Renderings of the Fulton Street Transit Center (source: MTA)
Unlike its Grand Central Terminal, where the Metropolitan Transportation Authority directly leases space to tenants and has become known as something of a difficult landlord, the MTA will lease all the space in the forthcoming Fulton Street Transit Center to one company and let that firm manage it. According to the Wall Street Journal, the agency hopes to make it a shopping and dining destination.
Once complete in 2014, the three-story glass and steel structure at the corner of Fulton Street and Broadway will have 70,000 square feet of retail space. The structure is part of a $1.4 billion project that provides an underground connection for 10 subway lines and the PATH train. By transferring management duties to another company, the MTA can focus on maintaining the underground hub, which renderings show will have digital signage that will update to reflect service changes.
Competition for retail tenants will be fierce though. The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has forged similar plans for its $3.44 billion transit hub under construction nearby at the World Trade Center with mall operator Westfield Group, and Brookfield Office Properties is planning a $250 million upgrade to the retail at the World Financial Center in the area. [WSJ]