By David Pitt
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE – The Metropolitan Transportation Authority signed a contract with Related Companies on Wednesday authorizing the developer to move forward with the transformation of the sprawling Hudson rail yard into a complex of residential buildings, retail outlets and a new public school.
Construction on the $15 billion complex, which will rise along the Hudson River from 30th to 33rd streets, is slated to be completed within 10 years.
The state-owner 26-acre Hudson Yard, which is part of the Long Island Rail Road, has long been the largest remaining piece of undeveloped property in Manhattan. Under the terms of the contract signed Wednesday, the mixed-use neighborhood will be built atop a huge deck that will cover the train tracks, allowing the LIRR to continue to use the site.
The contract signed Wednesday authorizes the MTA to lease the Hudson Yard to the Related Companies, which agreed to put the initial $21.7 lease payment into an escrow account. The 99-year lease is expected to generate a billion dollars in income for the financially strapped agency.
“The West Side Yard is not only a transformative development opportunity,” said Jay Cross, who will oversee the project for Related, “but represents the future growth of New York City.”
The agreement comes close on the heels of the designation of a Canadian pension fund as an equity partner in the project, replacing the investment firm of Goldman Sachs, a minority shareholder in Related that withdrew in January after a decision to reduce its investment.
Related had spent the last year securing zoning approval for construction of the deck, which must be completed before actual building can begin on the 12-million-square foot complex. Wednesday’s contract signing was delayed by the economic downturn.
