Quote:
Originally Posted by jd3189
I know, but I just wanted to state my opinion.
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Yes, and as you can see from the post that immediately follows your last, the discussion was taken off course.
Meanwhile, the ultimate form this tower will take depends on a lot of what the City will allow to be built here, and that process is moving forward:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...010664218.html
By LAURA KUSISTO And ELIOT BROWN
July 11, 2012
By LAURA KUSISTO And ELIOT BROWN
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City officials Wednesday unveiled a long-awaited plan to encourage developers to build new office skyscrapers in the aging district near Grand Central Terminal by allowing them to build higher and denser.
"It is critical that East Midtown's stature as one of the premier business addresses in the world be maintained over time, said City Planning Commission Chairwoman Amanda Burden. "We are therefore pursuing ways to incentivize over the next 20 years the development of a handful of state-of-the-art office buildings…that will build on the dynamic strength of the area."
Under the plan, which must be approved by the City Council, developers could build more if they pay for architecture with the swagger of London's Shard or Shanghai Tower. Those projects would still require approval by the City Planning Commission and City Council. But developers also would have to pay for the right to build big: either by purchasing privately owned air rights over Grand Central Terminal or by contributing to a fund to pay for infrastructure upgrades. This fund would do such things as build additional stairways to access the subway platforms in Grand Central and a pedestrian mall on Vanderbilt Avenue.
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It seems SL Green is ahead of the game here, as they have already talked of bonus rights by tying this development into Grand Central...
Quote:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/3125...ent-transcript
As part of the transfer, New York City will require us to perform improvements to MTA's pedestrian circulation. We are giving serious consideration to leveraging this requirement by creating a direct connection to Grand Central terminal. One huge advantage of our location is the proximity to one of the most significant transportation hubs in New York City, providing direct access to Metro-North and subways including the Times Square shuttle, the 4, 5, 6 and 7 trains. We also expect to potentially tie in 2 other ongoing projects; the 2nd Avenue subway, where transfer options are under evaluation, and the east side access, which will link the Long Island Railroad and New Jersey transit to Grand Central. This increase to the site will exponentially enhance the intrinsic value of this particular location. The connection we are considering would be an amenity that would allow someone coming into Grand Central to walk through an underground tunnel beneath Vanderbilt Avenue and arrive at our proposed building without ever having to step a foot outside.
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