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New Willets Point plan calls for 1.4 million-square-foot mall, hotel
The Bloomberg administration’s new Willets Point agreement calls for a 1.4 million-square-foot mall and parking garage on one side of Citi Field, and a 200-room hotel and stores on the other, according to the Wall Street Journal. As previously reported, the administration scrapped its original plans for the site, which included the use of eminent domain, and instead struck a deal with the Related Companies and Sterling Equities, the real estate firm controlled by the owner of the Mets and Citi Field.
Eventually, there will be a mix of housing, shops and a chance of office space occupying Willets Point east of the stadium, which could come as late as 2025. This new deal reached between the mayor’s office and the developers will delay the plan for housing, according to the Journal. If housing construction does not begin by 2025, the developers will have to pay the city $35 million and face potential removal from the project.
But before any of this begins, the new proposal needs an environmental review, public hearings and a public review by the city. The New York Times reported that the developers must also take on a 20-acre clean-up of the site, which could cost upwards of $40 million. [NYT] and [WSJ]