New Plan For Penn Station Revamp Sans Vornado Gains Traction

Penn District Penn Station Madison Square Garden
The Future Of Penn Station And Madison Square Garden Have Been A Priority For New York Gov. Kathy Hochul And Her Predecessor.

State officials are considering a different direction for the overhaul of Pennsylvania Station, which would involve ditching plans for 10 new office towers to fund the development — and finding a new location for Madison Square Garden — and instead building a revamped station around the arena.

A subsidiary of the Italian firm ASTM Group has presented a proposal now favored by state and local leaders, The New York Times reports. The state had planned a redevelopment of the transit hub that was set to bring 10 mixed-use towers to the blocks around the station, with Vornado as the lead developer.

But Vornado CEO Steven Roth said last month the current climate of high interest rates meant the firm was putting the plans on hold. Roth said on earnings call last month that new construction is “almost impossible” in this lending environment.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said her government was committed to redoing the station, regardless of Vornado’s involvement.

“I’m committed to getting that done,” she said on WNYC’s All Things Considered earlier this month, adding that the plan is “not contingent on what Vornado was planning in the entire neighborhood.”

The ASTM plan wouldn't involve the full demolition or relocation of MSG, but calls for surrounding the arena with a glass podium designed to look the same as the Farley Building across the street, the Times reported.

It also calls for two new train halls, one of which would feature a mix of retail and waiting areas and potentially a homeless outreach center. Another train hall would been enclosed in a 100-foot glass enclosure that would abut Vornado’s office property at 2 Penn Plaza.

This new plan is led by former MTA CEO Patrick Foye and Peter Cipriano, who was a senior infrastructure adviser to Trump administration Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

“As we’ve said, we are always open to discussions,” an MSG spokesperson told the Times. “As invested members of our community, we are deeply committed to improving Penn Station and the surrounding area, and we continue to collaborate closely with a wide range of stakeholders to advance this shared goal.”

ASTM Group will not have cost projections until June, but the plan would see the development complete by 2030.

The Vornado plan was originally backed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and it was long the source of skepticism before Roth threw cold water on it this year. The New York City Independent Budget Office found in a report last year that the plan to fund the project with tax revenue from 18M SF in new development didn't make financial sense.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's New York Newsletters
Related Stories

Brooklyn's The Hall Complex To Get Hundreds Of Units, Synagogue And Office In New Plans

The New School Sells First Dorm To Hawkins Way Capital: The N.Y. Deal Sheet

Mamdani Reveals Housing Court Fast Track Targeting Landlords, Not Evictions

From Bankruptcy To $400M Buying Spree: Michael Shah's Rapid Comeback

Pace Of NYC Housing Construction Plunges As Developers Play Small Ball

Aerospace And Defense Company Opens 60K SF Facility In Arvada

How Pearland, Texas, Is Redefining Workforce Development

NYC Office Investor Warns It Could Go Under As Defaults Pile Up

How Addison, Texas, Upholds Its Regulatory Standards And Keeps Building Projects Moving Forward

Chetrit Group 'Being Dissolved' As Family Turmoil Spirals

State's High Court Allows $325M Boston Soccer Stadium Project To Proceed

'Quality Of Place': One Inland Empire City's Manual For Smart Growth