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.

Ada Louise Huxtable Attacks Rail Yards Planning Process

Wall Street Journal Architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable takes the Rail Yards planning process to task today. She’s skeptical of a process she sees as offering too much to the developers to the utimate detriment of the public good, because it is hard to believe that teams with this much financial heft and assembled star power could [...]

CB4 and HYCAC’s Discussion Document

Manhattan Community Board 4 and HYCAC developed this document to synthesize information about the MTA’s guidelines for the rail yards site, as well as overviews of the five proposals. It was intended for discussion at the December 10 public forum, but serves as a good reference for comparing the plans side-by-side. Download the PDF (Be [...]

Developer Exhibition Ends Friday

Friday is the last day of the public exhibition of all five developer proposals, in a storefront near Grand Central. The exhibition includes design boards, models, and last time we checked, a representative from each developer on hand to answer questions. Those details again: Rail Yards Proposals Exhibition 335 Madison Avenue (Northwest corner of Vanderbilt [...]

Plans Aired to the Community at the Hudson Guild

On Monday night, over 200 interested members of the community (as well as political figures such as New York State Senator Tom Duane) gathered at the Hudson Guild at an event sponsored by Community Board 4 and the Hudson Yards Community Advocacy Coalition that included presentations from the five developers who have submitted plans for [...]

Video: Cooper Union Architect Presentations

On Monday, architects from the five development teams presented their designs to the public at Cooper Union. Videos of each presentation are now available. Please note these videos have been edited down for length, and the sound quality is not great. Steven Holl for Extell Robert AM Stern, Bernardo Fort Brescia, Eugene Kohn and Claire [...]

Two ways to tell the MTA what you think about the developer proposals

The MTA is taking public input for the five developer proposals until December 14. After the designated public comment period, a committee made up of representatives from the MTA and the HYDC will make a recommendation to the MTA Board, who will then be responsible for selecting the developer. This is a very short window [...]