Over the past few weeks, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed giant infrastructure plans that cost more than $100 billion. While his ambitious plans are expected to create 250,000 jobs for New Yorkers, it is still unclear how Cuomo will fund projects.
"The governor thinks it's time to reignite the ambition, the creativity, and the capacity of New York," said Cuomo's Secretary Bill Mulrow in a New York Building Congress banquet last Monday. "We are going to use public-private partnerships. We are going to do design-build contracting. The community will be involved as it's never been before."
Cuomo's multi-billion projects include the redevelopment of the Farley Post Office and Penn Station which will cost about $3 billion. The project dubbed as the "Empire State Station" involves constructing a new transit hall in the post office that is connected to Penn Station through a network of underground tunnels.
Last January 6, in a speech at Madison Square Garden, Cuomo invited developers to send in their proposals to tackle the project. He said that the private developers who will be selected for the redevelopment will pay for the reconstruction of Penn Station, in exchange for retail development rights.
According to Cuomo, it would cost the selected developer $2 billion to redevelop the post office and Penn Station and another $1 billion for "ancillary retail and commercial developments." He gave interested developers three years to complete the project.
As of last week, Empire State Development, Amtrak and the MTA have already issued a request for proposals. Related also announced that it will submit a proposal for the $4-billion redevelopment.
"The redevelopment will transform the nation's busiest train station into a modern commuter hub and a gateway befitting the greatest city in the world," said Related's spokesperson.
The new construction of La Guardia Airport and the overhaul of the Javits Center are also among Cuomo's massive projects.