The MTA – in the thick of a “liquidity” crisis from ridership loss – went looking for loose change and found some in the possibility of redeveloping the property at 341-7 Madison Ave., the agency announced.
In other words, the MTA plans to use its former headquarters in East Midtown in a partnership with the city to generate $1 billion for capital investments through a redevelopment strategy.
According to the agency, it will be a “creative” way for the city to uphold its obligation to provide $600 million of its $2.66 billion contributions to the MTA’s 2015-2019 capital plan.
“The revenue associated with this agreement fills a critically needed funding segment for our Capital Program,” MTA Chief Financial Officer Robert Foran said. “With the MTA and our government funding partners still assessing the budgetary implications of the coronavirus pandemic, this funding is more important than ever. It demonstrates how the MTA is taking every step it can to shore up it’s funding.”
As the coronavirus took hold of the city earlier in March, the MTA sent up an urgent plea to congress to provide at least $4 billion in aid to the agency as a stop-gap measure to projected tanking revenue from ridership loss over a six month period. Washington delivered by including $3.8 billion through the $2 trillion stimulus package.
As ridership started to become a problem during the early days of the epidemic in New York, MTA Chair Pat Foye made a commitment that digging into funds set aside for the 2020-2024 capital plan would be out of the question.
The MTA opened the property up to proposal from the real estate industry with the city government envisioning a development similar to One Vanderbilt and 270 Park Ave., both high-rise office buildings in Midtown. The new commercial space located near public transit will be “first-class,” according to Vicki Been, New York City Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development.
“Our East Midtown Rezoning provided a way to responsibly increase the economic value of one of the city’s most vibrant and transit-oriented areas,” Been said in a statement. “This transaction builds on our success to date at One Vanderbilt and 270 Park Ave by further generating first-class space to attract new businesses and good jobs to the City while ensuring the new developments invest in transit and public spaces that will benefit the business district and everyday New Yorkers.”
Whether the existing building will remain in any sense or if it will be missed is another question altogether, considering the nature of One Vanderbilt and 270 Park.
According to the MTA, 347 Madison Ave., also known as the Equitable Trust Building, was constructed in 1917 and named for the first bank to occupy its space. The agency moved in 1979 before moving administrative operations to 2 Broadway in 2014 where it works literally work alongside organizations under its umbrella; New York City Transit and MTA Bridges and Tunnels.
