As we wrote at the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog last week [1], the planned extension of the 7 train into the western hinterlands of Hudson Yards/West Clinton could provide a big boost for both rental apartments and condominium development in that area. And while that's still true, this story may have another twist left in it yet, thanks to a stepped-up lobbying effort by the lobbying organization Real Estate Brokers of New York (REBNY) with the stated goal of reviving the idea of adding a second stop en route to the 7 train's new terminus at 34th and 11th Avenue. It's a long shot, to be sure, but success would be great news for real estate in the greater Clinton/Hudson Yards area.
While the city remains on target for a 2013 opening of the planned subway station at 34th Street and 11th Avenue, the second station that was initially planned, for 41st Street and 10th Avenue, has been considered a lost cause for nearly two years. Not everyone considers that a foregone conclusion, though, The New York Times reports. "This week [REBNY] started a Web site [2], a petition drive and a lobbying campaign to press the Obama administration to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for the station," Charles Bagli writes in the NYT piece.
To which you might well give a shrug, except that this is REBNY, a powerful organization with nearly unmatched pull in matters pertaining to NYC real estate and politics. While the New York Times article reports that commercial real estate would be more impacted by the resurrection of the 41st Street station, residential real estate listings -- and the NYC dwellers who have moved into the new rental apartments in Clinton [3] -- would surely get a boost from greater mass transit access as well. It's a story worth watching, and we'll be keeping a close eye on it.
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