It’s Official: MTA/Tishman Speyer Talks are Dead

After a last-ditch effort to get their West Side Rail Yards negotiations back on track after Thursday’s announcement, Tishman Speyer was unable to sway the MTA. The MTA’s statement today was short and sweet. In its entirety: The MTA met today with Tishman Speyer. Despite the best efforts of both sides, a final agreement could [...]

From Rinses to Retail, Chelsea Car Wash Makes its Exit

[The Chelsea Car Wash at West 14th Street & 10th Avenue, before the sign was taken down.] As many Chelsea dwellers, West Side Highway & Hudson River Park commuters, taxi drivers, and car wash enthusiasts may have noticed, the distinctive red Chelsea Car Wash sign has disappeared. It was removed from where it was attached [...]

Anchors Away: Morgan Stanley Pulls Out of Tishman’s Bid

The Times reports today that financial giant Morgan Stanley has backed away from its deal with Rail Yards bidder Tishman Speyer (bid here). Tishman is one of four remaining bidders for the site, (Brookfield Properties dropped out last week) and, until today, was one of three with an anchor tenant. Related has secured Newscorp and [...]

BREAKING: Brookfield Not Submitting a New Bid

Brookfield Properties has announced they have not submitted a second bid for the Rail Yards site. Supplementary bids were due yesterday. Back in January, the MTA asked the five developers to submit supplementary materials supporting their ability to lease, not buy, the 26-acre site. None of this financial information was made public. Brookfield’s decision not [...]

Better Know a Developer: Extell Development Company

Welcome to the second in our series of posts running down the track records of the various companies competing for the opportunity to build lots and lots of buildings over the West Side Rail Yards. Today we focus on Extell, whose Steven Holl-designed plan (above, and here) has probably received the most architectural critical praise. [...]

News Roundup February 1-7

The January 28 MTA letter to developers generated a bunch of speculation on what the new guidelines will mean for developers, and it’s been a busy week for the various other developments around the Yards. MTA Likely to Narrow Rail Yards Field (NYO The Real Estate) MTA Wants Rail Yards Developer Designated By April 1 (NYO [...]

Crain’s has more on the MTA’s Strings Attached

Crain’s has the latest on an increasingly complicated set of requirements for developers, as outlined by the MTA in their January 28 letter. According to the article by Theresa Agovino, the winning developer will be contractually obligated to create a set of seperate funds that will go to the MTA for Rail Yards expenses and [...]

Better Know a Developer: Tishman Speyer

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be providing you with some quick-hit style background information on the various developers who have submitted bids for the West Side Yards site. Today, we’re starting with Tishman Speyer, whose bid is pictured above. Founded in 1978 in New York, Tishman Speyer (“TS”) has managed 77 million square feet [...]

MTA Pushing Developers to Lease the Rail Yards

According to Crain’s,  it now looks as if the MTA would prefer to lease the Rail Yards site to developers for 99 years, rather than sell it.    A source at one developer said the MTA was caving in to public pressure not to sell the property, which includes active MTA rail operations. But the MTA spokesman says that under [...]

Crain’s Video: Rail Yards Developers at REBNY Gala

Crain’s caught up with four of the five Rail Yards developers at the 112th annual Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) gala. Ric Clark from Brookfield, Stephen Ross from Related, Douglas Durst from Durst/Vornado, and Jerry Speyer from Tishman Speyer all make the case for why their development plan was the best.