News

NEW YORK, NY May 13, 2008 —The deal to develop the West Side rail yards really is dead. Tishman Speyer has just announced that it is withdrawing from the $1 billion agreement that it tentatively reached in March.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the 26-acre parcel in far west midtown, said last week that it had ended talks with the development company because it wanted to postpone closing the first part of the deal.

But agency officials held meetings yesterday and today, in part of out deference to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who wanted to salvage the deal.

In a statement, Tishman Speyer said that the two parties "could not come to a final agreement that was satisfactory to both of us." The MTA plans to seek other developers to take on the project.