From left: Vornado Realty Trust Chairman Steven Roth, Patrick Foye, executive director of Port Authority, and 20 Times SquareVornado Realty Trust has abandoned its plan to build a 40-story tower atop the Port Authority Bus Terminal after its Chinese investment partner chose to invest the $600 million earmarked for the tower in another Midtown property, the New York Times reported.
Vornado had been in talks with Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to build the tower at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue since 1999. The tower would have been designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners, and included a garden atop the existing four-story terminal. As part of the agreement, the developer was also on the hook for a $400 million renovation of the bus terminal that would have brought 18 new gates to the bus hub.
Though the project appeared to have been dead in August when Vornado’s exclusive agreement with the Port Authority expired, in October the agency voted to retroactively extend the agreement because Vornado said it had a deal with SOHO China to invest in the project. But SOHO China just deployed that money in a recent deal to acquire a stake in the 45-story office tower at 299 Park Avenue. [NYT]