A long-awaited plan for the redesign of Penn Station was released on Wednesday, a $6 billion proposal involving leaving Madison Square Garden intact but wrapping it in a stone structure.
But even as ASTM North America touts the plan as ready to go, it has come under fire from the MTA for being too generous to Madison Square Garden. At a press conference just days ago, Gov. Hochul said she was kickstarting the Penn Station redesign process and made clear it is open to all interested parties.
The plan debuted Wednesday by ASTM would cost about $6 billion and take six years to complete after a two-year environmental review period, according to a company executive. It would be cheaper and faster than previous proposals, and would not involve any development of the surrounding neighborhood, which had been a sticking point for the community, the company said.
The plan would involve leaving Madison Square Garden in place above Penn Station and building a square structure around it, creating two main train halls, a “grand” Eighth Avenue entrance and a daylit, single-level concourse for passengers.
“What all of that results is the thing that you never associate with this neighborhood at all, which is a gracious public realm,” said Vishaan Chakrabarti, creative director of the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, which worked on the designed for proposal.
The first step in ASTM’s plan would involve demolishing the theater of Madison Square Garden, formerly known as the Hulu Theater, to make way for the new entrance. At a presentation to the media on Tuesday, ASTM North America’s Senior Vice President Peter Cipriano stopped short of saying they’d reached a deal to acquire it from the Garden, but confirmed, “We have an understanding on price.”
The future of Penn and MSG are intertwined, with many calling for moving the arena.
ASTM would operate the station for 50 years and the project would be funded by a combination of federal loans, grants, already…
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