Skyscraper will top NYC bus terminal

Skyscraper will top NYC bus terminal

	Published : Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:01 By : Agencies Print this Story

NEW YORK (AP) - Developers will build a skyscraper above the nation's busiest bus station in a deal expected to raise millions to clean up the gritty, crowded terminal in midtown Manhattan, officials announced Friday.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the Port Authority Bus Terminal, leased development rights for over $500 million to a joint venture of developers Ruben Cos. and Vornado Realty Trust. The developers plan to build the glass and steel office tower by 2013 over the north end of the 57-year-old terminal, serving 200,000 commuters a day.

The agency will use the money to make major renovations to the rundown terminal for the first time in over two decades, installing new escalators, adding 18 new bus platforms and bringing in 60,000 square feet of upscale stores. The agency also plans to build a new bus parking garage to unclog traffic jams that surround the terminal a few blocks from Times Square.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer said the upgrade is 'central to our vision for a revitalized West Side,' where billions of dollars in new development is planned over a 20-block area extending to the Hudson River.

The terminal is also getting a new name to go with its new look, said Anthony Shorris, the Port Authority's executive director. The name -- which hasn't been chosen -- will reflect a transformed neighborhood, he said. The terminal 'is really a gateway to the far West Side,' he said. He said the name wouldn't likely be chosen until the terminal is renovated in the next few years.

The development venture, 20 X Square Associates LLC, agreed to a 99-year lease to the air rights above the terminal to build a 1.3 million square foot tower above its north wing. The Port Authority will get a percentage of the developers' revenue from the project.

A deal to lease development rights for the area above the bus terminal first circulated in 1999 and collapsed a year later. The agency revived talks with Vornado last year and began official negotiations six months ago.

The terminal, opened in 1950, operates 7,000 buses with routes across North America, but primarily serving commuters traveling to and from New Jersey.