NE corner
Yes itâs covered in netting last time I saw it.
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Thatâs interesting because that building still isnât owned by Vornado and the owner has been clear that they are not willing to sell. So I wonder what the netting is for, if itâs for demolition and they plan to build something else there on their own thatâs gonna suck because then Site 6 will not be a complete assemblage as intended and will have to wrap around that site.
Have the screens also been covered/turned off?
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Thanks. That would be a dream, but I checked ACRIS and that PoS hasnât been sold. Itâs possible that the deed just hasnât been put online yet. Iâm not holding my breath though.
Anyway, this area has two glaring Achilles Heels: this block and the one between 33rd and 34th on the west side of Seventh (below). Vornado owns the latter. They should forego revenue and build a temporary park until theyâre ready to build an office tower.
If thatâs yesterday I must be wrong. I may have been looking at the hotel and thought it was the next block. I was looking casually from a few blocks further downtown. I thought it was weird that they would put up netting after installing that giant screen.
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Just really hope this doesnât sit as an empty lot for 5-10 years.
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There is no reality where a site with this oneâs proximity to a major commuter hub stays an empty lot for very long. All they had to do to get the ball rolling was demo the old building. They never took that step. Now theyâll have a shovel ready plot of land right next to Penn Station that companies will line up to call their home.
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Idk why but I find it so funny that the whole building is in a black death shroud except for the giant verizon ads
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Surely someone here can come up w/a joke about Verizon and a lack of coverage.
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I of course hope youâre right. Time will tell
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Vornadoâs statement didnât mention a partner, but a source confirmed that chairman Steven Roth is talking to Midwest gaming mogul Neil Gary Bluhm, the managing principal of Walton Street Capital, who has a net worth estimated by Forbes at $6 billion.
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Because nothing classes up the joint like a casino.
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The area isnât nice anyway.
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But we donât need to be resigned to it being a dump forever. A casino is not a step in the right direction to improving the area.
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In twenty years, it will be amazing. The area around GCT was a dump in the 90s, and now, itâs magnificent.
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Those that were saying that this site wonât sit empty for years should not be so confident. My fears seem to be coming true, I fear. A nice building is coming down and a prominent lot will likely sit empty for years, smh. Vornado completely sucks in this district. Some empty lots owned by them like 34th and 8th ave are coming up on a decade (in a couple years) with no action.
They donât specifically mention Penn 15, but the writingâs on the wall.
The article:
Vornado Realty Trust, the developer hoping to remake the skyline around Pennsylvania Station with a bundle of new office towers, has put the brakes on the massive redevelopment plan for now as interest rates remain high and the real estate market struggles to recover from the pandemic.
Steven Roth, the firmâs chief executive, voiced strong reservations about the short-term future of Penn Station development and other projects during a call with analysts on Tuesday, calling the prospect of new construction âalmost impossibleâ because of tight lending.
Plans for the Penn site, a roughly 18 million-square-foot project that could include 10 new skyscrapers of mostly office space around the transit hub, could be delayed for at least two to three years, Michael Franco, the firmâs president and chief financial officer, said on the call. Vornado is the largest landowner in the area.
Empire State Development, the agency that is steering the project, said in a statement that it is sticking with the plan, which, in addition to the office component, could also bring 1,800 new apartments, a portion of which would be rented below market rate.
âQuarterly conditions may fluctuate, but Governor Hochulâs commitment to revitalizing Penn Station and the area surrounding it will not,â the statement said.
Mr. Roth first cast doubts on the plans in November, when he cited challenges in the new-development market without directly referring to the future of the project. In January, the company announced a nearly 30 percent cut in its quarterly dividend and was removed from the S&P 500.
âIâd say itâs dead for now,â John P. Kim, a managing director at BMO Capital Markets, said about the plan, which is also slated to include some retail and hotel space.
The latest back pedaling could create an opening for critics of the redevelopment, who are hoping the state will be receptive to plans that put more focus on the much maligned Penn Station transit hub beneath Madison Square Garden.
âThe improvement of Penn Station should not be beholden to a business cycle,â said Alexandros Washburn, the former chief urban designer at the Department of City Planning and director of the Grand Penn Community Alliance, a group that supports a full overhaul of the train station.
In one vision, Madison Square Garden would be demolished and rebuilt on a site in Hudson Yards, on the Far West Side of Manhattan. In its place, a new Penn Station would be built below a sprawling green space â similar in scale to Bryant Park â on the remains of the venue. The plan would address commutersâ concerns about congestion and train capacity, which Vornadoâs project does not, Mr. Washburn said.
A spokesman for Vornado did not address whether the company would rethink the mix in the broader Penn site, but said that work continues at Penn 1 and Penn 2, two office towers in the district that are in the process of being upgraded.
The company said it is still committed in the long run to the project. âWe fully support the stateâs general project plan for the Penn District, are making very significant investments in our existing buildings and are leading public private partnerships to enhance this vital transit hub,â the company said in a statement.
Like its competitors, Vornado is facing challenges because of rising interest rates and an office market that remains staggered by the growth of remote work.
In the first week of February, office occupancy was under 49 percent of prepandemic levels, according to Kastle Systems, a security-card company that tracks office building activity.
Mr. Roth has already conceded the five-day workweek. âI think you can assume that Friday is dead forever,â he said on the earnings call. âMonday is touch and go.â
Victor Calanog, the head of commercial real estate economics at Moodyâs Analytics, said he was not surprised by Vornadoâs decision.
âIs the best use of this space still office space, or do they need to pivot to some mixed-use component?â Mr. Calanog asked, noting that few lenders are willing to finance projects that do not have office tenant commitments.
Other critics of the Vornado plan are seizing on the hesitation and warning that the state should pivot to new plans, or risk losing out on federal infrastructure funding for the site.
The current plan endorsed by the state to improve the train station is expected to cost $7 billion, about half of which New York hopes will come from federal funding. The plan could also provide an estimated $1.2 billion in tax breaks to developers.
âWe need to retire this plan,â said Layla Law-Gisiko, the chair of land use, housing and zoning for Community Board 5 in Manhattan. âThe market is simply not conducive to it.â
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So what youâre saying is Penn15 wonât be erected for a long time
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