Archinect - News

Revised design published for Foster + Partners’ Midtown Bus Terminal in New York City

2024-02-15T11:27:00-05:00

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has published revised plans for the new Midtown Bus Terminal. The scheme, designed by Foster + Partners, will replace the existing terminal that opened in 1950.

The $10 billion facility will include a 2.1 million square foot terminal with a separate storage and staging building and new ramps leading directly in and out of the Lincoln Tunnel. The revised plans will also include the permanent closure of a portion of 41st Street between Eight and Ninth avenues, as well as a central main entrance, more street-level retail, and a multi-story indoor atrium and new public open space.

Interior view of the proposed facility to replace the main terminal. Image credit: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

The project is to be delivered through a phased construction approach over four years, with a projected completion in 2032. The new staging and bus storage facility will be delivered first, so as to serve as a temporary terminal while the exis...

Port Authority of NY & NJ reaches milestone with new low-carbon concrete standards

2023-06-29T14:09:00-04:00

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced earlier this month that it has reached a major milestone in one of the most ambitious low-carbon concrete programs of its kind among U.S. transportation agencies.

Originally introduced in September 2020, the Clean Construction Program aims to reduce embodied carbon, promote the circular economy, and reduce air pollution from construction across all of the Authority’s projects through a range of initiatives. They include the incorporation of LEED and Envision-equivalent standards, utilizing low-carbon concrete, collecting environmental data from contractors, facilitating pilot projects, waste matching for concrete, asphalt, and soil, and requiring low-emissions vehicles on site.

The agency took a major step forward by significantly strengthening its requirements to use sustainable concrete mixes in all future construction projects as part of its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Related on Archinect: UN Secr...

New $4.2 billion JFK Terminal 6 expansion officially breaks ground

2023-02-27T18:29:00-05:00

New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently celebrated the groundbreaking of the $4.2 billion Terminal 6 project at JFK Airport.

This is the final piece of the JFK Vision Plan, the airport’s major, multi-year initiative to redevelop, modify, and expand existing facilities and infrastructure. This news follows the announcement of the terminal’s financing and approval in November 2022.

Rendering courtesy The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

The scheme is a public-private partnership between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a consortium of financial stakeholders named JFK Millennium Partners.

The new terminal will be developed in two phases, with the first new gates opening in 2026 and construction set to complete in 2028. It will offer an anchor for passenger travel on JFK’s north side, spanning the sites of the former Terminal 6 and the existing Terminal 7. The 50-year-old Terminal 7 facility will be demolished...

New York announces funding and construction timeline for new Terminal 6 expansion at JFK

2022-11-22T16:57:00-05:00

A few months after ground was broken on the $9.5 billion New Terminal One project, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the financing and approval of a new $4.2 billion Terminal 6 at JFK Airport that will serve as the final piece of the airport’s multi-year transformation upon completion in 2028.

The terminal will be developed in two phases beginning next year, with the first stage expected to open in 2026. It will have space for 10 gates in its 1.2-million-square-foot plan, with typical retail and dining options included along with an offering of touchless check-in technology, biometric security controls, and the space to accommodate for regulatory changes and further technology upgrades in the future.

JFK will demolish the aging Terminal 7 following the conclusion of the first phase of construction, and its current tenant British Airways will be relocated inside the newly-modernized Terminal 8, th...

JFK's New Terminal One project officially breaks ground

2022-09-19T18:31:00-04:00

First announced in December 2021, the privately-funded, $9.5 billion New Terminal One project at JFK International Airport officially broke ground earlier this month.

The 2.4-million-square-foot international terminal will become JFK’s largest upon completion. Construction will occur in phases on the sites of the current Terminals 1 and 2 as well as the former Terminal 3.

A group of firms, including Carlyle, JLC Infrastructure, and Ullico, are among the private partners behind the undertaking, which bills Gensler in charge of design and AECOM Tishman as the general contractor.

Previously on Archinect: New York Governor Hochul announces $9.5 billion project for new Terminal 1 at JFK

"We're doing it better, because right now you go through a place like Penn Station and the former LaGuardia and the former airports, you just wanted to look down. You shuffled along, you know, just kind of in the masses. You didn't have any reason to feel optimistic, to put a smile on your face," New Yo...

Foster + Partners selected to lead Port Authority’s new Midtown Bus Terminal design

2022-08-11T17:27:00-04:00

The design of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s new Midtown Bus Terminal will be led by Foster + Partners, the firm and the transit organization announced recently. The Port Authority is in the process of replacing its aging 72-year-old facility and has contracted the team to oversee the expansion of bus and passenger capacity, which includes improving the pickup/dropoff areas in the streets that surround it.

Foster + Partners says: “The new terminal will be designed to provide a best-in-class customer experience that serves the region’s 21st century public transportation needs, while enhancing the surrounding community and allowing for the removal of intercity buses from local streets.”

Image courtesy Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

The multidisciplinary firm A. Epstein & Sons International will join the partnership to leverage its own considerable experience in the design of major public transit facilities. Foster + Partners thus will be asked to “review, e...

Port Authority releases 14 alternatives to the LaGuardia AirTrain project

2022-03-04T12:47:00-05:00

One of Governor Kathy Hochul’s first moves in office was to pause her predecessor’s plans for a $2 billion AirTrain at LaGuardia Airport and ask the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to come up with other options. On Wednesday, the Port Authority released sketches for 14 alternatives, including light rail, bus routes and subway extensions. It’s now seeking community input before moving forward.

A questionnaire detailing the options and the factors being considered in evaluating the proposals was sent to more than 70 key stakeholders, including elected officials and community organizations. The alternatives include two potential subway extensions, five potential routes for fixed guideways for light rail connections, five potential bus routes, ferry service, and “emerging technologies.” At the end of their document, the Port Authority lists further potential options, such as “narrow tunnels with electric vehicles” and autonomous shuttles or buses.

Previously on Archinect: Port Authority officially halts the LaGuardian AirTrain project

There currently aren’t any listed costs for the proposals. In mid-March, two in-person public workshops will be held to gather input from the community.

Port Authority officially halts the LaGuardian AirTrain project

2021-10-19T12:05:00-04:00

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has officially halted plans to build the $2.1 billion LaGuardia AirTrain, a project heavily pushed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo. The announcement came just a week after Cuomo’s successor Kathy Hochul called on the agency to seek alternative transit solutions to LaGuardia Airport.

Previously on Archinect: Governor Hochul seeks alternative to Cuomo's controversial LaGuardia AirTrain project

“At Governor Hochul’s request, the Port Authority is undertaking a thorough review of potential alternative mass transit options to LaGuardia Airport,” reads a statement released by the Port Authority. “The agency will work in close consultation with independent experts and stakeholders, and will complete its work as expeditiously as possible, consistent with the need for the review to be thorough and rigorous. During the review, the Port Authority will pause further action with respect to the LaGuardia AirTrain project.”

The controversial project ha...

Governor Hochul seeks alternative to Cuomo's controversial LaGuardia AirTrain project

2021-10-08T15:05:00-04:00

Several New York state lawmakers are calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to kill the plans for a $2.1 billion AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport. Hochul released a statement Monday calling on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an agency she has at least partial control over, to look for alternative options.

“I have asked the Port Authority to thoroughly examine alternative mass transit solutions for reducing car traffic and increasing connectivity to LaGuardia Airport,” said Hochul in a statement. “We must ensure that our transportation projects are bold, visionary, and serve the needs of New Yorkers. I remain committed to working expeditiously to rebuild our infrastructure for the 21st century and to create jobs — not just at LaGuardia but at all of our airports and transit hubs across New York."

Hochul’s remarks came just before a rally on Monday in Corona, Queens at a site along the potential AirTrain route held by project opponents, including State Senators Jessica Ramos, Leroy Comrie, Michael Gianaris, and John Liu, who pushed the governor to terminate the project altogether rather than just explore other options.

Previously on Archinect: FAA approves $2.1 billion LaGuardia AirTrain

Noting the damages and ongoing clean-up from Hurricane Ida, along with the community’s experience ...

Port Authority workers call on leadership to halt LaGuardia AirTrain project following Cuomo's departure from office

2021-08-13T14:05:00-04:00

Within hours following New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation from office after a slew of sexual harassment accusations, Port Authority workers issued a letter to executive director Rick Cotton calling for the termination of the former governor’s controversial LaGuardia AirTrain proposal.

An excerpt from the letter, according to the New York Daily News, reads: “For too long, Gov. Cuomo and his staff have repeatedly pushed the agency to make non-transparent, politically motivated decisions, including decisions that squander the trust and money of our bondholders, customers, and the general public.” The letter also calls for the Port Authority Inspector General to examine whether Cuomo tried to unfairly influence the federally-mandated environmental impact statement process to approve the plan despite other alternatives and the protests of transit experts.

Just last month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the estimated $2.1 billion project, which would see th...

FAA approves $2.1 billion LaGuardia AirTrain

2021-07-23T16:39:00-04:00

Earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the estimated $2.1 billion LaGuardia AirTrain, an initiative to connect New York’s LaGuardia Airport with Manhattan. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will now be able to pursue federal funding for the project.

The 1.5-mile transit link will connect the airport’s Delta Airlines terminal to Willets Point Station, which borders Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, and is served by the Long Island Rail Road and the Number 7 subway line. The Port Authority has claimed that the trip length will be 30 minutes from Midtown Manhattan to the airport. The project is expected to create 3,000 construction jobs and generate $500 million in contracting opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses, along with jobs for local residents, according to projects made by the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

Previously on Archinect: Construction on LaGuardia AirTrain Planned to Start this Summer

The approval comes...

Calatrava's WTC Oculus continues to leak

2019-09-26T14:07:00-04:00

Few things are as embarrassing for an architect than having a building you’ve designed spring a leak.

Unfortunately for Santiago Calatrava, that is exactly what's happened at the World Trade Center Oculus, a $3.9 billion transit hub built to memorialize the September 11th terrorist attacks. The transit center and subterranean mall contained within the hub are topped by a sculptural pavilion that is itself capped by a 355-foot skylight. The skylight, made up of a dozen glass panels that are designed to open mechanically every year to mark each anniversary of the attacks, has been leaking since at least 2017.

In 2018, according to The Wall Street Journal, a rubber seal that runs along the length of the roof ruptured as the skylight was opened for the annual remembrance ceremonies. Officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have spent over $50,000 since attempting to repair the tear, and plan on spending at least $200,000 more to seal the entire skylight with a waterp...

AirTrain price tag rises to $2 billion as LGA overhaul takes shape

2019-07-02T19:13:00-04:00

“These are expensive projects. There’s no question. But if we are to reap the benefits of mass transit, we have to provide mass transit that is attractive to individual travelers and their families,” said Rick Cotton, the executive director at the Port Authority, without explaining the rise in cost. “Experience shows that rail mass transit is the most attractive alternative, and we’re committed to provided that.”

While the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey works to implement an $8 billion overhaul of LaGuardia Airport, costs for a planned AirTrain link connecting the airport to regional mass transit continue to grow.

According to AM New York, when first proposed in 2014, the two-mile monorail was projected to cost $450 million to build. Now, five years later, the cost has ballooned to $2.05 billion, a 356-percent increase. Officials have not explained the reasons behind the sharp increase, but have indicated that most of the increases will come out of the Port Authority's coffers.

Rendering depicting the forthcoming concourse set to open fall 2019. Image courtesy of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office.

If completed as planned, the two-mile AirTrain line could connect the Willets Point Long Island Rail Road and the No. 7 subway to the airport, establishing the first public transit link to LaGuardia.

The cost increase comes as new renderings are unveiled for the LaGuardia Airport expansio...

Cuomo releases RFP for 5 World Trade Center, may include 900-foot tower and affordable housing

2019-06-26T12:10:00-04:00

The Port Authority and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation recently arrived at a deal to develop 5 World Trade Center, the last WTC site. Today, Governor Cuomo released a Request for Proposals, which allows for either commercial or mixed-use proposals for a 900-foot-tall building. Any proposals putting forth a residential component must include “onsite affordable units that comply with New York City’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program,” according to a press release.

Final World Trade Center Site Will be Sold Soon

2019-06-07T16:22:00-04:00

Two state agencies that had been embroiled in a yearslong impasse over how to develop the last site at the World Trade Center appear to have resolved their differences and are planning to bring the parcel to market. The Port Authority and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. have reached a deal to release a request for proposals in the coming months for 5 World Trade Center

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) head Holly Leicht explained in a meeting that "after quite a lengthy period of time of negotiation, we executed a memorandum of understanding with the Port, the LMDC and the city to move forward on an RFP for Site 5, which will be our last major site to develop," adding, "The reason for the appraisal now is because there's a base value the Port wants to get for the land."

Though the site is currently zoned exclusively for commercial development, LMDC will accept proposals for either commercial or residential uses for the site. The group is expected to issue a Request for Proposals for the site over coming weeks.

Skylight at Calatrava's WTC Oculus reportedly leaking

2019-05-13T13:29:00-04:00

The skylight that crowns the spiky, $3.9 billion World Trade Center Oculus has sprung a leak. A rubber seal that runs along the spine of the retractable skyline is believed to have ripped during its opening and closing on the 2018 anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, The Wall Street Journal reports.

"Some $30,000 by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was spent this winter to repair the tear using black strips of Flex Tape, but the skylight at the massive transportation hub and shopping mall leaked again on May 5," Curbed summarizes the WSJ's account.

The Santiago Calatrava-designed—and not entirely uncontroversial—Oculus opened to the public on March 3, 2016 and has had repeated leaking issues during construction.

World Trade Center Performing Arts Center may be delayed again

2017-03-27T19:23:00-04:00

After 9/11, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development gave $3 billion in grants to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. to redevelop lower Manhattan. A portion of what remains is the $100 million that was to go towards the Performing Arts Center, but those involved in the project worry that disputes between LMDC and the Port Authority, who controls the land on which the Center will be built, are giving the impression that the work to revitalize the area is complete.

After nearly 13 years of delays, the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center (PACWTC) is facing yet another setback due to unresolved issues between the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Port Authority, which could ultimately cost the $243 million project, more than $100 million in federal funding.

NYC Port Authority releases 5 design proposals for new bus terminal

2016-09-22T18:35:00-04:00

On Tuesday, an agreement was reached between West Side elected officials and the Port Authority that said the agency would expand the planning process for a new $10 billion bus terminal with more local input. And just today they’ve revealed the five proposals that were submitted to a design competition to replace the currently loathed site.

Big-name firms Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Arcadis, AECOM, Perkins Eastman, and Archilier Architecture Consortium provided proposal, a number of which take on swooping forms and boast green roofs.

Port Authority plans to sell One World Trade Center for up to $5B

2016-09-06T12:52:00-04:00

When Condé Nast moved its 3,400 employees moved into One World Trade Center, Port Authority hoped it would attract more tenants. Now two years later, the tower is still one third empty. In fact, it only brought in $13 million in revenue last year– a mere 0.35 percent return on its investment. Now the cash-strapped Port Authority has made plans to sell One World Trade Center for as much as $5 billion, making it the highest price ever paid for an office building in the country.

"It looks like a dove. Or a carcass": Christopher Hawthorne on Calatrava's Transportation Hub

2016-03-23T13:25:00-04:00

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey...has been so chastened by the cost overruns and construction delays that it declined to hold even a modest ribbon-cutting. When a bureaucracy turns down a major opportunity to pat itself on the back, you know things have turned sour. Turned acid, really. Still, everyone seems to agree that the main hall, which stretches beneath a glass and white-steel roof and which Calatrava calls the Oculus, is beautiful. But I didn't find it beautiful...

"...at least not in the way that Calatrava's finest work, fluid and precise, often is. I found it structurally overwrought and emotionally underwhelming, straining for higher meaning, eager to wring some last drops of mournful power from a site that is already crammed with official, semi-official and indirect memorials."

For related coverage of Santiago Calatrava's $4B "elaborate headstone in the crowded ground zero graveyard," as Hawthorne calls it, check out these links:

Architecture grad students get (canopied) field experience with the Port Authority

2016-01-20T13:16:00-05:00

Graduate students from the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture’s Graduate Design and Build Studio program will officially begin work for the Port Authority of Houston Wednesday. The project aims to build an open shade structure for a security checkpoint where officers would check I.D.s. under the protection of a canopy.

Is working for the Port Authority as a grad student like interning for the government, especially when "The $75,000 [grad-student designed] project is more cost effective than the previous designs that would’ve cost between $200,000 to $400,000"?

• NCSU Faculty Member Vincent Petrarca Receives ACSA Faculty Design Award

• Port Authority officially confirms March opening date for WTC Transportation Hub Oculus

Port Authority officially confirms March opening date for WTC Transportation Hub Oculus

2016-01-19T13:21:00-05:00

Sure, the news was all but confirmed, but today the Port Authority made it official: The transit org announced that the World Trade Center Transportation Hub—anchored by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava's Oculus—will officially open in "the first week of March," per a press release. [...] What that actually means for commuters: There will finally be a link between the World Trade Center PATH station and 11 NYC subway lines, along with the East River ferries.

Read the Port Authority's announcement in full here.

The WTC Transportation Hub previously in the Archinect news:

2 World Trade Center receives $9M rent assistance from Port Authority to expedite project

2015-12-15T13:14:00-05:00

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved subsidies to help expedite the construction of lower Manhattan’s 2 World Trade Center [...]. Developer Silverstein Properties Inc., which leases the sites for 2 World Trade Center and two other towers from the Port Authority, would receive a rent break that amounts to $9 million over the life of the lease [...]. The agency had previously maintained that 2 World Trade would be built entirely without public assistance.

Previously in the Archinect news:

A new LaGuardia is the "airport that New York deserves", says Gov. Cuomo

2015-07-30T15:00:00-04:00

'We are transforming LaGuardia into a globally-renowned, 21st century airport that is worthy of the city and state of New York. It’s the perfect metaphor for what we can achieve with the ambition and optimism and energy that made this the Empire State in the first place, and I want to thank our many partners for joining us to build the airport that New York deserves.' — Gov. Cuomo

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo alongside Vice President Joe Biden officially unveiled the proposed design for the new LaGuardia Airport earlier this week. The $4 billion revamp will transform the airport into a single, structurally unified main terminal, including expanded transportation access and increased taxiway space, and new top-notch passenger amenities.

The overhaul aims to alleviate the air-ground congestion and gate delays that have long plagued the airport — to the point where Biden previously described it as a place one would find in "some third world country". According to a report by the Governor’s Airport Master Plan Advisory Panel, the LaGuardia Airport is "consistently rated as among the worst airports in the world".

Groundbreaking of the first half of the project is expected to start in 2016, once the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey grants final approval. The first half is expected to open to passengers in 2019, and full completion...

Port Authority reveals plan to sell World Trade Center site

2014-12-29T12:50:00-05:00

Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie have turned to a familiar idea in their pledge to reform the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: selling its real estate. A report released over the weekend highlights a plan to sell off many of the agency’s sprawling property holdings, by far the most notable of which is the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan. That concept has long been pushed within the agency, and it has been implemented gradually over the past decade and a half.

PATH/Fail: The Story of the World’s Most Expensive Train Station

2013-05-24T18:56:00-04:00

At $3.74 billion, plus another $200 million in contingencies, the “Transportation Hub” at the World Trade Center—not even the busiest station in the Financial District—will be far and away the most expensive train station built in modern history. The Hub, as it’s known in Port Authority speak, will be the crowning artistic statement of the World Trade Center complex, perhaps the last grand gesture at a site that was supposed to be full of them.

Terminal ports: of gigantic machines and containerized automation

2012-10-05T11:33:00-04:00

Terminal workers speak a florid corporate language of “space optimization” and “key performance indicators.” Longshoremen click computer mice and complain about Microsoft Windows as everyone else in the white-collar world does.

Over the weekend Alan Feuer, took readers along on a tour of the six container terminals belonging to the The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The visit gave him an opportunity to report on how the; infrastructural-logistical pressures of a post-Panamax infrastructure, along with long terms trends towards containerization, have resulted in a loss from 35,000 longshoremen to today 3,500 working at the ports.