Last week, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) revealed a pair of renderings for its proposal to reconstruct Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown, Manhattan. The $10 billion project is being designed by Foster + Partners and will replace the rundown 74-year-old, 2.1-million-square-foot structure that spans two city blocks between Eighth and Ninth Avenues and West 40th and 42nd Streets. The bi-state agency submitted a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) last Thursday to the Federal Transit Administration, which green-lit a 45-day public comment period. Four hearings will be held from February 20 to 22.
The exterior rendering above showcases the new frontage along Eighth Avenue, which will feature tall, seamless windows surrounding an entrance beneath white frosted glass with broad fluting. Above the windows, the façade implements a Streamline Moderne aesthetic with tubular chrome beams and ribbed paneling. The soaring atrium within is shown decorated with colorful abstract paintings, creating a striking contrast with monochrome architecture.
The use of tubular metallic structural elements extends to the interior, with tall columns supporting multiple wood-finished floors flanking a towering concourse topped with skylights. Food vendors line the ground floor along with additional colorful artworks, and escalators toward the back of the space lead to a rear glass wall enclosing twin transparent elevator banks. A large clock at the center of this wall is a nod to the clock that once hung within the glass atrium of the old Penn Station.
Rendering courtesy of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The plan involves the permanent closure of a portion of West 41st Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues to accommodate the new facility, which will replace the current terminal’s connected two-building design with a central entryway. An additional storage and staging structure will be constructed to the west between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, along with new bus ramps providing a direct connection to the Lincoln Tunnel, alleviating congestion on the surrounding streets. Dyer Avenue would also be decked over with 3.5 acres of green space, covering the winding concrete corridor running from West 33rd and West 39th Streets to the Lincoln Tunnel between Ninth and Tenth Avenues.
Previous proposals also called for two new office skyscrapers directly above the terminal, though plans for this portion of the master plan are awaiting further design details. $1 billion of the project’s anticipated $10 billion cost is slated to come from a Federal Transit Administration loan, with additional funding from Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) derived from the two proposed office buildings. All construction will be entirely built on Port Authority-owned properties, with no private land to be seized through eminent domain.
The first stage of construction will involve the new ramps leading to the staging and storage facility, followed by the simultaneous demolition of the current bus facility and transition of the staging and storage facility into the temporary terminal by 2028. The second stage is devoted to erecting the new terminal and office towers.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey estimates the new bus terminal will take at least eight years to finish, putting the completion as early as 2032. Construction could begin before the end of 2024 or early 2025.
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Desperately needed…t’s about time.
bring it
Nice and way overdue, but they better not remove that statue of Ralph Kramdon! LOL 🙂
No one can touch King Ralph….No way….
Jackie Gleason runs even when he is 6′ deep
I have zero confidence in the Port Authority’s ability to deliver this level of design at this budget.
The budget will probably expand. Anything of this scale is likely to come in at or under budget. My guess is it’s a couple billion over when all is said and done. It’s the New York way.
That should read unlikely.
That easy to edit Yimby comment software can’t come soon enough.
You mean ‘unlikely’ 😀 to come in at budget.
Always liked the exterior ‘industrial look’ of the present one..but the exterior was a mess
Make that ‘interior’ was a mess..
I wonder why a rendering of the facade hasn’t been released. I’m assuming Yimby would post it if the Port Authority made it available.
Likely because its only at 20% finished design.
If that.
An enormous amount of money to spend on what will amount to mostly an aesthetic change! We should be directing this money to Gateway and other rail infrastructure projects instead of something that only mildly improves bus operations for New Jerseyans.
This is incorrect. The new terminal complex will totally revamp bus operations as well as providing storage so they aren’t parked on city streets or roaming around emitting CO2.
NYC would come to a screeching halt if the 500,000, “New Jerseyans” didn’t come into Manhattan each day. Not only do they work at some of the local businesses, many own and manage them. Many even appear as anchors on local news broadcasts, and are the stars of major league sports teams under the brand NYC (even though a few play in… NJ). And New Jersey tax dollars go to support the Port Authority. So pretty important.
Having said all that, I agree there are less expensive ways to upgrade without a complete do over. After all, both NY and NJ are paying for this.
Sorry didn’t want to give the impression that catering to New Jerseyans was bad! In fact, creating a better integrated regional metropolis is so important that it deserves more than a stub-end bus terminal at the end of an already car-choked tunnel. The only way to adequately serve the rapidly growing population on the other side of the Hudson is with rail. The bus terminal, as others have commented, shouldn’t be in the CBD!
I like the concept – as we all know, the finished project in 2040 (yes, it will take the long) will look nothing like this! I do like the idea of the greenway to be built over Dyer Avenue in any event.
Gateway is already under construction and moving really fast with progress when you see it from the turnpike
I’m with AQ (see her/her comment above)–this much money could build more subway stations on the very built-up west side of Manhattan (i.e. on Tenth Avenue/Chelsea/Hell’s Kitchen, or in Brooklyn. Better to use the money to rid the Port Authority of drug sellers/users. There’s really nothing much wrong with it the way it is. It’s just not aesthetically pleasing.
This is a PANYNJ project using PANYNJ money. PANYNJ doesn’t build NYC Subway expansions – though I agree they are needed.
Hopefully there are huge functional improvements included in this, as if it’s merely for aesthetics as some commenters have suggested, it would be an unfortunate use of the money. I’ve always loved the industrial trussed look of the current facility, although I’ve not seen the inside in years, so I imagine it could be pretty dreadful.
Its not just for aesthetics – those people don’t know what they are talking about. The PABT rebuild project is a capacity, circulation and logistics project. Head over to SSP and pour over docs that have been posted. One huge difference between the old and new PABT will be the building of an enormous bus staging and storage building which will house huge numbers of off-peak and waiting commuter and charter buses so they aren’t parked on city streets idling or just otherwise causing traffic congestion and pedestrian interference or driving around killing time including congesting the tunnel back to NJ just to deadhead back to the PABT when they are needed. The terminal itself will have an increase in berths to accommodate projected passenger counts through 2050.
And then there is the huge passenger experience improvements in addition to all that. This is an awesome and overdue project.
The first rendering reminds me of the lobbies at Manhattan West. Hope they really construct it to that level of quality
For $10 billion dollars the #7 subway could be extended to New Jersey and a new Bus Terminal could be built at a lower cost on lower priced land in New Jersey. The advantage would be that the busses would no longer need to go through the Lincoln Tunnel.
The Port Authority’s proposal is inefficient, expensive, and wasteful.
I traveled though the Port Authority building many times, and the building is built like a tank and can use a good facelift but I question the glass entrance canopy because the city will never maintain it, the homeless, criminal activity needs to be addressed via better police presents.
The city is not responsible for maintaining PA property
Cosign with AQ. As a former frequent traveler to Port Auth, the money should be used to refresh the interior and ensure better signage for bus departures. I would also suggest a better main floor akin to GCT. A direct connection to Lincoln Tunnel and that facade seems unnecessary and EXPENSIVE!
The Port Authority has a s**t ton of cash it wants to spend on a 21st century terminal. Why are you people complaining? I think they know what they’re doing. A new PABT isn’t being built at the expense of some other worthy PANYNJ project, unless you think Cross Harbor Tunnel is on the table. Also the Port Authority spending its own money on JFK or LGA or PABT has zero to due with whether the MTA has the dough or initiative to built new rail transit.
Save the statue of Ralph Kramdon!!
Ah, the Cross Harbor Tunnel— someone has a long memory.
Still very much alive believe it or not.
Being a long time NJ transit bus commuter, I definietly think it’s about time they fixed the terminal. The current way to line up and get into the bus is horrendous. I’ve seen countless confusion and arguments bc of this.
However, there are still major problems to be met. This does not solve traffic issues at the tunnel or buses just being consistently reliable in terms of capacity and timeliness. Through out my life, I’ve moved around a lot in NJ, many places along the river front and farther inward, and it’s a constant problem. And lets just say I’m not looking forward to commuting while this construction is in process for however many years…
As much as I want to agree with this project, I’d rather see them expand infrastructure and train lines. I’d rather have them rebuild the bus terminal in NJ with a big parking structure for those who wants to drive there and have an extended path or S line that crosses the river into the city.
This planning is beneficial to the masses, and transportation into the city is necessary for those who need it: Thanks to Michael Young.
port authority doesn’t go past
41th&42 street because l know unless they talking about the unground station that go from 42nd St to 40th Street that fine but outside it stay at 42th street only and doesn’t go from 8th ave to 9th Ave for real l know the station for long time for real 🤔
Huh?
This is another example of how my borough, Staten Island, is forgotten about constantly. The bus terminal that really needs an overhaul is the one at Hylan Blvd and Richmond Ave. That bus terminal is constantly filled with garbage, and the condition is just overall terrible. This is why Staten Island constantly wants to secede, because most of our money goes to the other boroughs, not Staten Island’s interests.
“Our money” You speak as if SI disproportionately puts money in the city’s coffers which isn’t true…you already get a free ferry…
G-d willing, we’ll all still be here and healthy enough to ‘take the bus’ when this is complete.