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West Side Railyard Bids Are In
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 22, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 22, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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No matter what happens on the football field, it's clear that the Jets want to win the Battle of the West Side because they increased their bid to $720 million, up from their bid earlier $100 million. Long live free markets and the MTA reading the fine print and realizing they could hold an auction for the land. Gothamist did appreciate that the NY Times' Charles Bagli wrote that the Jets, as well as Cablevision and Transgas, had "increased their offers for what has become one of the most hotly disputed sections of Manhattan since rival gangs battled over Five Points." We'd love to see what would happen between Bill the Butcher and James Dolan - Marty, make that movie! The Jets were able to increase their bids by including the money they would make from selling the air rights of the land to developer, which would be a sweet $440 million. Highlights of the bids:
- Jets "would build a large retail area along 11th Avenue, a community market, a theater, a museum and a riverfront cafe, all within or adjacent to the stadium" plus a residential development. [NY Times]
- Cablevision's $600 million "proposal, Hudson Gardens, would be a largely residential community with 5,800 new apartments and a park. The plan includes moderate-income housing, a school, a library, a hotel, public toilets, theater equipment suppliers, a supermarket and a park -- all with glistening Hudson River views." [Newsday]
- Transgas's $1 billion proposal involves building a power plant on the West Side, plus getting the MTA to help them "build a $2 billion electric power plant along the East River in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, along with a contract from the authority to buy power from the company for the next 20 years," which makes most people believe the Transgas bid won't go forward since it's somehow contingent on more things than the Jets' bid. [NY Times]
And proving that bidding is serious business, two other companies submitted bids that were rejected because they didn't include the $25,000 fee to bid. Good work, MTA! The NY Post's Steve Cuozzo puts the hit on Cablevision's plan ("How could Cablevision — an outfit with no development experience that mucks up every enterprise it touches — possibly pull off a miracle not even the most practiced real estate company has suggested doing itself?") while the Daily News' Juan Gonzalez says it's great ("The Cablevision plan...is an urban planner's wish list.")
Photo of Cablevision's Hudson Gardens model from Newsday
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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