
Originally Posted by
BigMac
USA Today
May 10, 2004
Controversial Hudson Yards project pivotal to Olympic bid
By Jill Lieber
NEW YORK — The most controversial aspect of the NYC2012 Summer Olympics bid is the $5.5 billion Hudson Yards development project on Manhattan's far West Side.
The jewel of the project is the $1.4 billion, 75,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof, adjacent to Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The stadium, which will be built on a platform over rail yards, will be the future home of the NFL's New York Jets and is projected to open in 2009.
The development is a vital component of the Olympic bid.
"Our goal is to have construction of the stadium started by the time the IOC votes in July 2005," says Dan Doctoroff, NYC2012 founder and New York's Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding. "And that's what we're on track to do."
Despite a push by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Gov. George E. Pataki, the projects face a series of challenging hurdles, including an environmental review, zoning approvals and state legislation for the Javits Center expansion.
Community groups, a leading Broadway theater owner and elected officials worry the stadium will increase traffic congestion.
The Jets will pay $800 million for the stadium. The city and state each will contribute $300 million to pay for the platform over the rail tracks and the retractable roof. The remaining $4 billion for the Hudson Yards project will be paid by public and private funds from the city, state and hotel industry.
Other elements of the project include adding more than 1 million square feet to the convention center; extending the No. 7 subway line west from Times Square; building up to 28 million square feet of high-rise offices and a hotel of up to 1,500 rooms; providing 12,000 new apartments; creating a tree-lined boulevard between 10th and 11th Avenues and a six-acre plaza that would be called Olympic Square.
The site is bordered by 28th Street on the south and 43rd Street on the north, and from Ninth Avenue on the east to the Hudson River.
"This half-mile convention corridor allows us to host any event in America," said Doctoroff, who estimates the city and the state would generate $67 billion in revenue over 30 years in return for the about $5 billion public investment."
Copyright 2004 USA TODAY
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