NEW YORK | 20 Times Square - Port Authority Bus Terminal Tower | 855 FT | 42 FLOORS - Page 11

Dac150 · #**201** Posted **Oct 20, 2011, 11:50 PM**

Great; there's been a lot of good news during the last few days.

NYguy · #**202** Posted **Oct 21, 2011, 3:15 AM**

It doesn't really say how long the agreement is for this time, but the Port Authority will use the money to "spruce up" the terminal, so I'm sure everyone wants it done.

CoolCzech · #**203** Posted **Oct 22, 2011, 11:01 PM**

Oh come on, let's ease up on the word "iconic," can we?

Not every slightly unique building is automatically "iconic." The Statue of Liberty is. The NY Times Building, or this new proposal?

Meh.

RobertWalpole · #**204** Posted **Oct 24, 2011, 1:55 PM**

As per the 24 Oct. 2011, WSJ, Vornado received a four-month extension. Therefore, they're either going to build this tower with their Chinese backer or they won't. This tower is only about 1.2m sf, so a few law firms could fill it easily.

RobertWalpole · #**205** Posted **Nov 15, 2011, 3:39 AM**

I don't lament this at all for two reasons. Firstly, I'd rather see a big tenant sign on to Related's north tower at the Yards. Secondly, Vornado has the shortest of the three proposals. I'd rather see a new, taller and less conventional design down the road.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/ny...1&ref=nyregion

"Plan for Bus Terminal Tower Is Dropped"

By CHARLES V. BAGLI

Published: November 14, 2011

For more than a decade, a prominent New York developer has sought to build a glass skyscraper over the Port Authority Bus Terminal, transforming an eyesore at the west end of Times Square into an architectural showpiece....

SkyscrapersOfNewYork · #**206** Posted **Nov 15, 2011, 3:55 AM**

Didn't a Chinese developer already put down 800 million..?

RobertWalpole · #**207** Posted **Nov 15, 2011, 4:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork

Didn't a Chinese developer already put down 800 million..?

They revoked the offer and invested in an existing building on Park Ave. instead.

SkyscrapersOfNewYork · #**208** Posted **Nov 15, 2011, 5:04 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertWalpole

They revoked the offer and invested in an existing building on Park Ave. instead.

Eh...cant say im sad over the news. The tower was bland for the most part.

NYguy · #**209** Posted **Nov 15, 2011, 5:18 AM**

Oh well, let Vornado focus on 15 Penn, they've wasted enough time with all the extensions.. Next!

Dac150 · #**210** Posted **Nov 15, 2011, 3:43 PM**

You win some you lose some . . . hopefully that place is spruced up though . .

reencharles · #**211** Posted **Nov 17, 2011, 1:59 AM**

My God. What bad news ... It is a great loss to the city.

NYC2ATX · #**212** Posted **Nov 17, 2011, 2:40 AM**

Personally, I'm indifferent. Yes, a new skyscraper is always exciting, but this project sort of felt like trying to put lipstick on a pig. The Port Authority Bus Terminal is ugly, and it will always be ugly, even if you put neon signs and a new tower on it. What they should do is construct a new bus terminal nearby (locations near the new westside projects like Hudson Yards would work, or really anywhere directly abutting the Lincoln Tunnel), tear down this dingy, old structure, and then replace it with something new. In any case, the terminal is a visual obstacle to the following-through of transformations going on along both the 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue corridors. In an era where the city seems to be loving their new civic transportation projects (ESA, SAS, Fulton St. Transit Center, WTC Transit Hub, Moynihan etc.), this is an opportunity for redevelopment that shouldn't be overlooked.

You might be commenting that any bus terminal would be an eyesore, but then I'd recommend looking to the Transbay Terminal project in San Francisco for inspiration. That is a good example of what I think should happen here. All this tower was to me was a paperweight that would've made the Bus Terminal as-is nearly impossible to ever remove. Bad potatoes.

Zapatan · #**213** Posted **Nov 17, 2011, 1:18 PM**

not sad, something better can be put there for sure

hunser · #**214** Posted **Nov 17, 2011, 1:48 PM**

^^ yeah, the tower was an eyesore anyway, for me at least. Better wait for a nicer and taller proposal.

Towersteve · #**215** Posted **Nov 17, 2011, 6:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by StatenIslander237

Personally, I'm indifferent. Yes, a new skyscraper is always exciting, but this project sort of felt like trying to put lipstick on a pig. The Port Authority Bus Terminal is ugly, and it will always be ugly, even if you put neon signs and a new tower on it. What they should do is construct a new bus terminal nearby (locations near the new westside projects like Hudson Yards would work, or really anywhere directly abutting the Lincoln Tunnel), tear down this dingy, old structure, and then replace it with something new. In any case, the terminal is a visual obstacle to the following-through of transformations going on along both the 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue corridors. In an era where the city seems to be loving their new civic transportation projects (ESA, SAS, Fulton St. Transit Center, WTC Transit Hub, Moynihan etc.), this is an opportunity for redevelopment that shouldn't be overlooked.

You might be commenting that any bus terminal would be an eyesore, but then I'd recommend looking to the Transbay Terminal project in San Francisco for inspiration. That is a good example of what I think should happen here. All this tower was to me was a paperweight that would've made the Bus Terminal as-is nearly impossible to ever remove. Bad potatoes.

Spot on post! The P.A. Bus Terminal is not only hideous but it's also woefully inadequate. The spaces to wait for your bus aren't big enough to handle the constant lines of people which causes arguments over lines. There aren't enough gates or staircases and there's not enough spaces for buses to wait during traffic jams. It also lacks security features. They have to post an actual police car on the ramp to watch the cars. This slows buses because it takes up part of two lanes.
They would be much better off building a new terminal and then demolishing the old one. Then you could have a great lot for an ultra tall building!

UrbanImpact · #**216** Posted **Nov 17, 2011, 7:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Towersteve

Spot on post! The P.A. Bus Terminal is not only hideous but it's also woefully inadequate. The spaces to wait for your bus aren't big enough to handle the constant lines of people which causes arguments over lines. There aren't enough gates or staircases and there's not enough spaces for buses to wait during traffic jams. It also lacks security features. They have to post an actual police car on the ramp to watch the cars. This slows buses because it takes up part of two lanes.
They would be much better off building a new terminal and then demolishing the old one. Then you could have a great lot for an ultra tall building!

What about all the existing ramps that takes buses directly from the Lincoln Tunnel and other roadways?

NYC2ATX · #**217** Posted **Nov 18, 2011, 1:44 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

What about all the existing ramps that takes buses directly from the Lincoln Tunnel and other roadways?

This is why I said anywhere abutting the Lincoln Tunnel would be sufficient. At one point in time, Eighth Avenue and beyond was a run-down no-man's land, so having an obtrusive building such as this made perfect sense. In today's New York, the Port Authority Terminal is poorly located amid a hot new residential and commercial neighborhood, and as Towersteve said, highly incapable of handling present-day traffic amounts, security features, etc.

I recently saw a photo taken in the 50s of the area directly around the Lincoln Tunnel, and the amount of bus ramps was mind-boggling. Apparently they've already dismantled and/or replaced several of them.

This actually brings me to the reason I mentioned incorporating it into the new westside redevelopment projects. The ramps running from 42nd Street to the tunnel between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues will (or should be) incorporated into the path of the new Hudson Boulevard. So for a new terminal, they could even build underground ramps that go directly from the terminal to the tunnel, and vice versa. This would also decrease the terminal's overall impact on the newly-developed neighborhood. There are numerous possibilities, they just need to be recognized, and hopefully implemented at some point.

Anything would be better than what we've got now.

meh_cd · #**218** Posted **Nov 18, 2011, 4:54 PM**

I didn't want another giant slab tower like One Penn Plaza. The recent condo one that they are advertising as MiMa (ugh) looks terrible.

So this is good news.

THE BIG APPLE · #**219** Posted **Nov 19, 2011, 1:13 AM**

This was going to be Midtown's One Chase Manhattan Plaza. That building didn't do anything good for Downtown, so a building similar would do nothing good for Midtown.

NYguy · #**220** Posted **Apr 26, 2012, 1:18 AM**

Floating idea of another tower atop another terminal nearby...more fun with Silverstein and the Port Authority....

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...TATE/120429932

'Provocative' proposal made for new bus garage
Developer Larry Silverstein is said to have offered a way to to build and pay for a facility in back of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Guess what's in it for him.

By Jeremy Smerd
April 25, 2012

Quote:

On Tuesday, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Executive Director Patrick Foye told a Crain's Breakfast Forum about an idea proposed by developer Larry Silverstein to build and pay for a much-needed Manhattan bus garage. Mr. Foye called it “interesting, provocative,” but he offered no details. A source said the idea, floated during last year's leadership transition at the Port Authority from Christopher Ward to Mr. Foye, involves developing a site on West 39th Street and Dyer Avenue used most recently by Mercedes-Benz by the service road that funnels traffic to and from the Lincoln Tunnel just southwest of the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Mr. Silverstein, who has a long-term letter of intent with the owner to develop that building, proposed constructing a bus garage capped by a residential tower.

Unanswered questions include how big the tower would have to be to generate sufficient income to finance the construction of the garage, and whether anyone would want to live on top of a bus garage in the heavily trafficked area. It also remains to be seen how much the Port Authority would pay.

Because there's no room inside the bus station and nowhere else to park, hundreds of New Jersey Transit buses return empty to the Garden State after dropping off morning commuters in Manhattan. They come back to the city to pick up passengers in the afternoon. A bus garage nearby would cut down on trans-Hudson River traffic, reduce air pollution and save money on fuel.

The insider called Mr. Silverstein's idea “intriguing,” but it may be a pipe dream. Mr. Foye would say only that he's looking at fixing the problem. “It's a serious question under serious review,” he said.