Swanky Hudson Yards Wants $1B In Federal Cash To Expand: Report

HUDSON YARDS, NY — Hudson Yards builders are applying for a federal loan to finance the second phase of the west side neighborhood's development, according to reports.

Related Companies is partnering with Amtrak for a $1 billion loan through the federal government's Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program, Politico New York first reported. Amtrak's partnership is necessary for Related to acquire money through the program, which requires that a railroad be involved with any project that receives funding, according to the report.

Funds from the load would be used to create a massive platform above the remaining exposed section of the west side rail yards atop which Hudson Yards is being built, Politico reported. Amtrak benefits from the agreement because Related is committing to build a stretch of the agency's planned Gateway Tunnel that will run beneath Hudson yards. Under the terms of the deal, Amtrak would pay Related $385 million for the infrastructure work but get some of that money back in Related secures the low-interest federal loan, Politco reported.

The Gateway Project's main goal is to rebuild the rail tunnels underneath the Hudson River to replace those damaged during Superstorm Sandy. Under President Barack Obama, the federal government agreed to split the cost of rebuilding the tunnels with the states of New York and New Jersey. But the Trump administration has since reneged on that deal, putting the project's future in question.

The national economy could suffer a $16 billion loss over four years and New York and New Jersey home prices could plummet $22 billion if the Hudson River rail tunnels need to be unexpectedly shut down for repairs, the Regional Planning Assosiation concluded in a 2019 report titled "A Preventable Crisis: The Economic and Human Costs of a Hudson River Rail Tunnel Shutdown."

Read the full Politico New York article here.