tower, with a hotel and luxury apartments at the top, would sit above shops, an Equinox gym and a couple of small theaters.
Comments
Constructing costs are soaring, the credit crunch is limiting the availability of financing, and the 421-a tax exemption program has been eliminated. Yes, these are tough times for developers, and particularly those who are building new rental projects. Still, the Sun's Michael Stoller 
Depending on how this one turns out, someone may someday turn the roller coaster ride called Moynihan Station into a Broadway musical. There are certainly enough interesting characters involved. Today's installment is a grim assessment by Eliot Brown in the Observer that 
The Moynihan Station plan may have recently found itself in a 
The small blocks of affordable apartments that most developers include in new buildings in exchange for zoning and tax breaks remain one of New York's great housing mysteries. How does one actually nab one of these luxury homes at pauper prices? Timing and luck, pretty much, and in the case of The Caledonia—Related's sold-out new 
The Superior Ink development in the Far West Village—with its 
On Friday, The Real Deal filed an update on the famed Hell's Kitchen Swimming Hole, also known as the Related Companies' failed 
1) Don't you just love it when mind-exploding architectural reveals are tucked away in seemingly small-potatoes stories? This little ditty on developers building schools in exchange for more air rights includes info on the boring 
Today marks another stepping stone on the way to the Moynihan Station/Penn Station/Farley Post Office/MSG 
1) New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff finally got around to checking out the Hudson Yards plans, and woo boy, he is not happy. Ouroussoff drops the hammer on the whole process, writing that the proposals are "not just a disappointment for their lack of imagination, they are also a grim referendum on the state of large-scale planning in New York City." Wham! The Related bid is "disturbing," the Vornado/Durst bid is "slightly less disturbing." The "only one worth serious consideration" is 
