The $10 billion replacement of the Midtown Bus Terminal in New York, touted as the world's busiest bus station, has been scaled back in a proposal that includes two fewer office buildings than earlier plans as well as new concessions and retail space accessible from the street.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to start construction later this year on the new bus terminal, designed by London-based architecture firm Foster & Partners and Chicago-based Epstein. The bus terminal is estimated for completion in 2032, with the entire project expected to be finished by 2040, as part of a plan to provide more reliable and efficient bus service between New York and New Jersey and catering to the hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents who work in New York City.
The current Midtown Bus Terminal opened in 1950 and is described by the Port Authority as "functionally obsolete and rundown." The new "long overdue world-class facility" is intended to “become an asset rather than an eyesore,” the organization said.
The planned 2.1 million-square-foot bus terminal replacement comes as New York City also is exploring ways to upgrade Penn Station, the city’s largest train station. The city council last year approved a special permit for Madison Square Garden to operate above Penn Station for another five years. The city and MSG will use the time to resolve longstanding conflicts over Penn Station.
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The new Midtown Bus Terminal plan includes street-level retail and two office towers to be constructed above the terminal. An earlier plan called for a total of four office towers. The Port Authority no longer needs to condemn privately owned property for the scaled-back plan that will be built on land already owned by the Port Authority, according to a news release.
The project also includes an "iconic atrium entrance" spanning several stories on 41st Street and Eighth Avenue, a portion of which will be permanently closed to vehicular traffic as part of the plans.
The redevelopment plans include creating 3.5 acres of publicly accessible green space that will be located on decks attached to the new terminal. The decks will cross Dyer Ave., which passes next to the terminal.
Modern Terminal to Include Bus Staging and Storage Areas
The 2.1 million-square-foot terminal will also include a facility for bus storing and staging, charging stations for electric buses and new approach ramps between 10th and 11th avenues that will connect to the Lincoln Tunnel. The staging and bus storage facility is expected to be built first so it can serve as a temporary terminal while the existing terminal is demolished and rebuilt.
The multiphase project is being designed for net-zero emissions, serving all-electric bus fleets and implementing 21st century technology such as sensor-based monitoring systems for traffic management.
"We are one step closer to modernizing the world’s busiest bus terminal," U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said in the release.
Foster & Partners’ past work on transportation projects includes the design for the Crossrail Place Canary Wharf railway station in London. Epstein’s civic portfolio includes the renovation and expansion of the Jacob Javits Center in New York and renovations to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
The Midtown Bus Terminal handled about 125,000 departing passengers per weekday before the pandemic, according to the Port Authority. It now serves an average of about 98,000 departing passengers per weekday. The terminal serves more than 70 bus routes operated by New Jersey Transit, as well as dozens of routes operated by private carriers like Adirondack Trailways and Peter Pan. It also has direct connections to the New York City Subway.
The new facility will also include space for intercity bus operators that currently board passengers on city streets to move their operations inside the terminal.
Public hearings are scheduled through March 18 for review of the Federal Transit Administration’s draft environmental impact statement. The FTA is the federal regulator for public transit agencies, including the Port Authority and New Jersey Transit.
The Port Authority is finalizing project financing. The authority plans to seek approval from the city of New York for financing that would include payments in lieu of taxes, known as PILOT, based on future taxes assessed on the planned office towers. The authority is also seeking a loan from the federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.
"We look forward to completing our ongoing discussions to reach agreement with the city of New York on the contribution of the PILOT payments related to our commercial development as we work to secure funding for this critical project that will serve as an economic engine for decades to come," Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said in the statement.
For the Record
Juan Vieira-Pardo at Foster & Partners and Paul Sanderson at A. Epstein & Sons are leading design efforts on behalf of their companies. Jodi Pulice and Taylor Smith at JRT Realty Group and Joy Martin at MCCG USA are representing the Port Authority for retail leasing at the project.