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NEW YORK, NY May 20, 2008 — It didn't take long for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to find another bidder to turn the West Side rail yards into a series of high-rise apartment and office towers.

The Related Companies will take over the project - having offered the MTA about as much money as Tishman Speyer had originally planned to pay.

WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports.

If Tishman Speyer got cold feet after it made its deal, the Related Companies got the jitters beforehand.

Related, which built the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, backed off during the first round of negotiations in March. That was after a company it was counting on to rent space in the future rail yards complex suddenly changed its mind.

Executives say that Related and its financial partner, Goldman Sachs, soon regretted not pursuing negotiations even without a major tenant. They were not about to lose out a 2nd time when Tishman Speyer bowed out last week.

For WNYC, I'm Matthew Schuerman.

OUTRO: The MTA board will vote on the deal this Thursday.