All stories about "Yardsmania"

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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Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

The Hudson Yards development plan created by Tishman Speyer—with architects Helmut Jahn and Peter Walker—has emerged as the frontrunner in the past 24 hours, according to the New York Times. You may recall that Tishman's proposal featured Morgan Stanley as an anchor tenant—an anchor tenant that has now sailed away. Still, the MTA is said to be in final negotiations with Tishman, with plans to formally present the plan to its board for approval this Wednesday if final details can be worked through. (The other proposal that's still breathing is said to to be Durst/Vornado.) Above, a photogallery of the Tishman plan, and here's Curbed's original take on it. Developing...
· MTA Leaning Towards Tishman Speyer Railyards Bid [NYTimes]
· Yardsmania: Tishman Speyer Calls a Forum [Curbed]

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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]

When the Hudson Yards bidding process kicked off, Extell and Brookfield were branded as the long shots. The two companies are the small fries compared to the other developers, and they are the only proposals without an anchor tenant already announced. Now, Crain's is reporting that three of the five builders have each bid $1 billion for the rail yards, giving them the inside track. Guess which two are left out in the cold again? Yep, Extell and Brookfield. But the MTA will most likely end up combining elements from several bids into a grand master plan, so who knows, maybe the Hudson Yards will end up having some of Gary Barnett's DNA in it. Ew.
· MTA eyes 3 for W. Side job: report [NYDN]
· Yardsmania: Huge Crowd Packs Cooper Union [Curbed]
· Curbed Poll Reminder: The Hudson Yards Winner Is... [Curbed]